Documentary Watch//Cocaine Cowboys Reloaded

WHERE Netflix
WHAT Cocaine Cowboys Reloaded
THOUGHTS
First, as an artist, I just love the design of the poster. An uzi made of cocaine perfectly sums up Miami in the 70’s and 80’s. I’m not the biggest fan of gangster films, Miami, or doing coke so this was all knew to me. Miami’s history of smuggling is quite romantic in a way, and I found myself hating the law for trying to put a stop to it. Which is so strange because coke is the worst; seriously. Any other drug is fine. Ish. Not meth. Or bath salts. But coke just wrecks your body. WRECKS. Nevertheless, it built the Miami skyline, brought us some pretty great music, and I’m assuming, some pretty great times for people. It also placed some of the craziness of Florida in context, which begs the question, what IS Florida? What IS Miami? I didn’t know the Miami of the now is so new, which again puts it into a context I hadn’t thought of before. I’ve only ever been to Miami once, briefly, to board a cruise ship. I only remember the street art.

The documentary is long. very long. It’s a little over 2.5 hours but I feel like an armchair expert on the subject of Miami cocaine smuggling. I found it better than any dramatized film on coke. Or smuggling. And everyone felt so sincere. For the most part; it began with a kind of romantic view of smuggling with pilots and captains of boats smuggling some pot and coke here and there… that is, until Columbia got involved until the drug violence of Columbia spilled over into the game and changed it forever; it does a great job of not demonizing the Columbian people for their particular way of life at the time, which I really liked. (There’s nothing worse than armchair anthropologists assuming their way is the best way. It’s too ironic.)

There’s also unintentional comedic moments in some of the interviews. Well, or I’m just a dick. Below is a paraphrased script that I found hilarious. Pause-the-movie-hilarious!

“I was a model. He was a photographer so I posed for him. He bought me everything I wanted. I didn’t know he was into coke. But, I rarely saw him because he lived in Columbia.”

Like, I’m not at all saying all Columbian’s are into coke. That’s absurd and impossible. But I am saying, that if you’re dating someone who pays everything in cash, has erratic moods, is not Columbian but lives in Columbia, and has his own plane, it’s reasonable to assume that A: he isn’t a real photographer, and B: he’s probably into coke.  It’s the kind of comedy that only reflection brings.

Watch it, though. It’s a pretty amazing documentary.

Documentary Watch//Das Goebbels-Experiment

WHERE Netflix
WHAT Das Goebbels-Experiment
THOUGHTS
Good. God. Propaganda is one helluva drug. I recall Adolf Hitler once writing that the propaganda machine of Britain and the USA during World War 1 was the reason why Germany lost that war, and so Germany would have a stronger machine pumping out speeches, posters, and films the second time around… which is terrifying when you thinking about the timing of things. He wrote that in Mein Kampf before his rise to power. Quite the chess player, I think. Put let’s cut straight through the bullshit: everyone who lead the Third Reich was evil. Their propaganda was based on the concept of the Other, rallying their society around a particular enemies, and creating those kinds of lies that feel like their true, because someone is yelling it or putting it up on the billboard. It’s an uncomfortable genius and I’m only happy that  Goebbels was constantly depressed, moody, sad, and lonely. It’s like watching the life of a villain, but you’re rooting for the other guys at the conference.

 

Documentary Watch // The Woman Who Wasn’t There

WHERE Netflix
WHAT The Woman Who Wasn’t There
THOUGHTS
Yikes. I can’t even begin to imaging the villain who sees the tragedy that was 9/11 as an opportunity for attention. For whatever reason, Alicia Esteve Head decided that it was this moment in history to steal a part of the spotlight for herself. As an outsider who idolized Americans, I can understand the appeal of wanting to be apart of that countries tragedy. But, girl, the key to any lie regardless of size, is to have some grain of truth involved. For example, it’s a good idea to make sure you’re in the country. Make sure your lie is believable. Her story isn’t believable. Because there’s this thing called Shock. When you say your arm is dangling by the tendons, and you hide it under a jacket but still somehow manage to save people who don’t exist, why in the world did you get out? Your arm was dangling. By a tendon. That would cause Shock. I assume. If not shock, a serge of Adrenaline. In which case it would lead to various intersections where people would definitely remember you.

