Best Netflix Documentaries网飞纪录片佳作推介

丁婷

From nature stories， to dystopian1， geopolitical dramas， there is a wealth of documentaries to help us make sense of it all. Here’s a selection of the best eye-opening documentaries from around the world.

The Social Dilemma

You may have seen The Social Network， in which a baby-faced Mark Zuckerberg， played by Jesse Eisenberg， creates his college’s social networking page， and inadvertently2 changes the course of human society forever with the invention of Facebook. Since the film was released， we’ve become more attuned to the dangers that social media places on our personal and social lives. 2020 saw the release of The Social Dilemma， Jeff Orlowski’s compelling deconstruction of the operations behind the social media industry. The film slowly excoriates3 the advert-powered business models of tech giants—including those behind Facebook， Instagram and Twitter—as dangerous manipulators of our behaviour. At the documentary’s core is a message that the tech industry is sorely in need of more stringent ethical and moral regulation. As technology and social media become deeply integrated with our daily lives， the film becomes a wake-up call to avert from the dystopia that we may yet find ourselves in.

My Octopus Teacher

After years of overworking， film-maker Craig Foster sought to re-engage with his natural subject matter， taking time off work to free dive off the coast of South Africa. Peering through the murky waters of the shallows， two pairs of eyes—each belonging to sentient4 life forms—stared at each other in mutual fascination. As Foster ventured to the surface， the octopus that held his gaze softly clung to his arm in an apparent moment of interspecies curiosity. The moment awakened Foster’s fascination for the ways in which we relate to intelligent， non-human entities in the natural world. Peter Godfrey-Smith’s breakthrough 2016 book Other Minds5 perfectly captured the wonders of intelligent life beyond the human experience. Now in 2021， My Octopus Teacher is a meditative， visual guide to appreciating and respecting the complexities of life on our planet.

American Factory

American Factory depicts the culture-clash of a Chinese-owned manufacturing facility in the state of Ohio. In 2014， the Chinese glass manufacturer Fuyao promised to rekindle the crushed economy of Ohio， where car plants have been shutting down since 2008. In came a wave of Chinese workers， bringing with them a very different working culture and ethic to their American counterparts. As factory operations come under review from a newfound blend of American and Chinese executives， a fascinating diorama for modern Sino-American relations begins to unfold before our eyes.

The Edge of Democracy

Petra Costa’s 2019 documentary brings a startling perspective on Brazil’s political troubles over the last few years. The Edge of Democracy showcases the descent of Brazilian politics into populism. Reaching deep into the annals of historical footage， Costa chronicles the history of Brazilian politics. From the birth of the country’s democracy， the corruption scandals and eventual impeachment of president Dilma Rousseff in 2015， to the election of populist Jair Bolsonaro in 2018， this documentary is a piercing guide to Brazil’s democracy.

Crip Camp

Camp Jened， founded in 1951， offered its disabled campers a haven in which to freely live and express themselves away from the judgement of non-disabled citizens. The location is a backdrop for the eventual emergence of the disabled civil rights movement of 1977. The grassroots movement was led by activists and former Camp Jened attendees， who were tired of being denied opportunities of employment and medical care. Director and former camper Jim LeBrecht， helped by executive producers Barack and Michelle Obama， bring a wholesome and important tale of how youth-led activism overcame the systematic discrimination of the time.

A Life on Our Planet

A retrospective look at the career of the famed and beloved naturalist David Attenborough， or an urgent message to heal our political divides for the sake of the natural world？ The much talked about documentary traces the growth of Attenborough’s career， which though remarkable and rich， parallels the ecological breakdown that has become the defining issue of our times. The tone hits a different note to its predecessors in Our Planet， Blue Planet or the original Life on Earth series—a sterner Attenborough directs the lens not merely on the creatures and climate that we have a moral duty to protect， but on the very survival of our own species.

