One of the most common tips for storytellers is to “write what you know.” While this is often because our personal experiences allow us to give a more detailed and truthful account of events, it is also because most of the greatest stories lie in reality. The same goes for film.
Sure, there’s nothing like an out of this world sci-fi flick, an SFX-heavy action blockbuster, or a comedy so jam-packed with witty quips that it could only be scripted in a writer’s room. But, when it comes to raw, impactful stories that stick with you, some of the best films are undoubtedly documentaries. You can chalk it up to our inclination for empathizing with real human beings, or just our society’s obsession with reality TV—it’s just the cold, hard truth.
So, why not give yourself a much-needed reality check with a documentary on Hulu? From heart-warming portraits of humanity like Minding the Gap, to eye-opening exposées like Blackfish, Hulu’s documentary selection keeps nothing off the record. These are the best documentaries on Hulu.
Minding the Gap
Few activities capture the perceived invincibility of youth quite like skateboarding. But, as any seasoned skater will tell you, it doesn’t take long for gravity to bring you back down to earth. Bing Liu’s Minding the Gap thoughtfully tracks the coming-of-age of three best friends in Rockford, Illinois, from their days of reckless teens to responsible adults.
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I Am Greta
There’s a large chance you’ve already known about eighteen year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg for the majority of her adolescence. And yet, Thunberg seems to have lived (and changed) multiple lives within her short years. I Am Greta follows Thunberg from her one-person protests in Sweden, through the years and across the Atlantic Ocean to her UN appearance.
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Crime + Punishment
Crime + Punishment follows the 2010 lawsuit against the New York Police Department made by the group of officers who would become known as the NYPD 12. Uncovering a glimpse into the NYPD’s history of abuse of power and discrimination, the film focuses on the horrific harms that the NYPD’s illegal arrest quotas have caused on people of color in New York City. The film also sheds light on the harassment that the dozen whistle blowers, like countless others, have faced for coming forward.
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Yayoi Kusama: Infinity
Named for Kusama’s latest art installation of the time, “Infinity Mirrored Rooms,” Infinity traces Kusama’s limitless talent from her upbringing in Japan, to her boom of international fame in the 1960s, and her reigning excellence today as one of the best-selling and most groundbreaking artists in history. The film illuminates Kusama’s impact in a way that is ever-expanding, not unlike the way in which her signature polka dot often expands into an endless sea of circles.
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Three Identical Strangers
Three identical triplets discover one another at age 19 after being separated at birth. However, amidst a tailspin of media coverage and publicity, the brothers soon connect the dots on a discovery that is arguably more shocking than the first that brought them together.
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Untouchable
It’s said that the bigger they are, the harder they fall. But, when someone is big enough in Hollywood, it takes a lot to bring them down first. Untouchable unravels the life of sexual predator and producer Harvey Weinstein, exposing how Weinstein’s abuse of power made him seemingly immune from the repercussions of his horrific offenses, and how all that changed when his victims flipped the script.
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Ask Dr. Ruth
A story of true resilience, Ask Dr. Ruth documents the life of Dr. Ruth Westheimer, a Holocaust survivor who has become one of the world’s most renowned sex therapists.
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Honeyland
A unique spin on the classic conflict of tradition versus change, Honeyland tells the story of Hatidze, a Macedonian beekeeper who is one of the last of her trade to practice ancient beekeeping methods. Tending to her ailing mother, as well as juggling the recent move-in of a rowdy family who is looking to bee keep nearby, she must grapple with change in multiple forms. The shots of wild bee hives and vast mountain landscapes also shape up to be something akin to visual ASMR.
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Blackfish
The documentary that, for many, drew the line in the sand on supporting parks like SeaWorld, Blackfish focuses on the life of Tilikum, a captive orca who took the lives of multiple people. Exposing the psychological and physical damages of captivity for orcas, the film is a sobering look at the sometimes abusive relationship between man and nature.
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RBG
The title says it all. An inside look at the life and legacy of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, going beyond her often meme-ified pop culture persona and revisiting her immeasurably impactful legal career from the start.
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