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‘The Tinder Swindler’, ‘Bad Surgeon’, and endless true crime series are just some popular (especially among women) examples showing that people love a somewhat shocking documentary. And while there are thousands, if not millions, of them covering basically anything and everything out there already, there are nearly equally as many stories waiting to be uncovered.
Members of the ‘Ask Reddit’ community recently discussed such stories, when the user ‘Ninac4116’ asked them about ‘open secrets’ that don’t have a documentary created about them yet. If you’re curious about what stories people would love to watch on the big screen—or their TVs, at least—next, scroll down to find their answers on the list below and see what might be coming up in the world of documentaries in the future.
Below you will also find Bored Panda’s interviews with the OP themself as well as with the Cinema Studies lecturer at Rutgers University, Albert Nigrin, who were kind enough to answer a few of our questions.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Maga is a cult.
I'm not talking about Republicans necessarily. I am talking about the portion of Republicans willing to surrender their entire free thought to the whim of a charismatic leader.
The closest documentry would be the Alt Right episode of the Netflix docuseries "Web of Make Believe: Death Lies and the Internet"
Edit: For clarification, my personal definition for a cult is:
A high control group that follows a specifically tailored ideology which is used to abuse and manipulate followers for the benefit of the group leader and/or leadership.
Bernd Herbert 4 months ago
Just watch interviews with the, It is a cult. This is not a political party anymore, or a part of it. When people worship a leader like figure and would vote for him no matter what he does, yeah, that's a cult.
#3
David Miscavige's wife has not been seen in public since 2007. Miscavige is the leader of Scientology.
#4
Private equity is destroying healthcare. They siphon every cent out and then close hospitals down.
Doctors and nurses are now laborers, not professionals. There won’t be much left in 20 years.
Even though secrets typically refer to something that is not widely known, there are some that are common knowledge to many (even if certain people would rather they weren’t). These often include stories of someone’s bad deeds, intrigues, and even crimes, all of which are far from positive, yet often captivating nevertheless.
In a recent interview with Bored Panda, the redditor who started the thread, ‘Ninac4116’, shared that it was curiosity that led them to pose the question. “As an exposé junkie, I was curious what more in the world we don’t know about yet,” they said.
#5
The prevalence of microplastics in our food and water supply is an 'open secret' that needs a dedicated documentary. the long-term health effects are still unknown, and it’s a topic that deserves more attention.
#6
The Mormon Church is sitting on hundreds of billions of dollars in stock and real estate. They do almost no charity work directly from those funds. The majority of the humanitarian funds the church claims are from an equivalent dollar value of labor from their members and another entirely separate charity arm which doesnt involve church contributions.
Bernd Herbert 4 months ago
The only ones thriving under any religious rule are those in power. That is and was always the case
#7
There’s an industry that basically takes guardianship of elderly people by getting them declared incompetent, without their knowledge. They move them into nursing homes, sell off their homes and assets and take over their money. It’s like the title theft scam, but with people being taken over rather than just real estate. It’s brutal and frightening:
#8
I’d love to see a documentary on the PPP loan fraud during Covid (US). There have been a lot of news articles about it, but a deep dive that exposes wealthy people would be awesome.
censorshipsucks 4 months ago
same happened in south africa, but we have actually prosecuted some of the people who were guilty.
Discussing what tends to captivate people the most when it comes to documentaries, the redditor suggested that whenever they cover something that affects viewers directly or paints something in a completely different light from how they viewed it before, it immediately gets their attention. “Due to our contentious political climate, anything with a political tie will draw in more viewers [nowadays],” they said.
“Many answers were surprising,” the OP added, “but a common theme [that was] somewhat unsurprising were the Jeffrey Epstein and Trump comments. It makes you wonder why certain things don’t get more media attention.”
#9
How the private prison industry basically got tons of local sheriffs departments into the prison industry, especially in the south by financing, building and training them to run jails and prisons for profit. It's like a franchise, and poor people are the product.
Jason Melvil 4 months ago
To be more specific here - part of the point of prison is rehabilitation. To try to get a person not to commit crimes anymore. But once the prison system becomes for profit, it is the system's incentive that the person *does* commit more crimes so he will return again.
#10
Putin and Russia's influence on social media around the world. I don't think there's been a documentary into just how deep it goes, and how prevalent it is.
