Social & Cultural Documentaries on Netflix
Last updated December 26, 2024
Who Killed the Electric Car?
2006 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsAmid a volatile climate of ever-changing gas prices, this documentary delves into the short life of the GM EV1 electric car -- a fuel-efficient auto that was once all the rage in the mid-1990s and now has fallen by the roadside. How could such a green-friendly vehicle fail to transform lives? Through interviews with government officials, former GM employees and concerned celebs, filmmaker Chris Paine seeks to find out.
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Money and Medicine
2012 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsAs rising health care costs threaten to bankrupt the country, Money and Medicine is a documentary that tackles the medical, ethical and financial challenges of containing runaway health care spending.
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How Weed Won the West
2010 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsFilmmaker Kevin Booth (American Drug War) offers this documentary that chronicles the exploding popularity of medical marijuana dispensaries in California and the mixed response from law enforcement agencies. Focusing on the controversial story of Organica, a legal Los Angeles pot club that was raided in 2009, the film also includes insights from a range of medical marijuana advocates, including a former LAPD cop.
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Gerhard Richter Painting
2011 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsRenowned painter Gerhard Richter reveals both his fascinating creative process and his famously grumpy personality in this documentary. Richter's unique method includes using both modified squeegees and brushes to create his abstract masterpieces.
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The Devil Came on Horseback
2007 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsIn this unflinching documentary chronicling the genocide in Darfur, former Marine Capt. Brian Steidle is forever transformed by the atrocities he witnesses as a military observer for the African Union.
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Planet B-Boy
2007 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsThis Tribeca Film Festival selection affords viewers exclusive access to the underground world of break dancing, charting the highs and lows of five B-boy teams practicing for the all-important "Battle of the Year." Combining stunning dance footage from Japan, Germany, South Korea, France and the United States, documentarian Benson Lee sets out to show that break dancing didn't fade into history -- it merely evolved into a remarkable art form.
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West of Memphis
2012 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsAfter the 1994 conviction of three troubled teens for the murders of three younger boys, questions began to arise about the prosecution of the case, with numerous legal experts and celebrities demanding that previously ignored evidence be examined.
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A Mother's Courage: Talking Back to Autism
2009 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsMargrét Dagmar Ericsdóttir embarks on a quest to find answers about autism, which renders her 11-year-old son, Keli, unable to communicate. Across the United States and Europe, Ericsdóttir encounters autism experts exploring promising new methods.
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Reincarnated
2012 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsIn a cloud of smoke, Vice magazine's Andy Capper follows rapper Snoop Dogg on a pilgrimage to Jamaica, where he experiences a spiritual and commercial transformation, reemerging as Snoop Lion, a reggae artist.
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Transcendent Man
2009 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsInventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil is the subject of this documentary that follows him on a world speaking tour in which he expounds on his ideas about the merging of man and machine, which he predicts will occur in the not-so-distant future. The visionary who invented the first text-to-speech synthesizer and much more raises eyebrows here with his wildly optimistic views of a technology-enhanced future.
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GLOW: The Story of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling
2012 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsVia the rose-tinted memories of the women who lived it, this engaging documentary chronicles the fleeting cultural phenomenon that was "The Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling," a weekly show that elevated its female grapplers to star status in the 1980s.
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The Interrupters
2011 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsThis powerful documentary follows CeaseFire, a Chicago-based group -- staffed by former gang members -- that's dedicated to wiping out urban violence. The organization treats violence like an infection and seeks to eradicate the root cause.
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Just Like Being There
2012 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsNearly 50 years after the first iconic concert posters, meet contemporary artists who've brought gig posters into the mainstream. This documentary profiles Jay Ryan, Daniel Danger, Kevin Tong and others who share a passion for this singular art form.
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Page One: Inside the New York Times
2011 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsDocumentarian Andrew Rossi goes inside the New York Times to examine how the venerable paper and its reporters are responding to the massive changes in how news is gathered, analyzed and dispersed.
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Love the Beast
2009 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsActor and director Eric Bana examines his own fixation with cars and chronicles his attempts to compete in the treacherous Targa Tasmania race. But can his Ford XB Falcon Coupe -- aka "the Beast" -- endure this grueling five-day affair?
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They Call It Myanmar: Lifting the Curtain
2012 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsShot clandestinely over a two-year period in the second-most isolated country on the planet, Burma, this documentary lifts the curtain to expose everyday life in a country that has been held in the iron grip of a brutal military regime for 48 years.
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The Square (Trailer)
2014 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsThe citizens of Egypt take to the streets of Cairo and seize control of their government after years of corrupt rule in this inspiring documentary that captures a popular revolution as it battles police, the military and even special interest groups.
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Generation RX
2008 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsFilmmaker Kevin P. Miller offers this unflinching examination of the unsettling trend in the American medical establishment toward prescribing powerful psychiatric drugs for children more often -- and at a younger age -- than ever before. Families devastated by the consequences of overmedication share their stories, and doctors, ethicists and other medical professionals weigh in on whether pharmaceutical companies put profits before patients.
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Imaginary Witness: Hollywood and the Holocaust
2004 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsFilmmaker Daniel Anker examines Hollywood's depiction of the Holocaust and its incomprehensible atrocities in this award-winning documentary narrated by Gene Hackman and featuring interviews with Steven Spielberg and Sidney Lumet. Through film clips, newsreels, scholars' comments and firsthand accounts, the documentary also questions the responsibility of filmmakers in retelling history and the effects of film portrayals on the social psyche.
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Pink Ribbons, Inc.
2011 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsWho really benefits from the pink ribbon campaigns: the cause or the company? In showing the real story of breast cancer and the lives of those who fight it, this film reveals the co-opting of what marketing experts have labeled a "dream cause."
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Beautiful Losers
2008 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsFilmmakers Aaron Rose and Joshua Leonard profile a collective of underground artists and filmmakers -- including Harmony Korine and Shepard Fairey -- whose work made an indelible mark on mainstream fashion, film and music in the 1990s.
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The Horse Boy
2009 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsWhen conventional therapies fail to help their autistic son, Rupert and Kristin Isaacson travel with Rowan to Mongolia in the hopes that a combination of traditional shamanic healing and horseback riding will benefit him.
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Kimjongilia
2009 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsMarked by a long history of repression and information control, North Korea continues to scrupulously monitor the activities of its citizens. This exposé reveals daily life under a totalitarian regime as well as the stories of prison camp survivors. Filmmaker N.C. Heikin draws on her artistic sensibility as a dancer and performer to craft a stylish documentary that bears a surprising message of hope and inspiration.
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Pina
2011 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsWim Wenders directs to arresting effect in this performance documentary about Pina Bausch's Tanztheater Wuppertal dance company. Performing alfresco in Wuppertal, Germany, the troupe's pieces include "The Rite of Spring."
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49 Up
2005 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsIn 1964, a filmmaker interviewed a diverse group of 7-year-olds and vowed to track their lives every seven years. Now, those "kids" are 49 years old. This documentary series reveals how Apted's subjects collectively serve as a microcosm of society.
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