March 2022
In THE BIG SCARY “S” WORD, filmmaker Yael Bridge parses the meaning of one of the dirtiest words in American public life: socialism. For decades, some politicians have denounced government programs for the common good by flinging this epithet. THE BIG SCARY “S” WORD follows the paths of two public servants – a public school teacher and a former Marine running for office – to show that the core tenets of socialism in fact have long been an integral part of the American fabric, from workers’ rights and the struggle for a more equitable economy to the collective benefits of the social safety net.
https://youtu.be/7yL9a6JwrUY
Stream THE BIG SCARY “S” WORD on Hulu (also available to rent on Prime Video and other platforms), watch our live interview with director Yael Bridge located below.
What recent documentary opened your eyes or expanded your horizons? We want to hear from you! To suggest a documentary to the rest of the community, complete the brief submission form below. We’ll run some of your responses in our next DOC@HOME dispatch.
As the world watches in horror while the Russian military attacks Ukraine, Netflix subscribers have been looking back to an Academy Award-nominated documentary from 2015 for some context. WINTER ON FIRE: UKRAINE’S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM (dir. Evgeny Afineevsky) chronicles the people’s demonstrations that began in Kyiv in 2013, a pro-democracy protest that called out Russian interference and government corruption. https://youtu.be/RibAQHeDia8
Stream WINTER ON FIRE on Netflix
On his CNN show “United Shades of America,” comedian W. Kamau Bell has put himself in some famously sticky situations, perhaps none more so than the time he attended a KKK rally. But as a Black man who grew up idolizing Bill Cosby, his current project required some particular bravery. In his four-part documentary series WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT COSBY, Bell struggles to reconcile his former hero’s iconic place in American culture against the numerous allegations of predatory sexual behavior that have ruined Cosby’s legacy. Is it possible to separate the art from the artist?
https://youtu.be/qVr0xrvGK1Q
Watch WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT COSBY on Showtime
And while you’re over there on Showtime, get a glimpse into the art of freight-train graffiti writing in ROLLING LIKE THUNDER (dir. Roger Gastman). “Graffiti is the beauty of art with the danger of crime,” says one “tagger.” Most of these daring artists choose to remain incognito by wearing masks, but they’re all glad to go on record about the art form that, for many, has been life-saving. https://youtu.be/COLBLMPoPJs
Stream ROLLING LIKE THUNDER on Showtime