從自然题材作品到敌托邦式的地缘政治闹剧，海量纪录片有助于我们洞悉一切。以下是让人大开眼界的全球纪录片佳作精选。

《社交困境》

你可能看过电影《社交网络》，片中，娃娃脸的马克·扎克伯格（杰西·艾森伯格饰）创建了所在大学的社交网页，还凭借创立“脸书”无意间永久改变了人类社会的进程。该片上映以来，我们愈发意识到社交媒体给我们个人和社交生活带来的危害。《社交困境》于2020年上映，展现了杰夫·奥洛威斯基对社交媒体行业幕后运营的解析，令人信服。全片缓慢推进，痛斥“脸书”“照片墙”“推特”等技术巨头的广告驱动商业模式会操纵人类行为，十分危险。该片的核心信息是：技术行业亟须更加严格的伦理和道德管束。鉴于技术和社交媒体同我们的日常生活深度融合，该片可谓敲响了警钟，告诫人们远离迟早会身陷其中的敌托邦。

《我的章鱼老师》

多年的超负荷工作后，电影制作人克雷格·福斯特希望回归熟悉的自然主题，他放下了工作到南非海岸自由潜水。透过浅水区幽暗的海水，两个有感知能力的生命体四目相视，深深地为彼此所吸引。当福斯特小心翼翼浮至水面时，那只吸引住他目光的章鱼轻轻缠住他的手臂，物种间的好奇一时间尽显无遗。那一刻激发了福斯特极大的兴趣去探究我们同自然界非人类智慧体的相处方式。彼得·戈弗雷-史密斯2016年出版的惊世之作《其他思想》完美捕捉到了人类经验之外的智慧生命奇观。2021年的今天，《我的章鱼老师》不失为一部发人深思的视觉指南，引导观众去欣赏并尊重地球上复杂多样的生命体。

《美国工厂》

《美国工厂》描绘了俄亥俄州一家中资制造厂内部发生的文化冲突。2014年，中国玻璃制造商福耀集团承诺要重振俄亥俄州陷入崩溃的经济，该州的汽车制造厂自2008年以来纷纷关闭。大批中国工人涌入工厂，带来了与美国工人截然不同的职场文化和伦理规范。随着工厂的运转由全新组合的美中管理层联手管控，一幅有趣的现代中美关系立体图景呈现在我们眼前。

《民主的边缘》

2019年发行的这部纪录片由佩特拉·科斯塔执导，以令人震撼的视角呈现了巴西过去几年的政治困境。该片展示了巴西政治沦为民粹主义的过程。科斯塔深挖史料，用镜头按照时间顺序回溯了巴西的政治历史。从民主在该国诞生，到2015年总统迪尔玛·罗塞夫卷入贪腐丑闻终遭弹劾，再到2018年民粹主义者雅伊尔·博索纳罗当选总统，整部纪录片极具洞察力，引领观众了解巴西的民主制度。

《残疾营地》

创建于1951年的坚内德营地为残障营员们提供了一个避风港。在这里，他们可以无拘无束地生活、表达自我，远离非残障者的评头论足。营地的建立最终催生了1977年的残障者民权运动。这场发端于社会底层的运动由社会活动人士和坚内德营地前营员领导，他们受够了就业和医疗机会屡遭剥夺的现实。导演吉姆·莱布雷希特也曾是一名营员，在影片监制（前总统）奥巴马夫妇的帮助下，他将一段颇具道德影响力的历史故事搬上银幕，诠释了青年主导的行动主义如何战胜了当时的系统性歧视。

《地球上的一段生命旅程》

是对深受喜爱的知名自然主义者大卫·爱登堡职业生涯的回顾，还是为保护自然界发出的弥合政治分歧的紧急呼吁？这部备受关注的纪录片梳理了爱登堡的职业历程，这一历程非凡而丰富，却也伴生着已成为当代具有决定性意义的生态恶化问题。相较此前的《我们的星球》《蓝色星球》及最开始的系列片《生命的进化》，本片一改以往的基调，爱登堡以更加严苛的视角将镜头不仅聚焦于我们负有道义责任去保护的生物和气候，还聚焦于我们人类自身的生存状况。      □

（译者为“《英语世界》杯”翻译大赛获奖者;单位：中国进出口银行）