Recent documentaries on Netflix that have the X- factor

The power, media as in movies, OTT platforms, shows and documentaries hold when it comes to spreading awareness about something and educating masses about an issue is much more than we know. A good director, directs a film in a way that it connects with people, holds them to their seats, makes people laugh and cry and, sends a message in the end. Be it any sort of movie, comedy or romantic, psychological or action thriller, these movies are successful when they breakout from a stereotype or engage us fully. Now, to send a powerful educating message, sometimes one needs a non-fiction film that can talk about reality primarily for the purpose of educating us about a certain issue and you call that non-fiction picture a documentary. A documentary is solely made for the purpose of documenting reality and reflecting undiscovered possibility. Did you know that all the OTT platforms have a lot of documentaries of different kinds that you can watch right now? Well, platforms like Netflix actually have many interesting documentaries. So, here’s a list of Netflix documentaries that you should at least watch once if you haven’t already, because they have the X-factor we all look for.

American Murder: The Family Next door

Imagine a family with two daughters and out of the blue, everyone disappears except for the husband. The emotional and mental trauma on the people who knew the ones who disappear would be too much to handle when the search goes on with police officers in an excessive way. But is the case as simple as it seems? Or does it hold a harsh, heart-breaking reality? Well, This Netflix True Crime documentary film, directed by Jenny Popplewell talks about the same with a Family where we see a woman, Shanann Watts and her kids disappearing with no prior notice and the search taking place with Chris Watts, the husband present at the house. Did the wife leave the husband? If so why did she not leave a note? Is there something bigger and complex hidden in the documentary? Well, only one way to find it. If you like true crime genre, this heart-breaking documentary is for you.

The Social Dilemma

“The technology that connects us also controls us”

The Social Dilemma is a documentary film that talks about the toxicity that social media holds and hoe it manipulates our every move, makes us dependent on social media to a level that we don’t even think about taking some time off of it. Tech experts from Silicon Valley sound the alarm on the dangerous impact of social media and networking, which Big Tech use in an attempt to manipulate and influence us to a harmful extent. The documentary examines how everything on social media puts us in a “social dilemma” by manipulating, controlling our behaviour, emotions and reactions. You must not skip this documentary if you want to know the effects of social media on us.   

House of secrets: The Burari Deaths

Don’t we all remember the chilling, disturbing and heart-breaking news of a whole family’s suicide case in Delhi’s Burari case back in 2018? Well, It broke the internet, media houses and left people in absolute shock because what could possibly lead 11 people of a family to commit suicide that led to the end of a family line and no one could predict the possibility of this?  Many speculations were made, everyone made theories of their own but no one found out why it happened in the first place. Why would they commit suicide together? What led the children not being able to inform others about this? What happened to their dog? What happened to their neighbours, relatives and how did they cope up with it? All of these questions got acknowledged in 2021 when Netflix released a limited documentary series ‘House of Secrets: The Burari Deaths’ directed by Leena Yadav and Anubhav Chopra, about the incidents that led to the happening of Burari case. If you want to watch a good Indian psychological documentary, do give this a watch.

Unsolved Mysteries

The name suggests it well doesn’t it? Well, Unsolved Mysteries retells the mysteries that were left unfolded and reveals the undiscovered truth with the help of investigations and interviews. This documentary series uses re-enactments and interviews to retell the circumstances of, well, mysteries that are unsolved. Covering crimes, tales of lost love, unexplained history and paranormal events, viewers are encouraged to provide information that might solve the mystery. It has been airing successfully on Netflix with 15 seasons and more to come and, has much different and engaging, interesting mysteries every episode. It consists of many episodes in not so specific order which is good because it is convenient to watch any episode. If you like mysteries of any kind, then this series is for you.

And Netflix has many more great documentaries if we dig deeper. Documentaries are a highly educating form of film that need to be appreciated and acknowledged more, so if you are a lover of actual documentary films and series, then check out the ones mentioned above and maybe, you will find more that could interest you.

If you are interested in sharing your stories on #BeStorified then click here.