Any one who's seen Super Size Me should see Fat Head. Kind of a rebuttal about how it's not 100% the government's fault the people who eat fast food do it. Pretty interesting and the dude is kinda funny. It's pretty low budget, though.
post by Doomkid nli at Oct 3,2010 10:07pm
Ahem, Super Size Me and and An Inconvenient Truth may have been alright documentaries, but they certainly didn't change anything in the world.
post by nekronautnli at Oct 3,2010 10:47pm
Can somebody write out the list for me? On my phone and it won't display correctly for me. Thanks.
And I think Zeitgeist has had more of an impact on 20 something year old internet nerds than any of these films have had, it's just not out there in the public eye
12. The Up Series (1964, 1970, 1977, 1984, 1991, 1998, 2005)
Influential for its epic scope, The Up Series has followed the same group of British children every seven years since 1964. The novel idea has been repeated in numerous other countries, and director Michael Apted is expected to start shooting the next entry in the series, 56 Up, by 2012.
This Soviet Union silent film is on this list not for any kind of political influence, but rather for its exuberant exploration of cinematic techniques. Director Dziga Vertov and his camera captured the daily city life of Odessa, Ukraine, and then constructed a dizzying narrative that featured split screens, double exposure, fast motion, freeze frames, jump cuts, and stop-motion animation. No movie has ever seemed quite as energized by the possibilities of the medium.
Rob Epstein's Oscar-winning film chronicled the late San Francisco supervisor Harvey Milk's ascent into politics and his trailblazing impact as a gay rights activist. The documentary was essentially retold in the 2008 biopic Milk.
The United States' Office of War Information commissioned this series of seven propaganda films from Hollywood filmmaker Frank Capra, who frequently used and recontextualized clips from German propaganda (including the next film in this gallery, Triumph of the Will) to convey the necessity of America's involvement in World War II. The first film in the series, the Oscar-winning Prelude to War, was shown to U.S. troops before they were deployed.
Leni Riefenstahl's ''documentary'' — cinema's most notorious (and influential) propaganda film — presented the 1934 Nazi Party Congress in Nuremberg so slickly and skillfully that it helped solidify Adolf Hitler's control over the German citizenry. Frank Capra famously said the following regarding Triumph: ''[It] fired no gun, dropped no bombs, but as a psychological weapon aimed at destroying the will to resist, it was just as lethal.''
Barbara Kopple's Oscar-winning documentary depicted a group of coal miners' prolonged and frequently dangerous strike against the Brookside Mine in Harlan County, Ky. In addition to raising awareness of the miners' fight for safer working conditions and appropriate wages, Kopple likely prevented an outburst of violence simply by having her cameras on the scene.
Errol Morris' groundbreaking film about Randall Dale Adams, a man who was sentenced to life in prison for allegedly murdering a Dallas police officer, ultimately resulted in Adams' conviction being overturned. Through a multitude of interviews and innovative crime-scene reenactments, Morris revealed that many of the witnesses had lied under oath.
Detailing how Scripture is interpreted to justify discrimination against homosexuals, Daniel Karslake's film has become a godsend for gay youths coming out to their religious families.
Davis Guggenheim's Oscar-winning doc relied on Al Gore's surprising showmanship to raise public awareness about climate change. The film is now viewed in classrooms around the globe.
Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock ate only McDonald's for a month and gained 25 lbs. The fast-food chain has since canceled the Super Size option and added nutritional info to its packaging. Coincidence?
Michael Moore's tirade against the Bush administration's war on terror ignited arguments over everything from the Patriot Act to The Pet Goat. Along the way, it grossed a record $222 million worldwide.
Errol Morris' groundbreaking film about Randall Dale Adams, a man who was sentenced to life in prison for allegedly murdering a Dallas police officer, ultimately resulted in Adams' conviction being overturned. Through a multitude of interviews and innovative crime-scene reenactments, Morris revealed that many of the witnesses had lied under oath.
Thin Blue Line is actually a really cool documentary that comes across like a Cohen Brothers movie. It's one of those things that always pops up in discussion in production classes. Phillip Glass' score makes it too.
Leni Riefenstahl's ''documentary'' — cinema's most notorious (and influential) propaganda film — presented the 1934 Nazi Party Congress in Nuremberg so slickly and skillfully that it helped solidify Adolf Hitler's control over the German citizenry. Frank Capra famously said the following regarding Triumph: ''[It] fired no gun, dropped no bombs, but as a psychological weapon aimed at destroying the will to resist, it was just as lethal.''
I picked this up at a horror movie convention in Ohio a few years. It is skillfully done but obviously it's a Nazi propaganda film so it's not the most inviting content.
Ahem, Super Size Me and and An Inconvenient Truth may have been alright documentaries, but they certainly didn't change anything in the world.
so al gore inventing climate change didn't change anything? wow, go fuck hoser.
No, it didn't in fact change anything. It may have temporarily raised public awareness but little to nothing in terms of policy and international agreements was changed. I personally think that the movie hurt our reaction to climate change (anthropogentic or otherwise) because it put the focus on a person rather than the issue.
And I think Zeitgeist has had more of an impact on 20 something year old internet nerds than any of these films have had, it's just not out there in the public eye
I actually referenced Return of the Jedi as an example of documentary in my final paper for a Documentary Journalism course in college. A-, although the professor circled the passage "aboriginal insurgency on the forest moon of Endor" with ten question marks over it.
