Documentary recs?

[Yogi 3,552]

The mention of documentaries in the No Place Like Home thread got me wondering if anyone would share their favorite cult/fundie documentary recommendations. Bonus if they are on Netflix! 

When I was in college i watched Jesus Camp and found it fascinating. I would like to watch it again. My roommate had an upbringing similar...lots of social pressure, even for kids, to speak in tongues and faint and all that. She found it very stressful to watch. There were some interesting scenes involving a liberal Christian radio station out of the Midwest somewhere and I remember wanting to research it. 

Anyone?

Edited April 8, 2016 by OnceUponATime
adding tags

[LMDinHarlem 24]

Hi Yogi, I enjoyed a documentary on Amazon called Be Fruitful and Multiply http://amzn.com/B009PISQZO I'm not sure if it's available on Netflix or not. It's a nonjudgemental look inside the lives of orthodox Jewish women who have as many children as they can, and one woman from that tradition who chose to have "only" four children. I found it fascinating and mystifying, and I saw a lot of similarities between these women and Quiverfull types. I hope you enjoy it - I'll be watching this thread for good recommendations myself!

 

 

[Yogi 3,552]

Oh interesting. Thanks!

[Mary C Doates 786]

Looking forward to recommendations!

[19 cats and counting 5,683]

59 minutes ago, LMDinHarlem said:

Hi Yogi, I enjoyed a documentary on Amazon called Be Fruitful and Multiply http://amzn.com/B009PISQZO I'm not sure if it's available on Netflix or not. It's a nonjudgemental look inside the lives of orthodox Jewish women who have as many children as they can, and one woman from that tradition who chose to have "only" four children. I found it fascinating and mystifying, and I saw a lot of similarities between these women and Quiverfull types. I hope you enjoy it - I'll be watching this thread for good recommendations myself!

 

 

Is this available free to stream on Prime?

[Mercer 11,607]

God Loves Uganda is an interesting (and saddening) look at the effect American evangelical missionary culture can have on countries in the developing world. I highly recommend it.

It's available on Netflix; that's where I watched it.

Edited March 5, 2016 by Mercer

[clueliss 12,389]

PBS has an interesting American Experience Documentary titled The Amish Shunned on Netflix.

[19 cats and counting 5,683]

There used to be a series on Netflix called "Amish Out of Order" where a former Amish man helps teens adjust to the real world.  I'm not sure if it's still on there.

[VelociRapture 100,698]

I just watched one the other day - "Prophet's Prey." It's about Warren Jeffs and the FLDS. I thought it was pretty interesting, especially because they interviewed Warren's nephew, one of the first victims to sue him for sexual abuse.

[blessalessi 3,840]

There are a few Amish ones I have enjoyed, but they tend to be about families moving on from the mainstream culture, or they wouldn't have let the cameras follow them (and probably would not have been as interesting for TV).

There is a thread here, in which I linked to an even older thread, along similar lines.  There may be links there that are of interest.

I have seen quite a few religious documentaries on You Tube without the need for a pay subscription.

I have really enjoyed watching the various documentaries about Westboro Baptist Church, just because I have never experienced people like them, and they are actually banned from entering the UK, so there will never be a real life sighting here.

 

Edited March 5, 2016 by blessalessi
remove dead link, sorry

[PennySycamore 34,703]

53 minutes ago, 19 cats and counting said:

There used to be a series on Netflix called "Amish Out of Order" where a former Amish man helps teens adjust to the real world.  I'm not sure if it's still on there.

I think that Amish Out of Order has also been shown on Nat Geo aka the National Geographic Channel. 

[Mary C Doates 786]

The Most Hated Family in America is about Westboro Baptist, and is available on Netflix. It's especially interesting in retrospect as it was filmed just before the leadership there started to change, and it features members who have since left (either voluntarily or through shunning).

[SilverBeach 45,978]

Going Clear, a former high level members expose about Scientology. It was excellent.

[AliceInFundyland 24,262]

The Final Member. Not about cults or fundies. About a man with a bixaree quest (but totally cool and just kinda nutty) thenmidway through filmmakers hit gold with a second subject who is even weirder. Totally funny. Not mean or about unpleasant things. Just a quirky guy with a quest. Netflix.

Also, In the basement. German. Mostly silent with minimal input. Just lets people show themselves, and the oddballs that they are. I love that stuff.

