10 YouTube documentaries for you to watch and learn for free

In this period when we were stuck indoors because of the new coronavirus, much of our entertainment comes from online sources such as YouTube and Netflix. But, if you are one of those people who are looking not only for something to pass the time, but also to educate you on a subject that you still don't know much about, here is a list of 10 documentaries on YouTube, all of them in Portuguese ( or with Portuguese subtitles), so you can watch it for free wherever you are.

The 13th Amendment (13th)

Em The 13th Amendment (13th acclaimed screenwriter and director Ava Duvernay (the first black director to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture) analyzes all the systemic racism in US society since the end of slavery, talking to diverse activists and figures from around the world political, collecting various information that lead to believe that the 13th Amendment to the country's Constitution did not necessarily free blacks, but guided them to a penitentiary system designed to keep them oppressed.

This documentary can be viewed for free at YouTube (with option for subtitles in Portuguese) and can also be found in the Netflix catalog.

The White Helmets

Oscar winner for Best Documentary Short Film in 2017, The White Helmets (The White Helmets in the original in English) shows us the efforts of Syrian and Turkish rescue workers and their efforts to save innocent citizens who are caught in the crossfire of the war between the two countries. 

This documentary can be seen free on youtube (with option for subtitles in Portuguese) and can also be found in the Netflix catalog.

Money as Debt (Money as Debt)

This documentary by Canadian filmmaker Paul Grignon has a somewhat unusual format (after all, it is not very common to see documentary films in cartoon format), but it deals with a very important subject: the functioning of the economy in the XNUMXst century. The documentary explains how many people's conception of money as something physical and real is wrong, how corporations use debt as a way to create money and how this whole system is doomed to collapse.

Money as Debt (Money as Debt in the original in English) can be viewed for free on YouTube, already subtitled in Portuguese.

Viramundo

This 1965 Brazilian documentary portrays the harsh reality of northeastern migrants, who were attracted to the southeastern and southern regions of the country by promises of a better life due to the wealth of these places, but who over time realized that these promises of a better life were false, and in addition to being far from their homeland and family, they now also had to deal with the prejudice of a people that did not welcome them in the expected way.

Viramundo can be found for free on YouTube.

ABC of Strike

In this documentary filmmaker Leo Hirzman, one of the exponents of Cinema Novo, reveals the effervescence of the resumption of the union movement in São Paulo's ABC in 1979, when metallurgical workers mobilized to carry out the first strikes in Brazil since 1968. This movement for better wages and conditions of work was one of the precursor symbols of the fight for the redemocratization of the country and responsible for the “birth” of the Workers' Party and of people who would become important figures of national politics in the following years, such as former president Lula.

ABC of Strike can be found for free on YouTube.

Far Beyond Weight

This documentary directed by Brazilian filmmaker Estela Renner focuses on the issue of childhood obesity, analyzing the changes in eating habits that have taken place in recent decades and that have led to an exponential increase in the number of obese children and who is responsible for this scenario other than gives any sign of deceleration.

Far Beyond Weight can be found for free on YouTube.

Miss Representation

Directed by Jessica Siebel Newson, this documentary brings together some of the most influential women in the United States (such as journalist Rachel Maddow, actress and activist Rosario Dawson, and Condoleeza Rice, who was responsible for US national security policies during the administration of George Bush), who talk about how the media's selling that all a woman's worth is in her beauty, youth, and sexuality served (and still serves) as an obstacle to their careers.

Miss Representation can be seen free on youtube (already with subtitles in Portuguese) and can also be found in the Netflix catalog.

The News Market

With a script and direction by Jorge Furtado (known for the worldwide acclaimed Ilha das Flores), this documentary features testimonies from important journalists on the national scene (such as Mino Carta, Luís Nassif, Bob Fernandes and Renata Lo Prete) who draw a parallel about the role of the media in a democracy, and the responsibility it has in building public opinion and what its political and economic interests will be.

The News Market can be found for free on YouTube.

Turning the Table of Power (Knock Down The House)

Directed by documentary filmmaker Rachel Lears, this film released in 2019 tells the story of the struggle of four women who, in 2018, contested the elections for the United States Congress in order to bring more progressive ideas to the country's politics. The highlight of the film is the fact that it shows up close the rise of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC), a former waitress who is now one of the main figures in US politics due to the “Green New Deal”, an aggressive policy of economic change that aims to combat global warming while creating a welfare state in the country.

Turning the Table of Power (Knock Down The House in the original in English) can be viewed for free on YouTube (with subtitles in Portuguese) and can also be found in the Netflix catalog.

Bitcoin — The End of Money As We Know It

In this documentary directed and scripted by Thorsten Hoffmann, he tries to explain what exactly Bitcoin is in a way that even a layman can understand, giving a great focus not only to the importance of virtual currency for the future of the economy but also on how it can help to avoid the financial collapse caused by the dubious practices of banks (practices that were largely responsible for the economic crisis of 2008).

Bitcoin — The End of Money As We Know It (Bitcoin — The End of Money As We Know It in the original in English) can be viewed for free on YouTube, already subtitled in Portuguese.

Source: Film Institute, Mashable