Loving Lately on Netflix/YouTube

This post, probably isn't going to be relevant to everyone, but I am writing it anyway, as for those who do have Netflix or use YouTube, it might be of interest.  All of the below mentioned documentaries are available to watch on both on these sites.

Lately, I haven't found there  to be too much on the TV that I've been interested in watching, so I have been scouring Netflix for interesting documentaries.  I've found and watched quite a few in the last few weeks, so I thought I'd mention the ones that I enjoyed the most.

The first was Craigslist Joe, a documentary about a guy who sets off with the aim of spending a month completely relying on Craigslist (a US Gumtree-like website) for everything; a place to stay, transport, food, work, entertainment, etc.

This documentary charts his experiences for the month of December and proves quite an interesting watch.  He does spend a couple of nights sleeping in cars or staying up in cafes, but for the most part he finds help, due to the generosity of people who use the site.  He finds his journey very humbling and emotional and even gets to meet the original founder of the website, to understand what started the ball rolling.  An interesting and at times heart warming story.

Another documentary on Netflix, that I watched just the other night was called Burt's Buzz and was the story of Burt from Burt's Bees.  It takes a look at the life of this icon of the natural US brand, whom I must admit didn't know anything about.  The company, was co-founded with his 'partner' at the time Roxanne Quimby, before he sold his shares to her some years later in slightly unusual circumstances, shall we say.

The documentary focuses on this eccentric, unique character, who lived and still did until his death at 80 last year, very simply on the land, keeping bees and enjoying the freedoms of a simple life.  The documentary shows his travels to Taiwan for the company, where he is idolised by consumers of the brand, and charts how the business grew beyond anything that he ever imagined or wanted.  It is an interesting tale, but the most interesting thing about it is Burt himself, who is a bit of an enigma. Definitely worth watching.

Finally, just last night I watched a moving documentary called Amish: The Shunned which was about the children of Amish families that decide to leave this very closed off and private religion and make a life for themselves in the outside world, and who as a consequence are often shunned by their families and cut off from visiting them or having any contact.

The documentary follows the story of one particular Amish woman, who decides to leave and finds a home with another woman who left the community many years before.  It also talks to many other leavers who talk about their struggles to make a new life for themselves, when the pull of their religion and families is so very strong.  This was a very thought provoking documentary/film, quite long at 2 hours in total, but very interesting.

If anyone reading this has Netflix or uses YouTube and you are looking for something interesting to watch, you might like one of these programmes, which I would definitely recommend.