So I’ve decided to do one of these posts every week (or two weeks, depending on how busy I am) because I love documentaries, and want to share what I’m watching and what I think of them here for all the world to see. I even gave them little grades! c:
This week’s documentaries were:
(A)sexual
Bronies
Hungry for Change
It’s a Girl!
Whore’s Glory
Obviously I’ve bit on a bit of a binge this week. Here’s what I thought.
(A)sexual (A-) It was really good. It (like Bronies) was something I watched because it was a topic I was really curious about. I know very few people who are asexual, and it was something I really wanted to know more about, so I’m glad I watched it. It included a lot of really great information from a variety of asexual people who were interviewed about their lives. I think anyone who is wondering about asexuality should definitely watch this, it’s a great way to become more educated on it.
Bronies (B+) This movie explains what bronies are, and documents various bronies from around the globe, and shows a lot of what happens at “BronyCons” in America and in the UK. It also included interviews with the creator and writers of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, and two of the principle voice actors (including the lovely and talented Tara Strong, who is amazing in every way), which was great because you got not only the perspectives of the bronies and their friends and families, but also what the people who work on the show think of the community. The one issue I had with this documentary is that it does not include the cons and the dysfunction of the fandom. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against bronies in particular; every fandom has its dark side, and the MLP fandom is not exempt. I like things. And I think it’s great when people like things. “To each his/her own” is my mantra for fandoms in general.
Hungry for Change (C) This was a well-done piece about the issues within the food and diet industries. However, I gave it a C because it took me a few days to finish; I kept stopping because of some personal issues I had with it. It’s main purpose was to ingrain the evils of the food industries using lots of scare tactics, and all the interviews were with people who used to be very unhealthy, but had turned their lives around. I’m not sure what it was, but something about it kind of grated my nerves. I’m not sure if it was because I feel insecure about my own body, or what. It kind of just took a lot of negative things I already knew and shoved them in my face. However, if your family isn’t addicted to Dr. Oz like my mom is, you could probably learn a lot from it.
It’s a Girl! (A) I loved this one. I think everyone should watch this once. It focuses on the gendercide of girls in India and China as a result of son-based cultures. Many people in each countries see daughters as a burden, and millions of baby girls are killed/female fetuses are aborted, often by force, especially in China where the one-child policy enforced on a very extreme level. Honestly, I had no idea about how bad this was. It’s pretty grim subject matter, but also highlights some of the families who refused to give up their daughters even under threat from the law, and even some who adopted abandoned girls. It includes interviews with many women for both countries, great narration, and illustrations for the retold accounts rather than actors doing an interpretation, which was really unique and made the movie even more interesting.
Whore’s Glory (B-) A fascinating look at the everyday lives of prostitutes in Thailand, India, and Mexico. It was definitely interesting subject matter, and I learned a lot about the sex trade that I didn’t know. Definitely a piece you have to pay a lot of attention to, because there is no narration and very few of the people in the film speak English, so it’s entirely subtitled. Instead of the interviews mixed with experience footage most documentaries have, this one is just like the cameramen weren’t there. They simply recorded the interactions and events and are really rarely referenced to by the subjects. Overall interesting, but a little slow.
Hiding Behind her Typewriter 