Documentary Films

I don't know that I have favorite documentary, and I have been out of the documentary loop in recent years, so I haven't seen many newer films, but I do enjoy films like Spellbound and mockumentaries like Best in Show. One piece that we show to students is called Young @ Heart. This is a very sweet and funny film about an elderly rock choir/band, which wouldn't necessarily be thought of as appealing to teenagers, yet they really seem to enjoy it. At first glance, this documentary seems to be targeted toward a middle age to older audience, but it turns out to be perfect for all ages and we use it to introduce our ethnography paper. If there is time, we also show the film, Trekkies, with is about Star Trek fans. It works well for this assignment because even though the first instinct may be to laugh at many of these people, after watching the film, we see that many of the core values of Star Trek are very good, such as respect and acceptance for all people (or beings). This movie really lets kids look at reasons why people do things (like dress up in Star Trek ...or professional sports team... uniforms) and they eventually can come to the conclusion that all people have their quirks and passions and, even though this one may be nerdy or weird, that it is ok to accept them as, even if you can't understand them.