#11
I’m surprised there isn’t a documentary on the quackery behind chiropractics. It was literally invented by a man hearing what a ghost said to him. Google that.
Bernd Herbert 4 months ago
And if you hear that cracking sound in your neck or back that's the same mechanism, as cracking your fingers. There are no displaced vertebrae in your back that some quack resets.
Discussing what “open secrets” they would want to see presented as a documentary, the OP said that an exposé on chiropractics is long overdue. “Many people consider them a back doctor and blindly go see them. But the reality of its foundations and its practice are pretty mind-blowing.”
#13
I feel like there aren’t very many docs on how horrible tipping culture is.
Jason Melvil 4 months ago
Tipping is a genius concept. It lets an employer avoid paying his employees a living wage and then when the employee doesn't make enough, instead of going after his employer - he blames customers. Absolutely genius. The fact that most of the world does just fine without tips doesn't even get anyone to think that maybe the system itself is the problem.
#14
The way old folks are treated in care homes.
censorshipsucks 4 months ago
This is distinctly a western thing. Here in Africa if an older person becoming incapable, generally their family takes care of them. We call it "throwing away old people". As if they are inconvenient garbage. We think it is an indictment of westerners.
#15
Steven Tyler of Aerosmith adopted his 14 year old wife, so he could legally take her across state lines. Wrote about it in his memoir. Said it was consensual. Later became a judge on American Idol.
Seeking to learn more about what makes a good documentary, Bored Panda got in touch with Cinema Studies lecturer at Rutgers University, Albert Nigrin, who said that for him, a good documentary is one where new information is presented in an interesting and unbiased way.
“Documentaries are very important as they are a window into the life of our planet,” he added. “They play an increasing role in helping us understand ourselves and our lives better.”
#16
Someone needs to do something about the robber barons of the 21st century. Tech industry is doing almost exactly what the oil, rail, and gas companies did in the gilded age.
#17
A company can sell you a printer and then render that printer inoperable if you decide not to also purchase the ink from them (in which said ink is being sold as a subscription service).
Bernd Herbert 4 months ago
This is one of those examples where law makers could make a difference, but they won't. They keyword is lobbyism
#18
Pilots aren’t allowed to fly if they’re depressed (treated or not) or taking any mental health medications, but most of them can’t afford to take off work until they get better (depression is chronic for many), so they fly regardless of how poor their mental health may be and keep it secret if necessary.
Bernd Herbert 4 months ago
This f****d up. What can happen is this: Germanwings Flight 9525, March 24, 2015. 150 dead.
According to the expert, popular topics for documentaries vary by time period. “During World War II, documentaries focused on the war effort [were popular]. During the 1960s, documentaries started to focus on the turmoil of that period.
“Today's documentaries are all over the place given that there are so many more outlets for these; everything from ‘reality TV’ to series on the climate crisis.”
#19
Tiger King kind of covered it, but some states have really lax exotic animal laws. Lions, tigers, and bears are not pets. They are wild animals.
Rayne OfSalt 4 months ago
A dude in florida tried farming Cassowaries (Cassowaries, along with Cockatoos, only exist in the US due to egg smuggling, btw) and got disemboweled by one of the birds (because they're big, violent things prone to rage).
#20
Just how much bribery and effort coordination go into lobbying on Capitol Hill.
notlikeyou1971 4 months ago
I heard that straight from a senator's mouth on live tv. He said " they won't sign the checks to us anymore if we don't do whatever they want us to do". I always thought they were bought and paid for but it basically confirmed everything.
#21
How much the military actually waste. If they don’t use what they’re allotted one fiscal year they don’t get the same the next so towards the end of the year they’ll throw ammo off boats in the ocean and purposely break office furniture and burn excess uniforms so the same amount at minimum is allotted the next year.
censorshipsucks 4 months ago
This is similar to our country. Here if you do not use up your budget it gets reduced the next year and whatever surplus you have leftover is sent back to Treasury. It's a b******t practice. They should REWARD you for underspending. It means you met your targets with lower spend. If however you don't meet targets AND you underspend then sure, punish the department.
But even though they cover a wide range of topics, documentaries are rarely successful, Nigrin pointed out. “Only a few have had successful theatrical releases. Hoop Dreams, Fahrenheit 9/11, March of the Penguins were a few of these and they featured pretty in-depth analysis of its subject.”
