Documentaries to Check Out

Movies give us a chance to get lost in fictional worlds, and immerse ourselves in the lives of the characters on screen. As great as fictional stories can be, true stories often have the power to evoke stronger emotions.

Documentaries often get a bad rap for being boring, but the right stories can capture your attention and get you enthralled. The best ones don’t even rely on the perks that movies are afforded, like suspense. We all know how a documentary about JFK is going to end, but if it’s a good one it can have you on the edge of your seat. 

With that being said, here are some documentaries that I’ve enjoyed, and that you might want to check out for yourself.

The Last Dance

Directed by Jason Hehir

As a lifelong Bulls fan, it’s impossible to leave this one off the list. Getting an inside look at the locker room during Chicago’s dynastic run in the 90’s, hearing stories from Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Gary Payton, Magic Johnson, and other legends of the NBA, what more could an NBA fan ask for?

Now, was it 100% candid? Probably not. Were parts of it pro-Jordan propaganda? Perhaps. But I think the documentary did a good job of representing everything that really happened, even if it had a bit of an agenda behind it. 

Being released during the pandemic probably added to the aura surrounding it, since it became the closest thing we’ve seen to appointment television since TiVos arrived on the scene (that might be a slight exaggeration). Even my family, who usually don’t care much about sports, sat down to watch it whenever a new episode was released. It prompted some stories from my mom during her college years, when every TV in the state of Indiana would have the game on if the Bulls and Michael Jordan were playing Reggie Miller and his tough, gritty Pacers. 

I won’t go as far as to say this was equally a documentary on 90’s culture as it was a sports documentary, but in the same way Jordan himself transcended basketball during his playing years, this documentary transcended the sports crowd and became a brief staple of quarantine conversations, especially here in Chicagoland.

O.J.: Made in America

By Ezra Edelman

This documentary was, in my opinion, a masterpiece. Upon looking it up, you might be discouraged by the nearly 8 hour run time. I promise you, it’s seriously worth it. Ezra Edelman takes a deep dive into the murder of OJ Simpson’s ex-wife, Nicole Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles, and the ensuing frenzy. OJ Simpson was immediately a prime suspect, and it must have been jarring. The former NFL superstar? The actor and celebrity? The guy with the charming smile from the Hertz commercials? I don’t know what the appropriate comparison would be to a celebrity today, but imagine, for example, you woke up tomorrow and Tom Brady was the prime suspect in Giselle’s murder. It must’ve been jarring. From start to finish the incidents surrounding the OJ trial were bizarre: fleeing in the Bronco on national television, glove antics in the courtroom, and a book titled “If I Did It” released by Simpson himself after he was acquitted. 

The documentary takes a brief look at OJ’s life leading up to the incident, before taking a deep dive into one of the defining factors of the OJ trial: America’s race relations. America has obviously struggled with racial injustice throughout its history, but leading up to the trial tensions were particularly high, especially in Los Angeles. The early 90s in LA saw racial tensions explode, sparked by several incidents including the brutal beating of Rodney King, and the subsequent acquittal of the police officers responsible. Increasing tensions culminated in the 1992 Los Angeles riots, and when OJ was accused of murder in 1994, it quickly divided the country along racial lines. The documentary’s exploration of America’s racial tensions, its celebrity obsession, and the mania surrounding public criminal trials creates a thrilling story and gives you a sense of what it was like to be caught up in the phenomenon that was the OJ Simpson trial.  

Panic: The Untold Story of the 2008 Financial Crisis

By VICE

I don’t know a ton about the financial crisis or its causes, and usually I’m not much of an expert on politics, but this documentary was quite an interesting watch. The best part of this doc is the wide variety of interviews that are scattered throughout, from George Bush to Barack Obama to Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JP Morgan. As nerdy as it may sound, hearing about the details of the crash from the perspective of the people involved was informative and intriguing.