#History Documentaries

[deadpresidents]

I recently wrote about my opinion on PBS American Experience's "The American Vice President" documentary, which was good but I thought it could have been better. Last night, I stumbled upon this documentary that is available free with ads on YouTube called "President In Waiting" about the modern Vice Presidency, and it's GREAT!

I had never even heard of this documentary before last night, but it's a very straightforward look at the modern Vice Presidency. There is no narrator, no random talking heads, just interviews with Presidents Carter, Clinton, George W. Bush, and Obama, as well as Vice Presidents Mondale, Quayle, Gore, Cheney, Biden (it was filmed before Biden was elected President), and Pence, and it's those guys telling the story of the modern Vice Presidency, the relation between the President and the Vice President, and their personal experiences in the jobs. There are some really great stories in there, too, and a hilarious one at this point of the documentary regarding President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and their dogs at Camp David. I definitely recommend checking out "President In Waiting" on YouTube if you have the time.

[charlesoberonn]

Tell me you know nothing about history without telling me you know nothing about history

[gael-garcia]

The Palestinian (1977)

[tmarshconnors]

“If you’re not a conspiracy theorist at this point, you’re not paying attention!”

Neil Oliver is a Scottish television presenter and author. He has presented several documentary series on archaeology and history, including A History of Scotland, Vikings and Coast. He is also an author of popular history books and historical fiction. 

Born: 21 February 1967 (age 57 years), Renfrewshire, Scotland

Television Presenter: Neil Oliver is well-known for his work as a television presenter, particularly for the BBC series "Coast," which explores the natural and human history of the British coastline.

Author: He has written several books, including "A History of Scotland," "Vikings," and "The Story of the British Isles in 100 Places," combining his historical knowledge and storytelling skills.

Archaeologist: Before becoming a television personality, Oliver worked as an archaeologist. He studied archaeology at the University of Glasgow and participated in various digs and research projects.

Public Speaker: Neil Oliver is a popular public speaker, often invited to give talks on historical and archaeological topics. His engaging storytelling style has made him a sought-after speaker at events and conferences.

Scottish Heritage: Oliver is deeply passionate about Scottish history and heritage. He has produced and presented several documentaries focusing on Scotland's history, including the series "A History of Scotland" and "Scotland's Story."

[the-blueprint]

"Brazilian hand games and American hand games!!!! Realizing that the art of hand games comes from Africa! I never thought about it before. It was just embedded in our childhood."

"The collective consciousness is real"

"My goodness. We played this in Nigeria too."

There's a documentary with @jamilawoods called "Black Girls Play" about the history of handclap games in the US and their importance in the Black community. And a book before it called The Games Black Girls Play, by Kyra D. Gaunt.

[noodles-and-tea]

Back at it with my enchanted merthur shenanigans

[mengjue]

Okay I just went through Binge to add history documentaries to my watch list, and I need to rant a little about the state of things in the history doco world. The beyond blatant US/UK centrism is entirely too damn high to the point that you almost have to laugh. Here are a few of the standouts I found and why their producers/directors deserve a plate of cold spaghetti thrown in their face:

A History Warfare: It starts in the fucking ROMAN EMPIRE. Like, fuck all the civilisations before that I guess? And from the title it covers all warfare in the world, right? Nope! Of course not! All that matters is Europe and England. But white history doesn’t get qualifiers so it’s just a history of “warfare” in general. Other honourable mentions here are Besieged Fortresses and Legendary Castles, both of which are spelled with a silent “European” in the middle. And of course there’s Decades That Defined Us, which just forgot to add a “the” in front of U.S.

Lost Treasures of the Ancient World: This is a classic example of US/UK get specifics, everyone else gets vague hand waves. Like how nature docos give town, state, and country names for the US and UK but then cut to “the jungles of Africa.” In this case Rome and Britain get multiple episodes each, and then there’s an episode called “The Aztec & The Maya.” Cause you know, they’re pretty much the same thing and not a lot went on in their combined multiple millennia of history. We have white English people to get back to!