The most powerful moment of this documentary is at the end when the actual survivors all–at some point–unanimously agree to forgive this woman. Some want to immediately, some with time. But still, they would forgive her. However, as someone who went through this while I was in high school in Boston, where friends were worried about relatives flying out that morning (myself included), I remember well how the bullshit lines that are drawn between cliques in high school vanished and we all felt for everything. Not everyone. Everything.

I remember hearing it first on a radio in art class. I didn’t believe it, no one did, because the particular radio show we were listening to frequently played pranks. Yes, the events of 9/11 wouldn’t be far off of something they would fake-news-story. It wasn’t until Economics AP when the teacher turned on the local news. It was crazy. People cried. People said war was coming and were excited for it. People were confused. I kept thinking what this would mean generations from now. And whose really to blame. Or, really, if I was surprised that this was happening.

I’m not a survivor and I don’t know where I throw my ax down on the topic of “are-survivors-heroes.” But, I do know this, the people in this documentary who are willing to forgive this stupid, conceited, arrogant woman, are heroes. And as a non-survivor-but-went-through-it-as-audience-in-New England, I think this woman is a bitch. She could have a psychosis. She could have not dealt well with the financial investigations of her family in Spain. She could be going through her own demons and instead of drugs or alcohol, she got addicted to pity and sympathy. That’s all perfectly fine. But, she’s still a bitch.

The whole documentary was fascinating. The music worked very nicely with the digital paintings used to tell Alicia Esteve Head’s story. The mystery builds at a slow pace, and just as you begin to believe her, the hammer drops and all of the dirty laundry is exposed. It’s really well made. Very well made, in fact. It’s so well made that, while I think this woman is vile, had it gone a different way, she would be the nicest person anyone could know.

It’s a weird situation.

Documentary Watch//Let The Fire Burn

WHERE Netflix
WHAT Let The Fire Burn
THOUGHTS
Gurl. I had no idea that this ever happened in West Philly in 70’s/80’s. Whether it’s a religion, cult, spiritualism, a commune, the truth, the lie, philosophy, activist group, all of it or none of it, it’s a tragedy. I’ve become very “even if I don’t agree with you, I will applaud you for speaking out” because I definitely think that as we progress into the 21st century, we’re all becoming passive activists. It’s weird to think that a lot of things like this–activism, protests, etc.–happened 2 decades ago. That’s only 20 years, give or take a couple. What happened? I mean, Occupy Wall Street happened but that became a joke for ratings. Anonymous happened, but that also became a kind of joke on-line (not so much the unofficial legit members, but those teenagers and early twenty-somethings who are trying to find themselves, we poke fun of in various forums.)

What does this have to do with Let The Fire Burn? Because people were standing up for their way of life and what they believe in, and regardless if I disagree with their methods, 11 of them were burned to death and murdered. That’s why. That sends a strong message that reverberates through time. If I stand up to the banks, will I be burned? No, I’ll just be hit by fat police officers. I won’t go into how quickly the police have fallen, but they no longer have the backs of the communities they’re supposed to protect. And that’s sad.

But at least this isn’t the 80’s where police officers legitimately think dropping C-4 onto an apartment building and to tell the Fire Department to not put it out, and to just let it burn, and we only have to deal with computers searching for terms that are out of context so that the SWAT and just kick the door down. Minority Report, here we come.

But I digress.

I don’t really support the message MOVE put out in the 70’s and the 80’s nor do I quite understand what’s to be expected when toting guns (regardless if they can fire) around in the streets or breaking laws of sound ordinances, but watching the documentary that was all archival footage of interviews and courtroom drama, they weren’t dealing with fanatics or stupid people. They were dealing with people who understand logic very, very well. And it didn’t help AT ALL that the majority of the police force were racist, nor did it help me join their (the police) cause when they wrote… very shameful things on the locker of the ONE police officer who was sane throughout this whole process.

Watching the police officer have a breakdown on the stand was… very moving.

I suggest you watch it. I think it’s an important piece of modern history of the USA.

//FLASH Reviews / The Smithsonian Channel

The Smithsonian Channel has a host of interesting documentaries for any curious mind and a handful of them are up on Netflix. All of them seem to be of quality, not one of those dime-bag documentaries that seem to exist in the 21-28 minute structure. They’re pithy, controversial, and thought provoking.

