Netflix

Recently Reuben and I subscribed to Netflix. It was my spring break and because the weather was so crummy, the adventure(s) we had dreamed about never happened, and we needed something to do. Here's a list of some of the things that were first on my list to watch:

Mugabe and the White African


The heart-wrenching history of Mugabe's land reform program in Zimbabwe, which takes away land from White Africans and redistributes it to the 'poor, landless Africans'. Or in reality, Mugabe's closest family and friends. The movie follows a family struggle to keep their farm and the hundreds of Africans workers they employ. They manage to take Mugabe to International Court and eventually win the case and the legal rights to their farm (that they held all along...the Mugabe regime simply wouldn't recognize it). As the ending credits roll, the movie concludes by saying that the farm was burnt down and the farm was lost. *Sigh. I find the movie fascinating because I've never heard of such a harsh example of reverse racism. It's alive and well in Zimbabwe, even today as the last remaining white farmers cling to their land.

Which Way Home


The story of migrants on the North-bound trains that run through Mexico and up to the U.S. border. The documentary follows several kids who run away from home, hoping to make it to America to join family and achieve the American Dream. They somehow manage to interview the families they left behind and, for those who made it across the border, the families they joined. Others gave up part way on their journey or ended up in a detention center in America. Despite the crazy insanity and priorities of U.S. immigration policy, thousands of people still manage to make across over every year...and thousands also die in the attempt.

Rivers and Tides


Andy Goldsworthy has to be one of my favorite artists of all time. Doing 'nature art' was one of my favorite lessons to share with kids at IslandWood last year. Kids in Taiwan loved it, too. This movie is the creme-de-la-creme of his work. It's awe-inspiring, blows my mind, and is heart-breaking at the same time.

Babies


Just watching the trailer makes me smile. I like how this movie demonstrates how every culture (at least all of the four they chose to feature...Mongolia, U.S., Japan, and Namibia) has crazy ways of raising children. The Mongolian parents let their babies crawl around in the cattle herds. African mothers clean their babies with their tongues. American parents vacuum their babies. I don't remember anything particularly strange about the Japanese. It's basically the cutest 2 hours of your life, if there is such a thing.

Inception


This movie blows my mind in every way. I want to watch it over and over and over again, simply because I want to understand it but know I never will. It's true: an idea IS the most resilient parasite. Brilliant, Leo.

There were others on my list to write about, too, but those were a lot more dry and boring. I don't want to waste my time writing about those.