This is a tough one because there have been several. I go through phases of niche interests and I try to go on a deep dive for each one. So over the years I’ve had several favourites on different topics. But when I look back there have been a couple that have stuck with me for one reason or another. The first was Stephen Fry’s two part documentary The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive. This was one that affected me deeply because it came out before mental illness was talked about quite as freely as it is today (not that we don’t still have stigma, but things have improved a bit) and in this documentary he interviewed really famous people who shared their experiences candidly and openly. This was the first documentary of that type that I watched. To see Stephen Fry chatting to Robbie Williams about how he’d do a show for a huge crowd, seemingly on top of the world, then go back to his tour bus and collapse and not be able to get out of bed was a shocking revelation, but I think a necessary one. These days we know celebrities are real people who have their own struggles and whose lives aren’t all money and privilege (though that’s definitely there). But this was around when the turning point came when celebrities started talking more openly about their real experiences, and I think that was a vital moment in the evolution of social awareness of mental illness (and other struggles like neurodiversity or even invisible illnesses).
The other one that sticks out for me is Ava DuVernay’s brilliant film, 13th. This was another film that came out at a particular moment. One that would have been important no matter what, but that also heralded a sea change in social awareness of the issues of race and racism in the United States. It came out in 2016, just four years before the murder of George Floyd, but during a time that was clearly leading directly towards that event. And there have been so many other victims of racial police violence – and other forms of institutionalized racism – and it was time for everyone to be facing the history of where our social constructs originated, the purpose some of the institutions we take for granted originally served and the reality of what race still means. It was an amazingly conceived and executed film, and one that I wish I could make everyone watch.
So those are two of my favourites. There are others – The Black Panthers, Bowling for Columbine, The Biggest Little Farm, All the Streets Are Silent, Bomb It, Exit Through the Gift Shop (yes I know that wasn’t a real one but it also still captured the moment it was made in a way that felt real to me). I know there are others – there were a lot of graffiti, hip hop, skateboarding, music and social critique documentaries I watched over a ten or fifteen year period that affected me, but I have a terrible memory and I can’t remember what any were called, but they all added to a kind of mental landscape that I appreciate.
What about you guys? Which documentary or documentaries impacted you the most, or which did you enjoy? Are any of mine ones you have watched or remember impacting you?
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Very interesting documentaries.
Thanks!
I loved Stephen Fry’s documentary about manic depression. My mum was diagnosed as having manic depression (I think it’s been reclassified now as bipolar disorder) so I was able to relate to it on some level.
Yes, it was very illuminating. I’m glad that more people are getting accurate diagnoses and that these days there is a bit more understanding of what mental illness is and less stereotyping and fear-mongering. But we still have such a long way to go.