Megapolis: This is your classic token diversity point documentary. We’ve got two Hellenistic cities and Rome, let’s just throw in Tikal to make sure it’s “global.” That should be enough, now we don’t need “European” in the title!

Ancient Aliens: Ancient goddamned aliens. No, this is not history. No, this is not science or in any way legitimate. But what else will we fill the history section with? Stories about places other than the US and Europe? That imply they achieved great things without the aid of white people or magic? We can’t have that! There’s plenty other pseudoscience and outright lying about history conspiracy docos being lapped up by streaming too, but this one really lives in infamy.

Finally, in the “too many to count” category, fucking WWII. Every time you search for history on a streaming service it’s just a synonym for WWII. Not even WWII, Hitler and Europe, specifically. Cause these docos give fuck all about Asia and Japan’s war until the US comes along. I honestly wish there was an AO3-style filter for WWII at this point so I could browse the 3 remaining history documentaries in peace. And 2 out of 3 are gonna be about Rome, which is also on thin ice.

Anyways none of this is new but it’s been a lot to wade through to find decent history docos, so thanks for coming to my rant

[rosechata]

afghanistan

oriane_zerah_photo

[venusinmyrrh]

You said you love a good fashion doc- do you have any more to recommend?

Designers and tastemakers

Very Ralph (2019). The preeminent American designer of our time, one of the very few who can stand toe to toe with the titans of Paris and Milan. To call Ralph Lauren's work "sportswear" is to call the Sistine Chapel "kind of a big painting".

Halston (2019). Speaking of going head to head with Paris, Halston did it first. Skip Ultrasuede-- this is a much better doc about the king of American 70s disco glam.

McQueen (2018). When people talk about fashion as an art form, chances are they're thinking of Alexander McQueen. Worth watching for the pulse-pounding runway shows alone.

Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist (2018). Obviously you already know about this one, but it's gotta go on any comprehensive list. Without Vivienne Westwood, punk would have been nothing but a handful of noisy assholes.

Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel (2011). My icon, my north star, my personal hero. The empress of taste and high priestess of personal style. Watch this doc whenever you need encouragement to do and wear whatever the hell you want.

The Gospel According to André (2017). Diana Vreeland's protegé and a godfather of style in his own right. If it happened in fashion in the last fifty years, André Leon Talley was there for it.

Lagerfeld Confidential (2007). I have a high tolerance for difficult and unpleasant people as long as I like their work. Your mileage may vary, but Karl Lagerfeld's immaculate, relentless taste cannot be denied.

Institutions and events

The First Monday in May (2016). Witness all the hustle, bustle, savvy, and stress that goes into planning the Met gala!

The September Issue (2009). Same as the above, but for the famous September issue of Vogue. Watch this to learn who Grace Coddington is.

Dior and I (2014). How do haute couture collections get made? In 8 weeks from start to finish, I guess, if you're Raf Simons during his first season at the House of Dior. A documentary and a thriller.

Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf's (2013). No matter what other retailers might want you to think, Bergdorf Goodman is the last great department store. A portrait, already halfway to a time capsule, of what luxury shopping used to be.

Peripheral, but may be of interest

Nose (2021). The passionate, delicate art of perfume creation for the House of Dior. The French landscapes where they source their materials will make you swoon.

Larger Than Life: The Kevyn Aucoin Story (2017). As the makeup artist to pretty much every single icon of the 80s and 90s, Kevyn Aucoin invented the image of that era as much as any designer.

Fabergé: A Life of Its Own (2014). Come for the dazzling jewels and sumptuous objets d'art; stay to find out how this illustrious name ended up on hair care products in the 70s.

Crazy About Tiffany's (2016). Another luxury jeweler whose name alone is the stuff dreams are made on.

Bill Cunningham New York (2010). The original street style photographer, since before "street style" was even a thing. A love letter to curiosity, and a testament to the power of taking an interest in the world around us.

Still on my watchlist

Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams (2020). Directed by Luca Guadagnino, which is enough to put this Ferragamo doc at the top of my list.

