I’m gonna be
completely honest with you, gentle reader, I’m not the biggest fan of making
lists. But then again also not a fan of picking just one favorite movie, album,
or song. Any time someone asks me to
name my all-time favorite film or book or album, I begin to sweat, panic and
rattle off a laundry list of my top favorites.
I never have and never will have a single favorite movie, but I can tell
you (roughly) what my favorite films are.
Since my lists are constantly evolving, changing and shifting to add new
and revise the old, I will never have a complete or comprehensive list. Always
a work in progress.
Now then, I would be remiss if I
didn’t introduce you, to one such ever ‘evolving’ list of mine. This list is of
documentaries I’ve seen over the years and would implore you to seek out and
watch. This list is by no means
complete and it will continue to be added to as I continue to seek out and
enjoy as many offbeat and amazing documentaries as humanly possible. As it stands, this list will be broken up
into as many parts as I can muster, more parts to follow if this initial outing
goes well.
The first documentary to have an
impact on me at a young age was Martin’ Bell’s film Streetwise, a film that follows the lives of homeless teens and
kids in 1983 Seattle. Around the same
time I was introduced to Michael Moore’s 1989 documentary Roger & Me, a film about the closure of the GM plants in Flint,
Michigan and the effect this had on the town’s citizens and economy. I caught the documentary bug badly after
that. I found myself sneaking in
episodes of Ken Burn’s specials and feverishly watching and re-watching Baraka.
I had a problem and it wasn’t until a recent viewing of King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters that I came to face my demons; I am a
documentary addict. So, I figured, what
better way to face my problem then to share it with the world? So come along with me, kids and cadets and
lets all take a great big hit of real life on film and be somebody...
Monster Camp (2007)
The first documentary on this list
lays bare the dark and endearingly dorky world of live action role playing, or
as the kids like to call it, LARPing.
Directed by Cullen Hoback, the film follows the lives of a group of men
and women who dress up as monsters, wizards and warriors to battle it out with
foam weapons and bags of seed as they struggle to survive in a world fraught
with magic and mayhem. To be fair, the
world isn’t all that dangerous, it’s a local park and the only thing that
usually comes out bruised by the end of the day is another player’s ego. The film is riveting and sheds light on a
whole gaming sub-culture few know about.
For these folks, it’s the closest thing to playing World of Warcraft or Dungeons
& Dragons in real life.
A Paralyzing Fear: The Story of Polio in America (1998)
Narrated by Olmpia Dukakis, this
film is an in-depth look at the polio epidemic that struck America starting at
the end of the 19th century and took hold of so many lives
throughout the early to mid 20th century. Using a combination of archival footage and interviews, the film
paints a grim picture of the terror and fear that ruled over both children and
adults in a time when little was known about the polio virus. The film also introduces us to the birth of
the March of Dimes and follows the tireless efforts of Doctor Jonas Salk as he
struggled to find a cure for the seemingly incurable. Those growing up in this day and age have no idea what our
parents and grandparents had to deal with and this film sheds a light on that
fear in a very real way.
Not Your Typical Bigfoot Movie (2008)
The title says it all and it does
not lie, this is not your typical Bigfoot movie. Directed by Jay Delaney, the film follows the lives of
self-professed Bigfoot experts Dallas Gilbert and his best friend Wayne Burton
on their quest to reveal to the world, the truth about one of history’s
greatest mysteries. As the men scour
the woods of Appalachian Ohio for the elusive man-beast, their friendship gets
put to the test. What would seem to be a film about the mysterious quickly
turns into a film about friendship, struggle and the power of belief. To the viewer, the evidence is simply not
there, but to Dallas and Wayne, the proof seems to be staring them down from
the primeval depths of the woods they spend so much time exploring.
The Rock-afire Explosion (2008)
Back before Chuck E. Cheese
terrorized countless children across this great nation of ours, there was a
collection of robotic misfits who formed a band and did the same job as that
iconic corporate rat, only better. The
Rock-afire Explosion was the brainchild of inventor Aaron Fechter, and ran for
nearly a decade in Showbiz Pizza stores until they merged with Chuck E. Cheese
in the early 90’s. While the show is
long gone, there are a small group of hard-core fans that have purchased their
own shows and now keep the spirit of The Rock-afire Explosion alive. I went into this documentary curious,
intrigued, and not having any idea what I was about to get myself into. It now sits right up there with King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, as one of my all-time favorite documentaries
focused exclusively on pop-culture. A niche category I know.
Well kids and cadets, that’s it for
the time being. I’ve given you a fair
list of films to seek out. Please feel
free to give me your own recommendations in the comments below. I intend to continue this series on occasion, giving you a few more documentaries to seek out. Until next time, keep watching the screens.
-Colin
(the Devourer of Worlds)
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