What Is In My DVD Player (AKA Netflix "Watch Instantly")

Ben and I love documentaries.  We watch all sorts--political, prison, gangs, and drug usage.

Last night we chose to watch Bigger, Stronger, Faster.  It is advertised as a documentary about anabolic steroid usage in sports, but delves deeper by exploring the competiveness of American society.  Chris Bell talks about the use of drugs in practically every performance imaginable: music, porn, modeling, and even the military.  I went in with a pretty strong bias against using performance enhancing drugs, and came back with a fresh look at how the media have instilled this bias within us, when it comes to sports.  Oh, and that our government sanctions it in certain situations.  Like war and the Olympics.  A very provocative documentary, the type of film I enjoy.

If you are looking for other documentaries, here are a few I really enjoyed.  I do recommend you watch these films with an open mind.  You never know what you will learn.

Expelled (A definite bias; however, I appreciated how they talked about how creationism and intelligent design have become culturally prohibited from the arena of academic pursuit.  In fact, mere public mention of these ideas by scientists can get them fired and/or blacklisted from other prestigious universities.)

With God on Our Side - George W. Bush and the Rise of the Religious Right in America (I appreciated this unbiased view of what made Pres. Bush tick.  An excellent film that doesn't demonize or glorify our former president; instead, the producers provide us with his history and let us determine how it changes our opinions of him.)

I.O.U.S.A. (Finally, a documentary that looks at the national debt from neutral ground.  As Ben said, "It's life changing."  I agree.)

Any documentaries you'd recommend?  Ben and I are pretty open.