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I created this list as a means to share documentaries that I personally find to be monumental in understanding aspects of Western history. Growing up there were many topics I "learned" about or heard in brief passing that were never elaborated upon. Things which never really had proper context and existed as mysterious and disjointed events that were never given more than a few paragraphs in our textbooks. I hope that with this list others will also be able to fill in those blanks and have better contextual understanding of so much of America's history (As well as parts of Europe) that are glossed over and outright ignored (or warped to form idealized narratives). Please note that of these documentaries are of course just starting points. I recommend you springboard off of these to do further research. These are not meant to be the End All Be All 'The End' kind of list. This list is simply meant to expand understanding and context. ((Note: I will continue to update this list over time))
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TitlePublisher/CompanyYearTopics CoveredWhere to WatchSummary
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How US Neo-Nazism Actually Works | Authorized Account | Insider2025Domestic Terrorism, White supremacy, history, racismhttps://youtu.be/d-g3Z8IWsdU?si=ZD9K75m-PgDupHURA look into the rise of the US far-right focusing on 1970s-present from an ex-Hammerskin. Share stories like these whenever possible, they give invaluable looks into how people get sucked in, think, change & operate. Also covers their clashes with Antifa & SHARP
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Fannie Lou Hamer's America | Full Film | America ReFramed2022 (?)History, Black empowerment, racism, white supremacy, civil rights, votinghttps://youtu.be/5h2MzXavgEg?si=fXwF4dNZCKIUE5x0Fannie Lou Hamer's America is a portrait of civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer. Through evocative speech and soulful song, Hamer made it her life's work to enfranchise and increase Black political representation.
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Bad Faith: Christian Nationalism's Unholy War on Democracy,'2024Domestic Terrorism, White supremacy, historyhttps://tubitv.com/movies/100020971/bad-faithreveals how Christian Nationalist leaders have spread fear and anger for decades, distorting political issues into Biblical battles between good and evil. Financed through the secretive Council for National Policy, Christian Nationalists have succeeded in taking over the Republican Party, turning it into a powerful weapon to demolish democracy from within. Discover the origins of this organized grasp for power and the grassroots coalition of secular and interfaith leaders bravely confronting the unholy forces threatening democracy.
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Ahead of the Curve2020LGBTQ History, Lesbian identity,(focus on 1980s to present day)https://www.netflix.com/title/81747870AHEAD OF THE CURVE chronicles the outrageous adventures of Franco Stevens, the woman who started the most successful lesbian magazine in the world in the '90s, and her journey to understand what queer women need today.
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Against All Enemies2023Domestic Terrorism, White supremacy, historyhttps://tv.apple.com/us/movie/against-all-enemies/umc.cmc.6rulep4q4mvc6wfyy65halnv6Over one thousand people have been charged with storming the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, as part of a widely televised insurrection attempt. Approximately 15% of them worked as police or military personnel. This staggering statistic begs an important question: how can a service member who took an oath to protect the country’s democracy do something that puts that very democracy in jeopardy?
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Invisible History: Middle Florida's Hidden Roots2021Racism, Black History, Civil Rights, Education, White suprmacy, systematic issueshttps://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0B5PSV9K5/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_rFlorida State University film school presents a new documentary that sheds light on the little-known history of plantations and the enslaved in North Florida. The film seeks to advance a sense of place and identity for hundreds of thousands of African Americans by exploring the invisible history of slavery in Leon County.
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White Savior: Racism In The American Church2019white supremacy, racism, history, civil rights, https://www.amazon.com/White-Savior-Racism-American-Church/dp/B07ZS6B9FB/Despite the progress many see in the US over the years, it' become increasingly clear that the deep roots of racism and white supremacy continue to run through our political, cultural, and religious institutions. White Savior explores the historic relationship between racism and American Christianity, the ongoing segregation of the church in the US, and the complexities of racial reconciliation.