[blessalessi 3,840]

20 minutes ago, Mary C Doates said:

The Most Hated Family in America is about Westboro Baptist, and is available on Netflix. It's especially interesting in retrospect as it was filmed just before the leadership there started to change, and it features members who have since left (either voluntarily or through shunning).

That's the one.  There is also a whole documentary interviewing the daughter that left?. I cannot remember who interviewed her, sorry. The lawyer daughter who did a complete 180 degree turn.  That was fascinating because she described really clearly how the brainwashing worked. The fundies who give their kids a high level education are taking the highest risks really, because the survivors are very sharp and articulate.  It reminded me of Cynthia Jeub, though she blogs and hasn't (yet) made a tv documentary.

[SpunkySpurgeonette 125]

3 hours ago, VelociRapture said:

I just watched one the other day - "Prophet's Prey." It's about Warren Jeffs and the FLDS. I thought it was pretty interesting, especially because they interviewed Warren's nephew, one of the first victims to sue him for sexual abuse.

I've watched it, too.  I thought it was pretty interesting.

[Yogi 3,552]

These are all great thanks! I have watched some of the FLDS shows on TV and those are really heartbreaking. I haven't seen any of the Amish ones. 

[umsami 650]

There's a great film (IMHO) on Netflix right now called "Arranged" about an Orthodox Jewish woman and a Muslim woman who become friends.  (Not a documentary but excellent nonetheless.) 

Edited March 6, 2016 by umsami
Clarifying statement

[Imaginary_Wonderland 1,952]

Thanks for the great recommendations!! I love documentaries. 

Tonight I watched God Loves Uganda after reading this thread. It has been saved to My List on Netflix for ages. I also have Amish Shunned and Jesus Camp in My List too, maybe I will watch them in next few days. 

Just after Xmas, I watched For the Bible Tells Me So but I think it has been removed from Netflix since then. It was really interesting but sad too.

I really loved the Louis Theroux documentary on the Westboro Baptists. I saw it ages ago but would love to re-watch it sometime. I find the Westboro Baptists  fascinating, but infuriating of course!

[Yogi 3,552]

I've seen For The Bible Tells Me So and it was excellent. Hopefully you can find it somewhere. Maybe that was the one featuring the liberal radio station. 

I also have God Loves Uganda in my queue - completely forgot about it so thanks for the reminder!

[FundieFarmer 14,880]

I'll have to add these. Thanks for starting this thread!

[tumblr 775]

It's not technically a documentary but the filming of Oprah visiting an FLDS community was really interesting to me. I couldn't find the whole thing but I found a lot of 3-7minute clips on youtube. 

Another one that's not technically fundie is the Jim Jones one that was made about a decade ago by NatGeo. I happen to catch it on CBS a couple years ago and it is probably the best documentary I have seen. I also can recommend several horror movies based off the Jim Jones situation if anyone is interested.

'An Unlikely Disciple' is a book about a Brown student who goes to Liberty for a semester. Again, not what you technically asked for but a very good look into the Evangelical Lifestyle for the POV of a complete outsider. 

[Ais 1,941]

I'm about two thirds of the way through Jesus Camp and I don't think I can actually watch the entire thing in one sitting. It is genuinely one of the most disturbing things I've ever seen.

 

[downtherabbithole 158]

1 hour ago, Ais said:

I'm about two thirds of the way through Jesus Camp and I don't think I can actually watch the entire thing in one sitting. It is genuinely one of the most disturbing things I've ever seen.

 

That one was hard for me to watch as well. 

[DaffyDill 2,678]

On 5 March 2016 at 9:01 AM, blessalessi said:

That's the one.  There is also a whole documentary interviewing the daughter that left?. I cannot remember who interviewed her, sorry. The lawyer daughter who did a complete 180 degree turn.  That was fascinating because she described really clearly how the brainwashing worked. The fundies who give their kids a high level education are taking the highest risks really, because the survivors are very sharp and articulate.  It reminded me of Cynthia Jeub, though she blogs and hasn't (yet) made a tv documentary.

Yep. Louis Theroux did the first documentary of The Most Hated Family in America about the Phelps family and hangers on who made up Westboro Baptist Church, and then returned to the family compound in Kansas a few years later and did a follow up, called America's Most Hated Family in Crisis where he interviewed some young adults that had left the Church and were subsequently alienated by their families for doing so.

Alex Gibney's Going Clear is a great documentary on Scientology, too.

There's a few others on this page (link below) you might want to take a look at:

http://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/17219/1/cult-documentaries-about-cults