Advanced Style (2014). Portraits of seven women aged 62-95 with truly fab personal style. Top Letterboxd review is seething about how out of touch they are with the real world, which means I am probably gonna love it.

Suited (2016). A study of gender through clothing in modern culture.

Dries (2017). A year-- and four collections-- in the life of Dries Van Noten, who, interestingly, doesn't see the point of clothes that people can't buy to wear, and so does not do couture.

Yellow is Forbidden (2018). This doc about Guo Pei appears to use her career as a framework to understand the gatekeeping of global culture by the West. Dope as hell, if it can pull it off.

American Style (2019). The political, social, and economic history of America through its fashion. Another one that could be really awesome if done with insight and panache.

Quant (2021). She may share the credit for inventing the miniskirt with two other people, but it cannot be argued that Mary Quant invented 1960s Swinging London. And for that we say thank you Dame Mary.

[deadpresidents]

Will you be watching The Lady Bird Diaries on Hulu?

I'm insulted that you feel the need to even ask this question.

OF COURSE I watched The Lady Bird Diaries immediately and it's fantastic. I was obviously already aware of what a priceless source of fascinating detail on the history of her time that Lady Bird's diaries are. In my opinion, they are one of the most extraordinary perspectives of the Presidency by someone so close to the institution that has ever been created -- even more illuminating than most autobiographies or books written by actual Presidents. On their own they are remarkable, and Lady Bird Johnson is a tremendously underrated and unappreciated figure of the 20th Century.

But Dawn Porter went above and beyond with crafting something even more incredible out of source material that would be interesting enough if it was standing alone. In just a few years, Dawn Porter has made a half-dozen stunning films on American history and politics and culture and it's a staggering achievement. If you haven't done so yet, go watch The Lady Bird Diaries NOW. Both Lady Bird Johnson and Dawn Porter are American originals and American treasures.

[that-butch-archivist]

the documentary "the aggressives" about poc butches is on streaming and can be bought idk if that's useful or anything but i just watched it and thought it fit in here

It's totally useful, thanks for reaching out!! I've not had time to watch this one myself yet but it's high on the list for ... whenever I get a moment. I've heard really good things and all, and--oh shit it's free on Tubi ... HMMM. Okay. Well. I know what I have to see later lol. xD

But yes, anon is right--for those interested in seeing more butches of color, or just butches in general, please take a look at "The Aggressives"!

"The Aggressives" on Wikipedia. "The Aggressives" (free to watch!) on Tubi.

[gael-garcia]

They Do Not Exist (1974) by Mustafa Abu Ali (watch)

from PalestineCinema.com:

Salvaged from the ruins of Beirut after 1982, Abu Ali's early film has only recently been made available. Shooting under extraordinary conditions, the director, who worked with Godard on his Ici et Ailleurs (Here and Elsewhere), and founded the PLO's film division, covers conditions in Lebanon's refugee camps, the effects of Israeli bombardments, and the lives of guerrillas in training camps. They Do Not Exist is a stylistically unique work which demonstrates the intersection between the political and the aesthetic. Now recognised as a cornerstone in the development of Palestinian cinema, the film only received its Palestine premiere in 2003, when a group of Palestinian artists "smuggled" the director to a makeshift cinema in his hometown of Jerusalem (into which Israel bars his entry). Abu Ali, who saw his film for the first time in 20 years at this clandestine event noted: "We used to say 'Art for the Struggle', now it's 'Struggle for the Art'"

[trianglesand]

Marble hornets x Slendermansion AU but instead of Hoodie and Masky being proxies they also live in a small cabin in the same woods and are constantly trying to sabotage the creeps plans. Hoodie learns Jeff is supposed to kill some random family and follows him there to purposely set the home security system off and Masky jumps out of the closet and tackles Jeff. They all run away to their own homes afterwards when the cops are called. The Operator/Slenderman could put a stop to it if he so pleased, but finds the shenanigans amusing.

[hisiggy]

little edie for interview magazine 1976

[sycoraxproductions]

The Masterdebater | A Human Pet Episode Five is out now