#22
DuPont plants have a ridiculously high cancer rate for contractors/employees. Studies on titanium dioxide get buried.
Jrog 4 months ago
The studies are so "buried" that about three dozen have been published in the last decade, leading both NIH and EFSA to reclassify TiO2 as "possible carcinogenic" and not safe for human consumption. The health effects are limited to inhalation and ingestion in significant quantities though, so use in toothpaste, paints, inks and plastic coloring agents is still viable and considered generally safe.
#23
Powerful people using tax havens to avoid paying taxes. While there have been some documentaries on specific incidents or individuals, a documentary covering the system seems to be lacking.
Rayne OfSalt 4 months ago
Anyone else remember the Panama Papers? The ones that exposed that the world's rich use tax havens to avoid paying their fair share of tax? You know the only consequence for anyone involved in that? The journalist who published them was assassinated with a car bomb.
#24
The way apartment leasing mega corps like Greystar squeeze renters for every penny (initial lease rate algorithm for starters) and in return cut every corner to save money destroying their customers without care because there’s always hundreds more lined up due to the horrible housing market. Predatory leasing at its finest. Don’t see this ever changing.
Kate Jones 4 months ago
Yes. Apartments with bars on the windows and rats are asking for 3K a month. Landlords are gouging people- but also allowing 10 people in a 2 bedroom apartment in order to afford the costs, which is causing problems for neighbors. Also, how about companies that don't pay their staff enough to live in the area they are expected to work? I drive 3 hours a day because I can't afford to live anywhere near my job. This causes all kinds of problems with leasing. Because Boston rent is so ridiculously high, people from Boston have to move to smaller surrounding towns and basically push out the people who work and live there. Then landlords realize this so they up rents to staggering amounts, so it just pushes people to move further and further until they have taken over the area. Now a waitress in southcoast massachusetts has to drive 40 minutes to her sh!tty waitressing job because there's nowhere to live in her town. And she can't afford the gas so she ends up on welfare. It's crazy.
#25
The new uranium mines that are being opened on Native American reservations in the Southwest US. Also the ones that are abandoned and the government refuses to clean them up. Not to mention a lot of Navajo Nation is still feeling the effects of the former Bennett Freeze where they couldn’t get anything fixed or anything new built on their land for over 40 years. A good portion of people living in Navajo nation in those areas affected by the freeze still don’t have access to running water and electricity in their homes.
TennesseeHomesteadUSA 4 months ago
Only half correct. 'Forgot' the rest. I lived in AZ 16 years. I have Navajo, Hopi,Pima and Papago friends. "The Bennett Freeze was a 43-year development ban on 1.5 million acres (610,000 ha) of Navajo lands by the US Federal Government. It was put in place in 1966 in order to promote negotiations over a land dispute between the Navajo and the Hopi and lasted until 2009." That land dispute was about to turn violent. Hopis and Navajos DO NOT care too much for each other. The Hopi reservation is island completely enclosed by the Navajo nation. Bennett's intervention circumvented violence. You 'forgot' all that -- on purpose.
#26
How some of the top fashion magazines send young models over to meet wealthy donors in hotel rooms who will ‘help’ them get the modelling contract they were after.
#27
How recycling is essentially not a real practice. I mean maybe there is something about it but I feel like everyone I know recycles so much of their trash and over 90% if not all of it ends up as trash. Piles and piles of trash.
Jrog 4 months ago (edited)
Let's stop with this BS. This *may* be true in the USA. As of 2003, Europe recycles about 60% of its total waste, treating over 90% of the waste by volume domestically. Almost the totality of the export is made by steel and ferrous metals, that are sent to Asian foundries that are cheaper and closer to the highest demand areas.
#28
The province of New Brunswick, Canada is basically the play toy of a small handful of wealthy families (Irving, McCain, Oland). The government is just there for show.
#29
Air-fryers are just rebranded convection ovens from the 90s.
#30
I would say the amount of people that fail at raising their kids.
Not even obvious and serious things like abusing their kids, but just not raising them right.
What do you think ?
Swan 4 months ago
people love to insult america, but here in europe it's not any better. well, in terms of badly treated people under """care""" are, microplastics, unfair court judgements, bad politicians...
