Documentaries are a vast source of knowledge that has been available to us for a very long time. A documentary is a perfect opportunity to explore and learn more about the world that surrounds us, especially for people who are thirsty for knowledge but fall asleep at the sight of a book. Several documentaries are available on different platforms, but Netflix is the one that is most sought after. If you want to start documentaries, you just need to know where to start – with the most spectacular ones there.
If you want to know more about the “origin” and where everything started, then ‘Our Universe’ is the right documentary for you. Available on Netflix since 2022, this series, with a total watch time of approximately 4 hours 20 minutes (with one episode being 40-45 minutes long), talks about the start of the universe (from the creation and power of our sun) to wildlife and animals with extraordinary shooting skills. We feel some sort of connection with the animals showcased, and the viewers can put themselves in the animals’ shoes to understand their situation as if they are present with the animal itself. The narrator is none other than Morgan Freeman, who starts the series with a bang by saying, “In the lives of every creature on Earth are echoes of events that occurred a long, long time ago.”
How about an unsolved mystery? This documentary keeps you on the edge of your seat for all three episodes, enacting a famous aeroplane disappearance of MH370. In 2014, a plane with 239 people on board disappeared from all radar and has never been found since. This documentary talks about all speculated theories from all angles and shows the interviews of family members or friends who lost their loved ones on the flight. Even after keeping everyone on the edge, the end doesn’t satisfy the viewers since this is still an unsolved mystery. The heartbroken families will touch your soul, and by the end, you’ll find yourself speculating theories of your own!
A true crime documentary – Mumbai Mafia: Police v/s the Underworld – is a major hit and a must-watch. With a watch time of 1 hour 27 minutes, this documentary covers interviews with the bystanders, or the ones who were wronged (and lived to tell the tale), or the police officers of the time of 1980s to 90s. The officers who had encountered over 125 people in the 90s were also interviewed and shown live. Fake encounters were separated from the real ones, numerous arrests were made, and the true way crime unfolded in Mumbai’s underworld was depicted. An interview with Dawood Ibrahim’s underling, who left the mafia group at an early stage, was also shown. All the struggles he faced when he was in the group and when he left the group. The documentary goes behind the scenes of the cruelties of Dawood Ibrahim in Bombay and the blood Mumbai had to shed.
A technological documentary that is very eye-opening for anyone who uses Social Media (yes, that’s everyone) is named “The Social Dilemma.” It shows interviews with people who have worked in the early stages of Google, Instagram, Facebook, etc. and the people who are presidents of sites like Pinterest, or the person who invented the Facebook- ‘like button’. All of these people come to give this interview just to show the world the dark side of social media. We know that it has helped in communication, entertainment, etc., but we tend to ignore how the sites are taking away our personal information. Each social media site knows about our personality type, our age, our likes and dislikes, and much more, even though they say “your information is safe with us.” This documentary will almost make you want to stop using social media or have second thoughts about allowing your child.
Ranging from nature and wildlife to crime and mysteries, these documentaries will show you the unknown and the hidden, along with opening your horizons to new experiences.