Best Netflix Documentaries網飛紀錄片佳作推介

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.

從自然題材作品到敵托邦式的地緣政治鬧劇，海量紀錄片有助于我們洞悉一切。以下是讓人大開眼界的全球紀錄片佳作精選。

《社交困境》

你可能看過電影《社交網絡》，片中，娃娃臉的馬克·扎克伯格（杰西·艾森伯格飾）創建了所在大學的社交網頁，還憑借創立“臉書”無意間永久改變了人類社會的進程。該片上映以來，我們愈發意識到社交媒體給我們個人和社交生活帶來的危害?！渡缃焕Ь场酚?020年上映，展現了杰夫·奧洛威斯基對社交媒體行業幕后運營的解析，令人信服。全片緩慢推進，痛斥“臉書”“照片墻”“推特”等技術巨頭的廣告驅動商業模式會操縱人類行為，十分危險。該片的核心信息是：技術行業亟須更加嚴格的倫理和道德管束。鑒于技術和社交媒體同我們的日常生活深度融合，該片可謂敲響了警鐘，告誡人們遠離遲早會身陷其中的敵托邦。

《我的章魚老師》

多年的超負荷工作后，電影制作人克雷格·福斯特希望回歸熟悉的自然主題，他放下了工作到南非海岸自由潛水。透過淺水區幽暗的海水，兩個有感知能力的生命體四目相視，深深地為彼此所吸引。當福斯特小心翼翼浮至水面時，那只吸引住他目光的章魚輕輕纏住他的手臂，物種間的好奇一時間盡顯無遺。那一刻激發了福斯特極大的興趣去探究我們同自然界非人類智慧體的相處方式。彼得·戈弗雷-史密斯2016年出版的驚世之作《其他思想》完美捕捉到了人類經驗之外的智慧生命奇觀。2021年的今天，《我的章魚老師》不失為一部發人深思的視覺指南，引導觀眾去欣賞并尊重地球上復雜多樣的生命體。

《美國工廠》

《美國工廠》描繪了俄亥俄州一家中資制造廠內部發生的文化沖突。2014年，中國玻璃制造商福耀集團承諾要重振俄亥俄州陷入崩潰的經濟，該州的汽車制造廠自2008年以來紛紛關閉。大批中國工人涌入工廠，帶來了與美國工人截然不同的職場文化和倫理規范。隨著工廠的運轉由全新組合的美中管理層聯手管控，一幅有趣的現代中美關系立體圖景呈現在我們眼前。

《民主的邊緣》

2019年發行的這部紀錄片由佩特拉·科斯塔執導，以令人震撼的視角呈現了巴西過去幾年的政治困境。該片展示了巴西政治淪為民粹主義的過程。科斯塔深挖史料，用鏡頭按照時間順序回溯了巴西的政治歷史。從民主在該國誕生，到2015年總統迪爾瑪·羅塞夫卷入貪腐丑聞終遭彈劾，再到2018年民粹主義者雅伊爾·博索納羅當選總統，整部紀錄片極具洞察力，引領觀眾了解巴西的民主制度。

《殘疾營地》

創建于1951年的堅內德營地為殘障營員們提供了一個避風港。在這里，他們可以無拘無束地生活、表達自我，遠離非殘障者的評頭論足。營地的建立最終催生了1977年的殘障者民權運動。這場發端于社會底層的運動由社會活動人士和堅內德營地前營員領導，他們受夠了就業和醫療機會屢遭剝奪的現實。導演吉姆·萊布雷希特也曾是一名營員，在影片監制（前總統）奧巴馬夫婦的幫助下，他將一段頗具道德影響力的歷史故事搬上銀幕，詮釋了青年主導的行動主義如何戰勝了當時的系統性歧視。

《地球上的一段生命旅程》

是對深受喜愛的知名自然主義者大衛·愛登堡職業生涯的回顧，還是為保護自然界發出的彌合政治分歧的緊急呼吁？這部備受關注的紀錄片梳理了愛登堡的職業歷程，這一歷程非凡而豐富，卻也伴生著已成為當代具有決定性意義的生態惡化問題。相較此前的《我們的星球》《藍色星球》及最開始的系列片《生命的進化》，本片一改以往的基調，愛登堡以更加嚴苛的視角將鏡頭不僅聚焦于我們負有道義責任去保護的生物和氣候，還聚焦于我們人類自身的生存狀況。? ? ? □

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎者;單位：中國進出口銀行）