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Most of us turn to Netflix, Amazon and other streaming platforms in our free time. These days watching a movie, TV Show or a documentary is a matter of a few clicks. And given the abundance of content available, it often becomes a challenge to choose what you want to watch. However, if you are someone who likes content that entertains as well as educates, we have curated a list of Five documentaries that might make you rethink your health choices, especially when there is so much misinformation being shared on social media. If you are someone who is starting the journey to know more about health, diet, fitness and diseases, the following list of five documentaries can be a great place to start:
The End Game (2018)
We, as humans, have a tendency to often think about death and wonder what lies beyond. The topic of our eventual demise ignites fear within us and it is only natural to be afraid of your end. But, what if it didn’t have to be that way? What if we lived in a world where death was accepted and made peace with before it took your loved one away? Seems unlikely? The End Game (2018), a 40-minute documentary, tries to change how we perceive death and cope with it. With a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the documentary is directed by Jeffrey Friedman and Rob Epstein and follows how Zen Hospital in San Francisco guides its terminally ill patients through palliative care, counseling, and hospice. The hospital also helps families prepare for the passing of a family member through coaching. The documentary is streaming on Netflix.
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Period. End of Sentence (2018)
"I can't believe a film about menstruation just won an Oscar,” Rayka Zehtabchi, the director of the short film, said in her acceptance speech in 2019. Rayka, was 25 years old at the time and had graduated from college a couple of years ago. Perhaps, it was appropriate given the 25-minute documentary follows a group of women from a small village in India, who were stigmatised for getting their periods. In 2013, Melissa Berton took a group of her students to the Annual Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations. They learned about the problem of period poverty and about Arunachalam Muruganantham, who invented a machine that manufactures sanitary pads out of natural, locally-sourced materials at a comparatively low cost. These students helped raise $55,000 to ensure these rural women from India could manufacture and distribute sanitary pads for lower costs. The film is streaming on Netflix and Youtube.
My Beautiful, Broken Brain (2014)
If you woke up tomorrow and forgot everything you know about ‘language’, how would you communicate with the world? What happens when you suddenly render yourself incapable of writing, reading, and speaking and start living in a world bereft of words? This is not a plot for a horror movie, but an actual condition called Aphasia. In 2011, a 34-year-old Lotje Sodderland suffers a hemorrhagic stroke. She barely survives, unfortunately though, she loses her ability to speak, read and write to Aphasia. And, what does she do? She begins recording herself almost immediately after her accident to record her journey living a new normal. The film is directed by the legendary film-maker, David Lynch and is streaming on Netflix.
Icarus (2017)
Remember Lance Armstrong? Once a champion cyclist, Lance was banned from the sport in 2012 after being caught for using ‘performance enhancing drugs’. A couple of years later after Armstrong’s ban, filmmaker Bryan Fogel set out to explore how much of an unfair advantage these ‘performance drugs’ give to the athletes. The director began injecting himself with drugs and recording his participation in amateur cycle races. Half way through the film though, the film uncovers something way sinister as Fogel and Russian scientist Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov ended up blowing the state-sponsored Olympic doping scandal in Russia. As a result, Russia was banned from taking part in the Winter Olympics of 2017. Icarus has a rating of 8/10 on IMDb and is streaming on Netflix.
Also Read: For The Man Who Puts Himself Last: Silent Health Risks Every Father Should Screen For
Cooked (2016)
Are you tired of the same old ‘Vegetarian VS Non-Vegetarian’ debate? Do you feel the culinary world is divided between these binaries and there should be a fresh perspective? If yes, then Cooked, a documentary series by author and journalist, Michael Pollan who is on a self-described mission to ‘change the way people eat’. The docu-series argues for balance rather than choosing sides in the Veg/Non-Veg debate. Pollan warns against factory farming but makes a case for eating ethically sourced meat, questions modern day bread production while pushing back about the widespread gluten free movement, and points a finger at misdirected government farm subsidies. The series has earned praises from both the audience and the critics for its ‘balanced approach’ and is streaming on Netflix.
Conclusion
The above mentioned documentaries and films serve as a great source of knowledge and entertainment. However you should rely on a medical professional for any health related queries, rather than relying on movies, documentaries and social media for information on health.