Load More Replies... Verena 4 months ago
All of them are covered by European documentaries. The media works together across borders to investigate thoroughly. Most of the documentaries can be easily found by googling them. However, not all of them are in english or come with english subtitles, even though native english speaking people appear in them.
Verena 4 months ago
I am missing two, for both no documentary seems to exist in US and AUS: 1. The effects of fracking to the environment and fresh wster supply. The technique is banned in Europe with good reason. 2. Killing off wild horses in the huge space countries. The idea alone refuses any logical thinking. Hey, we have a delicate ecosystem, but after having done some calculations based on unproven assumption, we conclude we have a horse infestation. Only solution is to low fly helicopters over that delicate area, scaring the living daylights out of everything living there, creating a wild panicky stampede destroying that delicateness, which causes horses to break legs, mares prematurely aborting foals and foals get lost/orphaned. Then shoot at anything resembling a horse and let it die miserably, because a clean shot is impossible. The carcasses are left to rot and poison that ecosystem, or lots of predators are lured it for some fresh meat, and endangering the animals living there.
Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My! 4 months ago
We need a documentary about how cats are the greatest species ever to walk the earth.
Pandarosa 4 months ago
Absolutely we do, lots and lots of documentaries with in-depth interviews included.
Load More Replies...
Lea S. 4 months ago
Three things. The right-to-fix movement and something that I think goes hand in hand with it - planned obsolescence. I've watched farmers lose a lot of crops because the new tractor they bought just shuts down - and everything is controlled remotely. Someone can't get out to fix it in time and bam - thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of work down the drain. The terrible, terrible medical care in the United States. A friend of mine recently dealt with cancer - her insurance tried to deny her chemo. My partner has spina bifida, doctors wouldn't take the proper x-rays to prove it for years. For ten years - he's barely been able to drive a car, stand up longer than a few minutes, or sit in a chair. Two months ago he left the doctor (hours away) with a surgery planned....we set up care, days off work, all that....it had been cancelled by that afternoon. He's supposedly having a spinal surgery on the 24th...I don't believe it will happen. I live in fear of the next fall he takes just
Lea S. 4 months ago
trying to live his life. The final example. My friends husband is dying. He has a rare condition that makes steel-like growths in his body until it starts to have a multi-system shutdown. They have a three year old - insurance denied the one medicine that could help.
Load More Replies... Nimitz 4 months ago
We need a documentary about parents who commit crimes and never get caught or punished. My dad was a man who would strangle us like Homer Simpson and rape my mother. His punishment was the government "allowing" his wife to divorce him, take the kids, pay alimony. That's it. So a person walks up to a kid on the street and kicks them in the face, they're going to jail. But a father does it in the house and will never ever be held accountable. It's insane how much crime goes unpunished
ByeFelicia 4 months ago
We need a documentary on lithium production and cobalt mining focusing on both the toxins leaking into the ground/ground water, and the forced child labor to manufacture mobile phones and electric cars--basically anything with a Li battery.
Ąåřţđęşịɠŋȿ 4 months ago
All these issues are over-the-top serious and important and only a very small percentage will ever get brought to light...but more importantly, nothing will be done. Greed and corruption is worse than it ever has been over the centuries. Unfortunately, it is ingrained in all cultures. It is, regrettably, human nature. When all peoples are gone, I often wonder what intelligence will take our place. What myths and legends and cautionary tales will be told about the evil species we were. Will they be better? Will they too devolve into the insanity we have mired ourselves? "They held so much promise and caused so much sorrow." Sadly, it may be unavoidable it this point. Just a matter of time. This fact is highlighted by the MAGA cult. The fact that it can thrive, and seemingly, nobody lifts a finger.
DrBronxx 4 months ago
Ok, so most of this list tells illustrates what we already know (or, given that these are "open secrets," strongly suspect) - the US is really f****d up. Give us more docs on other countries, about what we don't know.
Rachel Mitchell 4 months ago
The irony is, we don't know BECAUSE we're in the US.
Load More Replies... LadyManx 4 months ago
I'm even now watching a movie that shows how the artist Roy Lichtenstein stole his ideas from comic book artists. Never gave them credit, nor any financial help. HIs need to be taken off the walls and the originals hung w/ funds to the original artists. See " Wham, Blam! Roy Lichtenstein and the art of Appropriation.