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Subnormal2021Racism, Black History, Civil Rights, Educationhttps://www.amazon.com/Subnormal-Lyttanya-Shannon/dp/B09G9TM2NYExamining one of the biggest scandals in the history of British education, Subnormal: A British Scandal reveals how Black children in the 1960s-70s were disproportionately sent to schools for the so-called “educationally subnormal.” This gripping documentary recounts how Black parents, teachers and activists banded together to expose the injustice and force the education system to change
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My Name is Pauli Murray2021Black History, Civil Rights, Gender Equality, LGBTQ Historyhttps://www.amazon.com/My-Name-Pauli-Murray/dp/B09DMPMWCPA look at the life and ideas of Pauli Murray, a non-binary Black lawyer, activist and poet who influenced both Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Thurgood Marshall
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Gather2020Native American History, Food, Film history, racism, white supremacyNetflixThis documentary takes a close look at Indigenous American movements that aim to rediscover identity and reclaim sovereignty through ancestral foods.
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Queer Japan2020Queer/LGBTQ+ History, politics, culture, Japanhttps://www.amazon.com/Queer-Japan-Hiroshi-Hasegawa/dp/B08PZD39J3Trailblazing artists, activists, and everyday people from across the spectrum of gender and sexuality defy social norms and dare to live unconventional lives in this kaleidoscopic view of LGBTQ+ culture in contemporary Japan.
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RBG (Ruth Bader Ginsburg)2018Sex Discrimination in the United States 1950s-present day. Sexism in the legal worldNetflix and http://www.magpictures.com/rbg/watch-at-home/The exceptional life and career of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who has developed a breathtaking legal legacy while becoming an unexpected pop culture icon.
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Hating Peter Tatchell2021Queer/LGBTQ+ History, politicsNetflixThe profound life story of the controversial human rights campaigner whose provocative acts of civil disobedience rocked the establishment, revolutionised attitudes to homosexuality and exposed tyrants in the fight for equality.
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9 to 5: The Story of a Movement2021Sexism, Feminism, equal rights, racismNetflixan organization established to improve working conditions and ensuring the rights of women and families.
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Crack: Cocaine, Corruption & Conspiracy20211980s, politics, police corruption, racism, inner-city povertyhttps://www.netflix.com/title/80988518A cheap, powerful drug emerges during a recession, igniting a moral panic fueled by racism. Explore the complex history of crack in the 1980s.
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The Politics of HateJourneyman Pictures2017How White supremacy, Anti-semitism, Anti-civil rights pushers, etc. spread from 1900 to 2017. Prominent Americans from 1920s and onward who were pro-fascist and perpetuated white supremacyhttps://www.amazon.com/Politics-Hate-Christian-Picciolini/dp/B075Z8YF96A far-reaching investigation into the rise of the far-right in Europe and America.
At 16 he became the leader of the Chicago Area Skinheads, later a white supremacist punk band. But when Christian Picciolini started a family, he began questioning his far right views. This timely doc explores a changing Western political climate, chronicling the rise of the far right in the US and Europe, and giving alarming insights into the ways the alt-right movement operates.
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Whose Streets?Magnolia Pictures2017Ferguson, BLM, Police Brutality, Police Militarization, Chemical Warfare against citizens, Racism, Queer black women in the BLM movementNetflixAn account of the Ferguson uprising as told by the people who lived it. The filmmakers look at how the killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown inspired a community to fight back and sparked a global movement.
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Reel InjunNational Filmboard of Canada & Rezolution Pictures2009Native American History, Film history, racism, white supremacyhttps://www.pbs.org/independentlens/films/reel-injun/
Travelling through the heartland of America, Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond looks at how the myth of 'the Injun' has influenced the world's understanding - and misunderstanding - of Natives.
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Birth of a MovementPBS Documentaries2017white supremacy, early black scholars fighting Jim Crow implementationhttps://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B06XH67D8J/ref=atv_wl_hom_c_unkc_1_1In 1915, civil rights activist William Monroe Trotter waged a battle against D.W. Griffith's notoriously Ku Klux Klan-friendly blockbuster The Birth of a Nation, which unleashed a fight still raging today about race relations and representation, and the power and influence of Hollywood.