SECRETS: Richard III // A
Searching for the skeleton of Richard III has been the life ambition for many archeologists. You get to watch the story unfold, from first digging through DNA analysis and eventual artist representation of the King himself. It felt very “ripped-from-the-headlines” and very now.

MYSTERY FILES: Hitler // C
I have a fascination with World War 2 documentaries, partially because my grandfather was in the South Pacific theater and I grew up listening to his stories. This doc takes place before the rise of Adolf Hitler, through his years during World War 1, and ends when he (theoretically) makes his decision to enter politics. It’s a different take on a kind of stale subject matter. Worth the little over 20 minute run time.

SECRETS: A Viking Map? // C
Viking.They’re a hot topic right now. Does anyone notice the pop-culture cycle of Vikings > King Arthur > Pirates > Greek Gods or is it just me? Anyway, this is a pretty OK doc. It’s something that brings home the nostalgia of watching educational TV programing in High School. It doesn’t really say anything new, though.

MYSTERY FILES: Leonardo Da Vinci // B
I had no idea that there was a huge body of thought that pointed out the inconsistencies and context of Leonardo Da Vinci’s inventions. I’ve spent so much time studying artwork of the Renaissance that the engineers of the period alluded me. This is very good stuff and a really good example of what I think makes a great documentary: it’s pithy, presents an argument, provides data and a counter point, and ultimately leaves the rest of the conversation up to the viewer. This is a good piece.

SECRET FILES: The Golden Raft of El Dorado // B
Typically, while I’m watching short docs, there’s a sketchbook on my lap and a pencil in my hand. I’m a cartoonist by trade, and sometimes there’s nothing like a good doc about an ages old culture to watch alongside your own imagination. It argues that El Dorado was found, though the tribe of people had such an abundance of gold that it wasn’t valuable to them. The Golden Raft of El Dorado is thought to be one of the very few examples of the cultures existence AND it was crafted by one piece of gold wire. That’s really amazing!

NAZI TEMPLE of DOOM // B
In my opinion, there aren’t enough good Nazi docs about the occult. The Third Reich is incredibly fascinating especially when taken to the absurd religious level that seemed to only be available to the elite. This goes into detail about the golden relic (pictured) and its relation to a kind of church that encapsulates all of the insane dogma Hitler and his followers believed in.

MYSTERY FILES: Pope Joan // B
Let me just say that I love the story of Pope Joan AND casting a conspiratorial gaze onto history. So this doc was a delight to watch. It goes into detail about the time period and the strange happenings that allowed (at the time) a woman to rise in the ranks of the Church to sit on the holiest of holy seats for Christianity, and to her ultimate and tragic demise once she gave birth. It’s a very sad story and one that is well told in a little over 20 minutes.

MYSTERY FILES: Marco Polo // B
I had no idea that there was solid evidence to support the notion that Marco Polo didn’t exist. I haven’t ever put much thought into it one way or another, I sort of thought he was one of the stories that helped the East look more exotic to the West. Something artists drew on to help cement the picturesque. While my mind wasn’t blown, per se, it has definitely lead me to seek out outside sources to help understand certain other historical figures and their journeys.

MYSTERY FILES: The Turin Shroud // B
Religious relics are always good for a mystery and this follows a very tried and true method of revelation. It has experts, reenactments, and as a bonus, an artist recreation. It follows the trail not of religious significance, but of a more contextual one: recreating the shroud using much older methods than we’re used to now. Is the Turin Shroud a fake? Or isn’t it? The answer is (I think) answered.

The Real Story: Amityville Horror // A
Man, this story. I remember, very well, when I first saw the original film version. I was in undergrad in a San Francisco apartment. It was a rainy, windy night so it was perfect for a horror story and some pizza. I don’t know if I believe in God or not, but holy shit did that movie make me believe in the Devil. There is something so unsettling about it all, both the fictional retelling and the “true” story. Upside-down crosses and people capitalizing on a tragedy both give me goosebumps, and this documentary wastes no time jumping into all of the controversy of this grisly crime. A good doc on a contemporary piece of American folklore.

 

//Documentary Netflix / Whores’ Glory