I realised that I haven't written a TV Discovery post on any documentaries, despite that making up a large part of my viewing habits. A well made and balanced documentary is one of the many supporting arguments for why television is a media platform worth investing some of your time in. These days television has a pretty poor reputation in many people's eyes, however if you spend a little time searching for quality programming, whether it's documentaries or fictional series, you can find some amazing shows that can help broaden your horizons. I already have an IMDB list of some of my favourite documentary films, which I strongly recommend you go check out if you're after some more informative viewing.
On my Netflix watchlist I've had a series called Dirty Money sat there for some time, and I finally decided to watch it yesterday in between hugging the toilet bowl (I've had some kind of bug). It's not what I was expecting, as I've found sometimes you have to be careful with documentaries on Netflix because some of them are absolute crap, bias-pushing or complete fabrications. Usually though, I've found that the Netflix Original docuseries have been well made and don't appear to be too heavily biased. I'm very much for this important information being packaged in a easily digestible way that is accessible to the many.
Dirty Money follows six cases of scandal and corruption in the world of business; the VW diesel scandal, Scott Tucker and his Payday loan scams, pharmaceutical companies hiking the prices of drugs, the HSBC money laundering scandal, the Great Maple Syrup Heist and Donald J. Trump. Most of these were stories I was familiar with from the news, but didn't know too much about each one. The show uses first hand accounts from both victims and perpetrators of these scams, cons and scandals to create a captivating narrative that easily gets you hooked.
The first episode about the VW carbon scandal explains how the car company used cheat devices to alter lab results of their "clean diesel" engines in order to get around US regulations on emissions. The truly concerning thing is that not only did this revelation highlight one companies reckless pursuit of profit, but an entire industry. This wasn't even the first time that diesel engine manufacturers have been caught using such devices.
Not all episodes are necessarily about "dirty money", as the fifth installment is more of an investigative piece on the relationships between the Quebec maple syrup federation, who acts very much like the oil cartel OPEC, and their relationship with producers. In fact, each episode feels quite different to the others with the fourth episode on the HSBC money laundering scandal feeling almost like a piece made by VICE.
I think the episode that surprised me the most was actually the one that went over Trump's business history, highlighting his bemusing failings as a real estate tycoon, but also his frankly cunning development of the "Trump brand". The episode largely focuses on his career progression from unknown heir to a real estate fortune, to full-on celebrity and ultimately POTUS in what feels like a carefully choreographed show.
You'll see PharmaBro Martin Shkreli's face used in the promo images for this programme quite a bit, but he really only a couple of minor mentions in the third episode about Valeant's bullish treatment of the pharmaceutical business. I felt a bit like it was tacked on to draw in some of it's audience, a bait and switch almost, but there's already plenty of media coverage on the PharmaBro who was eventually convicted of securities and wire fraud. This episode does a very good job of showing the human faces of the victims of this predatory business practice.
Overall, I can't recommend this docuseries enough as it's an enthralling dive into the monstrous nature of modern capitalism, especially when left unchecked. Have you seen this show yet? Let me know your thoughts and feelings down below, and I'll see you in the comments. As always, make sure to follow me for the latest Technology, Internet and Pop Culture updates and if you're a fan of strange/interesting YouTube videos, you might want to follow me on Twitter.
Oh, and as a side note, I'm trying to get a new tag started; #tvdiscovery so if you write posts about shows you enjoy and others might too, then add the #tvdiscovery tag to your posts. I'll be keeping an eye on the tag for new content, so expect a helping hand if you do join. Until we meet again, take it easy!
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Sources:
Dirty Money on Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirty_Money_(2018_TV_series))
Cover image made by me using images from Netflix, all other images directly from Netflix
I saw this one too, and I can recommend it to anyone.. nice review!
Nicely written, as always, John. Now I am inspired to write a review of the documentary, The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution. Still on Netflix (not sure if it was a N-exclusive). I will give it a second watch and take notes this time. No promises though. 😉
Thank you so much brother, and hopefully I'll be reading your review soon! If you do manage to, would you mind including the #TVDiscovery tag?
Thank you again, your support really means a lot to me.
Yup, once I get to write it I will be sure to use the tag.
I appreciate that you commit to good quality content. That's the only way we can grow Steem... one great post at a time. As long as you keep doing that, you have my support.
Much love, brother.
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