Martyn Mendyuk
It’s surprising how quickly “Trivia Crack” became a thing. A few weeks ago I knew only a handful of people who played it on and off. Now I get requests for games on an hourly basis, and even the more elderly members of my family are playing.
So, to give you the upper hand in your next trivia game, here are some great documentaries to impart knowledge unto you. All of the films below are available on Netflix, as well as for rent on YouTube.
30 Days (TV Show)
Everybody knows Morgan Spurlock. He’s the guy from “Supersize Me” who ate McDonalds for a month to prove it was unhealthy. What most people don’t know is that in 2005 Morgan Spurlock created a TV series called “30 days.”
The basis of 30 days is this: A person with a very strong political viewpoint is sent into enemy territory for a month, and is recorded as they explore a totally new world that they used to be wholly against. Topics include an anti-marriage equality man becoming a roommate with a gay man, an Islamaphobe living amongst a family of Muslims and observing Muslim tradition, and an anti-immigration man living with a family of illegal immigrants. Every episode is intensely interesting.
We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks (Movie)
Over the course of the last few years, government leaks have become extremely important and prominent in our news. It seems like every day there’s a new whistleblower out there, showing American citizens the things they have a right to know, and being subsequently chased by the government.
“We Steal Secrets” is about the infamous platform “Wikileaks “ to which many secretive government documents have been leaked by whistleblowers over the last few years. The movie features interviews with many famous modern day whistleblowers and hackers like Chelsea Manning and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
Zeitgeist (Movie Series)
Zeitgeist began as somewhat of a performance piece, released for free on YouTube. The original documentary style movie explored different conspiracy theories, questioning everything ranging from the war in Iraq to the roots of contemporary religion. Although the original film didn’t hold much real merit and didn’t take itself too seriously, it spawned several movements and later, several sequels.
The sequels to Zeitgeist have explored themes including political corruption, the war on drugs, and the loss of personal freedoms. Although the first movie began as somewhat of a joke, its predecessors have slowly begun to morph into full documentaries, with some really interesting points to discuss.
Plus it’s still available to watch for free on YouTube.
