March Resource Review: Documentaries You Can Watch Right Now

 

 

Documentaries are a great way to learn more about an issue you care about and start conversations with your family and friends. With online streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, watching these films at home is easier than ever. Here are some of our favorites. As many of these films deal with sensitive and serious subjects, we recommend watching them before sharing with youth or with a church or community group. We’ve included both those available through streaming subscriptions as well as others available for DVD purchase or online rental.

Available for Streaming*

Miss Representation (2011) 

This film explores the correlation between the media’s negative portrayal of women and their bodies with today’s underrepresentation of women in positions of leadership and power. It includes thought-provoking interviews with teenage girls as well as conversations with public figures like Katie Couric, Rachel Maddow, and Margaret Cho. Educational version and K-12th grade curriculum toolkit also available; contact us for more details.

Where to watch: Netflix  

The Mask You Live in (2015)

Produced by Jennifer Siebel Newsom (Miss Representation) this documentary explores the American view of masculinity, specifically how we define success, and how this narrow understanding harms boys and men. The Mask You Live In offers another way forward by allowing boys and men to take off their “masks” and stop having to prove their masculinity. Educational version and K-12th grade curriculum toolkit also available; contact us for more details.

Where to watch: Netflix

Trapped (2016)

Trapped examines the surge of more than 250 laws passed by state legislatures since 2010 that regulate reproductive health clinics and the medical professionals that staff them. The film also follows the activists, clinic workers, and lawyers who worked together to argue their case (Whole Women’s Health vs. Hellerstedt) before the Supreme Court. The reproductive rights struggle in Mississippi is also featured in this film, and Faith in Women helped to host multiple screenings of Trapped around the state in 2016.

Where to watch: Netflix

13th (2016)

The United States imprisons its citizens at a higher rate than any other nation. 13th looks at the rise of mass incarceration since 1970 during which the prison population has grown from around 200,000 to more than 2 million. The film traces the racist roots of today’s modern prison industrial complex back to the times of slavery and through the eras of civil rights and the war on drugs.

Where to watch: Netflix

BONUS–13th: A Conversation with Oprah Winfrey and Ava DuVernay (2017)

Watch this Netflix special with Oprah and 13th filmmaker Ava DuVernay as they discuss the documentary and the issues surrounding racism and mass incarceration.

Where to watch: Netflix

Available on DVD/Online Rental

Unnatural Causes (2008)

This mini-series explores how the intersections of race and economic inequality impact health disparities in the United States. The second episode “When the Bough Breaks” looks specifically at how racism affects infant mortality among women of color.

Where to buy: Available on unnauturalcauses.org (DVD and streaming)

After Tiller  (2013)

Dr. George Tiller, an abortion provider who performed third trimester procedures, was murdered in his church in 2009. This documentary follows the four remaining physicians who openly provide this service and those who staunchly oppose them.

Where to buy: Available on Amazon (DVD and streaming)

No Woman, No Cry (2010)

This documentary examines the reality of preventable maternal deaths around the globe by following the stories of pregnant women as they seek medical care in four different countries.

Where to buy: Available on Amazon (DVD and streaming)

 

How Faith in Women can help

Is there a film or documentary that you’d like to show to your community group or church? Faith in Women can help arrange a screening event in your area. Please contact us and we will be in touch about scheduling. We look forward to hearing from you!

*Requires streaming subscriptions. Films are also available for digital purchase or rental.