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Policing the Police 2020PBS Documentaries2020police brutality, racismhttps://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/policing-the-police-2020/George Floyd’s killing triggered mass demonstrations nationwide calling for racial justice and police accountability in the United States. In the wake of those protests, New Yorker writer and historian Jelani Cobb returns to a troubled police department he first visited four years ago (Policing the Police) to examine whether reform can work, and how police departments can be held accountable.
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Homegrown HateABC2020white supremacyhttps://youtu.be/bCPwrnk66pMThe documentary event special investigates hate & white supremacy in America, hosted by Linsey Davis.
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Asian AmericansPBS Documentaries2020(3 parts) Asian American History, racismhttps://www.amazon.com/Asian-Americans-Season-1/dp/B088C3XZCYTold through intimate and personal lives, the series will cast a new lens on U.S. history and the ongoing role that Asian Americans have played in shaping the nation’s story.(3 parts)
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Who Put The Klan Into Ku Klux KlanBBC2018white supremacyhttps://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B07B9LWP8Z/ref=atv_wl_hom_c_unkc_1_28In this surprising documentary, archaeologist and historian Neil Oliver examines the links between racism today in the Deep South and the Scots who first occupied it.
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Liberty & Slavery: The Paradox of America's Founding FathersInertia Films2016Slavery, racism, Founding Fathers history with slaveryhttps://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B081B9FVFH/ref=atv_wl_hom_c_unkc_1_27Travel with us back in time to better understand the men responsible for America's greatest victories - and most heinous sins. Watch as "Liberty & Slavery" explores the paradox of America's Founding Fathers being champions of liberty - and yet simultaneously champions of slavery.
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Columbus In AmericaZinn Education Project2018Context of how Columbus became an American symbol, slavery, religionhttps://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B07GTH3N5V/ref=atv_wl_hom_c_unkc_1_29How did Christopher Columbus, the man who first brutalized the inhabitants of the New World, become a hero in a nation guilty of its own atrocities against Indigenous peoples? The controversy surrounding one of America's most useful and enduring symbols is reignited every year, as a generation of people raised on instant access to information are learning what isn't taught in class.
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Horror Noire: A History of Black HorrorShudder2019Black history, racism, Film Historyhttps://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B07NDQLVS7/ref=atv_wl_hom_c_unkc_1_22HORROR NOIRE traces an untold history of Black Americans through their connection to the horror film genre.
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Disclosure2020LGBTQ History, Transgender History, prejudice, Film Hilstoryhttps://www.netflix.com/title/81284247DISCLOSURE is an unprecedented, eye-opening look at transgender depictions in film and television, revealing how Hollywood simultaneously reflects and manufactures our deepest anxieties about gender.
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Circus of Books2019LGBTQ+ History, politicshttps://www.netflix.com/title/81011569In 1976 a couple take over an adult book store, and the store becomes the biggest distributor of gay porn in the United States.
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Transmilitary2018LGBTQ History, Transgender History, US Militaryhttp://www.transmilitary.org/see-the-filmAt a time when transgender people are banned from serving in the U.S. military, four transgender troops risking discharge fight to attain the freedom they so fiercely protect. 2018 SXSW Audience Award Winner, Best Documentary.
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I Am Not Your Negro2017Black history, racismhttps://www.netflix.com/browse/genre/2243108?bc=34399&jbv=80144402 Based on James Baldwin's unfinished book, this visual essay explores racism through the stories of Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.
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John Lewis: Good Trouble2020Black History, Politicshttps://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B087QQQVKC/ref=atv_wl_hom_c_unkc_1_14An intimate account of legendary U.S. Representative John Lewis’ life, legacy and more than 60 years of extraordinary activism - from the bold teenager on the front lines of the Civil Rights movement to the legislative powerhouse.
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They Gotta Have UsNetflix2018Black Cinema, Film Historyhttps://www.netflix.com/title/81243942Powered by candid recollections from esteemed African-American entertainers, this docuseries traces the history of Black cinema.
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Good Hair2009Internalized Racism, exploitation in the black hair care industryChris Rock hops around the world going from beauty salons to science labs to comb through the mystery of African American hair. Rock contemplates the purpose and application of a weave as well as women's self-esteem and their locks.
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