(This post is part of the A to Z Challenge. I am writing this month on activities that keep me refreshed during these depressing days. It's Day 4 today.)
Documentaries bring a number of facets of human life together, putting many current-affairs topics in historical perspective with archival footage, giving us a big picture.
There are umpteen documentaries on a variety of subjects on platforms like Netflix, Youtube, Amazon Prime etc.
On YouTube, I like the documentaries made by DW (Deutsche Welle, the German international broadcaster).
BBC has plenty of them, on its iPlayer. Unfortunately, I can't watch them in India because of geographical rights restrictions. So I listen to The Documentary programme on BBC World Service radio, and I catch up with the missed episodes on my podcast app.
The one that prompts me to watch on Netflix is Pandemic. No, I don't watch that now; it defeats the whole purpose of this month's resolution.
I don't want to give you a long list of recommendations. But still, I'll mention three:
American Factory (story of Chinese tech 'invasion' into industrial America),
Minimalism (on 'frugality' vs 'unbridled consumerism') and
Period. End of Sentence (Story of Indian women fighting ancient misconceptions about impurity associated with menstruation and how they manufacture low-cost, biodegradable sanitary pads).
And, there is one British TV series, which I am reluctant to mention, but nevertheless, I shall:
Trump: An American Dream (Life of Trump through 50 years). After watching that, I am no longer surprised by what the American president says or does!
Documentaries are like audio-visual counterparts of feature articles in newspapers and magazines.
I like them for a variety of reasons. I am basically a non-fiction person. I choose fiction only as a get-away from the monotony of non-fiction. People, places, events, issues, society, lifestyle, culture, traditions, etc all interest me.
Documentaries bring a number of facets of human life together, putting many current-affairs topics in historical perspective with archival footage, giving us a big picture.
There are umpteen documentaries on a variety of subjects on platforms like Netflix, Youtube, Amazon Prime etc.
On YouTube, I like the documentaries made by DW (Deutsche Welle, the German international broadcaster).
BBC has plenty of them, on its iPlayer. Unfortunately, I can't watch them in India because of geographical rights restrictions. So I listen to The Documentary programme on BBC World Service radio, and I catch up with the missed episodes on my podcast app.
The one that prompts me to watch on Netflix is Pandemic. No, I don't watch that now; it defeats the whole purpose of this month's resolution.
I don't want to give you a long list of recommendations. But still, I'll mention three:
American Factory (story of Chinese tech 'invasion' into industrial America),
Minimalism (on 'frugality' vs 'unbridled consumerism') and
Period. End of Sentence (Story of Indian women fighting ancient misconceptions about impurity associated with menstruation and how they manufacture low-cost, biodegradable sanitary pads).
And, there is one British TV series, which I am reluctant to mention, but nevertheless, I shall:
Trump: An American Dream (Life of Trump through 50 years). After watching that, I am no longer surprised by what the American president says or does!