Election Year 10 Best Netflix Documentaries About American Politics

Election Year: 10 Best Netflix Documentaries About American Politics

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Netflix has many documentaries. As Americans prepare to vote for President, this list has 10 of the best such films available for streaming right now.

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Election Year 10 Best Netflix Documentaries About American Politics

2020 has already proven to be a big year for American politics. As Americans prepare to vote for a new president, as well as for various local and state elected officials, the world is changing and will likely never be the same again.

For those interested in learning more about American politics, presidents, and economics, Netflix contains many compelling documentaries highlighting moments and figures that have shaped the course of the country’s history. This list showcases 10 of the best such films streaming on the platform right now.

10 Bobby Kennedy For President (2018)

Election Year 10 Best Netflix Documentaries About American Politics

This four-part documentary digs into the rise and tragic fall of U.S. Senator Bobby Kennedy during the 1960s. The younger brother of President John F. Kennedy, Bobby served as Attorney General under his sibling until he was assassinated in 1963.

After becoming a U.S. Senator for New York, Bobby decided to run for president as a Democrat in 1968. The day he was announced the winner of the California and South Dakota Democratic primaries, he died after being shot multiple times at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles by a Palestinian national who opposed his pro-Israel stance. The documentary traces Bobby’s political career, ending with the trial of his assassin, Sirhan Sirhan.

9 Inequality For All (2013)

Election Year 10 Best Netflix Documentaries About American Politics

American economist and political adviser Robert Reich narratives this documentary inspired by his book Aftershock: The Next Economy and America’s Future. Reich served as Secretary of Labor under President Bill Clinton, and he uses his experiences to explore the widening income gap in the United States.

Reich argues that income inequality is not sustainable for a robust, healthy economy. He interviews wealthy CEOs and businessmen like Warren Buffet, who supports a more equal distribution of wealth. Reich does a good job here of making complicated economic systems easy to understand.

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8 Hank: 5 Years From The Brink (2013)

Election Year 10 Best Netflix Documentaries About American Politics

Hank Paulson served as U.S. Secretary of the Treasury under George W. Bush, finding himself in the hot seat when the 2008 financial crash hit, leading to a massive recession. Prior to holding this position, Paulson was the long-time CEO of Goldman Sachs, a multinational investment bank.

This 2013 documentary, released by Bloomberg Businessweek, is directed by Oscar-winner Joe Berlinger. Berlinger is known for directing Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills, which led to the release of three teenagers falsely accused of murder. His thorough investigative and storytelling abilities shine here.

7 Trump: An American Dream (2018)

Election Year 10 Best Netflix Documentaries About American Politics

This four-part British documentary series tells the story of current U.S. President Donald Trump in great detail. Relying on archival footage and interviews, it traces his transformation from a young businessman to a spotlight-seeking socialite.

Those interviewed in the documentary claim Trump began his career as a collaborative and ambitious real estate developer. Once his projects became profitable, and once his name began to spread around, he developed the authoritative personality he’s known for to this day. The series ends with his presidential bid.

6 American Factory (2019)

Election Year 10 Best Netflix Documentaries About American Politics

Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert’s 2019 documentary about a Chinese factory in Ohio won the 2020 Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. The plant, outside of Dayton in a city named Morraine, once housed a General Motors facility. It shuttered in 2008, displacing 3,000 employees.

Later, this Morraine Assembly facility was purchased by a Chinese glass producer known as Fuyao. Filmed between 2015 and 2017, American Factory zeroes in on Fuyao workers from both companies as they adapt to the new changes brought on by the acquisition. Through the experiences of those it follows, the documentary shines a light on the economic and political policies that affect the labor force in the globalized world.

5 Seeing Allred (2018)

Election Year 10 Best Netflix Documentaries About American Politics

Seeing Allred is an important political documentary for the #MeToo movement. Directed by Roberta Grossman and Sophie Sartain, it follows the life of women’s rights attorney Gloria Allred. Allred pursues cases against male celebrities and politicians accused of sexual assault, and the documentary follows some of her most important fights for equality and justice over the decades.

The film showcases Allred’s role in raising awareness about Alabama politician Roy Moore. While Moore ran for the Senate seat vacated by Jeff Sessions in 2017, nine women came forward and accused him of varying degrees of sexual misconduct. He ultimately lost the election to his opponent Doug Jones.

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4 How To Win The U.S. Presidency (2016)

Election Year 10 Best Netflix Documentaries About American Politics

A broad feature, How to Win the U.S. Presidency provides a crash course in the reality of a presidential bid in the United States. The documentary examines the different routes candidates pursue to win voters over, including money, family reputation, and marketing.

Funding plays a key role in a potential nominee’s success, and the film traces how different presidents secured their wins. It also showcases the role mass media plays in making celebrities out of politicians, which compels many presidential candidates to play up their wealth, status, and likability.

3 Get Me Roger Stone (2017)

Election Year 10 Best Netflix Documentaries About American Politics

Before Roger Stone made headlines for being convicted on seven counts as a result of lying during the Mueller Investigation, a trio of filmmakers released this documentary on Netflix. Stone is a long-time Republican strategist known for donning a Richard Nixon tattoo on his back.

The documentary follows Stone for five years in order to get a grasp on his influence over American politics. Stone is also an old friend and adviser to Donald Trump, and the film explores the role Stone played in helping Trump secure the American presidency in 2016. The documentary is inspired by an article about Stone published in The New Yorker magazine.

2 Meet The Trumps: From Immigrant To President (2017)

Election Year 10 Best Netflix Documentaries About American Politics

Another documentary featuring Donald Trump, this expose tracks Trump’s ancestry, describing how his grandfather, Friedrich Trump, immigrated to New York from Germany when he was 16. Friedrich managed to make a fortune by finding ways to benefit financially from problematic situations, a trait he passed down to his son Fred, Donald’s father.

The documentary goes into great detail about each business venture and choice that shaped the family’s future. From poverty-stricken towns out West to New York City neighborhoods ravaged by the Great Depression, the Trump real estate empire was born.

1 JFK: The Making Of A President

This documentary uncovers the Kennedy political dynasty by focusing on the development of future American president John F. Kennedy. This large Massachusetts family was defined early on by father Jack Kennedy’s role as U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom.

JFK took an interest in international politics from a young age, eventually joining the Navy during WWII. JFK continued to refine and master a popular public image as a progressive family man that helped him become the 35th president of the United States.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/best-netflix-documentaries-american-politics/

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