Autostraddle Roundtable: We Love Documentaries

Nora, Fashion and Beauty Editor

1971 (2015) // Netflix

This film is about a group of friends living outside Philadelphia who become fed up with FBI’s intimidation of anti-Vietnam War activists. The crew plans a caper, stealing thousands of files from their local FBI office and submitting them, pre-Watergate, to The Washington Post. If nothing else, watching lawmakers of the era actually work together to protect Americans is pretty shocking.

The Black Power Mixtape: 1967-1975 (2011) // Google Play, Amazon

The footage used in this documentary was shot in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, and was lost for 30 years in the basement of Swedish Television! It features Angela Davis, Eldridge Cleaver, and various other luminaries discussing race, economics, incarceration, and power in mid-20th century America. Between the subjects’ knowledge and the extremely groovy footage, this film is thoroughly worth a rainy day watch party.

The Imposter (2012) // Netflix, Google Play

In 1994, Nicholas Barclay disappeared from San Antonio, Texas; three years later, a young man in Spain identified himself to authorities as the missing teen. I feel like I still don’t fully understand what’s going on in this documentary, but its extreme weirdness makes it worth watching. Bonus: this shirt.

KaeLyn, Staff Writer

We Were Here (2010) // Hulu, Netflix, iTunes, Amazon Video, YouTube, Google Play

The actual best documentary about the historical and more importantly, the community impact of the AIDS Epidemic, featuring survivors and advocates from the San Francisco AIDS Epidemic. I show this every year in my LGBT history class and it is the best I’ve seen to truly feel what AIDS was and meant if you were lucky enough to not live through it.

Kuma Hina: A Place in the Middle (2014) // Netflix, YouTube, Google Play

This documentary follows Kuma Hina, a Native Hawaiian community leader, kumu (teacher), and māhū (transgender woman) that explores the struggle between Pacific Islander culture and Western colonization in Hawaiʻi. Kuma Hina encourages a young girl to take the lead role in an all-male hula troup as she teaches and practices the cultural traditions of Hawaiʻi in an increasingly Westernized world. This movie is so real and beautiful, it will cut you delicately.

Before You Know It (2012) // iTunes, Amazon Video, YouTube, Google Play, Vudu

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6USE8Ph6Qgk

This film follows three gay seniors as they navigate community, self-identity, and love in our community that prioritizes youth and beauty. It’s a really beautiful documentary that’s surprisingly hopeful? It will definitely change how you feel about gay elders.

Pay It No Mind: The Life and Times of Marsha P. Johnson (2012)

There’s a newer documentary about Marsha P. Johnson that is on the festival circuit and is coming to Netflix soon, but I haven’t watched that one yet. This 2012 doc is available free from the filmmaker on YouTube and it’s really heartfelt and lets Marsha speak for herself, including a ton of clips from a 1992 interview before her death. I love hearing her words directly from her mouth and it makes me heart hurt every time I watch it because she deserved so much more.

Priya, Staff Writer

The Keepers (2017) // Netflix

This 7-episode series follows the investigation into the 1969 murder of Sister Cathy Cesnik. A harrowing tale that soon weaves in scores of people beyond Cesnik, this documentary series struck me in the heart. It’s powerful, emotional, and, in my opinion, so incredibly We find out what Cesnik may have been up to in her last days, but unlike a true crime documentary, finding her killer turns out to be one of the least importa

Heather Hogan, Senior Editor

Dixie Chicks: Shut Up And Sing (2005) // Amazon

Yep, what Kayla and Erin said.

Hoop Dreams (1994) // Netflix

https://youtu.be/kjrXyuTnM88

I watched Hoop Dreams when I was the a freshman on my high school basketball team. It was a profound experience. It’s the first time I ever felt like a piece of art was actually being honest with me. I love a happy ending. I love a good Disney movie, even. But it was life-changing in the most important ways to witness how the intersections of oppression conspire against minorities in America, especially young black kids, no matter how talented they are or how hard they work. I grew up in one of the most racist places in the country with everyone around me insisting racism was over. Hoop Dreams was the ruthless truth. It remains the truth.