Swan 4 months ago
people love to insult america, but here in europe it's not any better. well, in terms of badly treated people under """care""" are, microplastics, unfair court judgements, bad politicians...
Load More Replies... Verena 4 months ago
All of them are covered by European documentaries. The media works together across borders to investigate thoroughly. Most of the documentaries can be easily found by googling them. However, not all of them are in english or come with english subtitles, even though native english speaking people appear in them.
Verena 4 months ago
I am missing two, for both no documentary seems to exist in US and AUS: 1. The effects of fracking to the environment and fresh wster supply. The technique is banned in Europe with good reason. 2. Killing off wild horses in the huge space countries. The idea alone refuses any logical thinking. Hey, we have a delicate ecosystem, but after having done some calculations based on unproven assumption, we conclude we have a horse infestation. Only solution is to low fly helicopters over that delicate area, scaring the living daylights out of everything living there, creating a wild panicky stampede destroying that delicateness, which causes horses to break legs, mares prematurely aborting foals and foals get lost/orphaned. Then shoot at anything resembling a horse and let it die miserably, because a clean shot is impossible. The carcasses are left to rot and poison that ecosystem, or lots of predators are lured it for some fresh meat, and endangering the animals living there.
Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My! 4 months ago
We need a documentary about how cats are the greatest species ever to walk the earth.
Pandarosa 4 months ago
Absolutely we do, lots and lots of documentaries with in-depth interviews included.
Load More Replies... Lea S. 4 months ago
Three things. The right-to-fix movement and something that I think goes hand in hand with it - planned obsolescence. I've watched farmers lose a lot of crops because the new tractor they bought just shuts down - and everything is controlled remotely. Someone can't get out to fix it in time and bam - thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of work down the drain. The terrible, terrible medical care in the United States. A friend of mine recently dealt with cancer - her insurance tried to deny her chemo. My partner has spina bifida, doctors wouldn't take the proper x-rays to prove it for years. For ten years - he's barely been able to drive a car, stand up longer than a few minutes, or sit in a chair. Two months ago he left the doctor (hours away) with a surgery planned....we set up care, days off work, all that....it had been cancelled by that afternoon. He's supposedly having a spinal surgery on the 24th...I don't believe it will happen. I live in fear of the next fall he takes just
Lea S. 4 months ago
trying to live his life. The final example. My friends husband is dying. He has a rare condition that makes steel-like growths in his body until it starts to have a multi-system shutdown. They have a three year old - insurance denied the one medicine that could help.
Load More Replies... Nimitz 4 months ago
We need a documentary about parents who commit crimes and never get caught or punished. My dad was a man who would strangle us like Homer Simpson and rape my mother. His punishment was the government "allowing" his wife to divorce him, take the kids, pay alimony. That's it. So a person walks up to a kid on the street and kicks them in the face, they're going to jail. But a father does it in the house and will never ever be held accountable. It's insane how much crime goes unpunished
ByeFelicia 4 months ago
We need a documentary on lithium production and cobalt mining focusing on both the toxins leaking into the ground/ground water, and the forced child labor to manufacture mobile phones and electric cars--basically anything with a Li battery.
Ąåřţđęşịɠŋȿ 4 months ago
All these issues are over-the-top serious and important and only a very small percentage will ever get brought to light...but more importantly, nothing will be done. Greed and corruption is worse than it ever has been over the centuries. Unfortunately, it is ingrained in all cultures. It is, regrettably, human nature. When all peoples are gone, I often wonder what intelligence will take our place. What myths and legends and cautionary tales will be told about the evil species we were. Will they be better? Will they too devolve into the insanity we have mired ourselves? "They held so much promise and caused so much sorrow." Sadly, it may be unavoidable it this point. Just a matter of time. This fact is highlighted by the MAGA cult. The fact that it can thrive, and seemingly, nobody lifts a finger.
DrBronxx 4 months ago
Ok, so most of this list tells illustrates what we already know (or, given that these are "open secrets," strongly suspect) - the US is really f****d up. Give us more docs on other countries, about what we don't know.
Rachel Mitchell 4 months ago
The irony is, we don't know BECAUSE we're in the US.
Load More Replies... LadyManx 4 months ago
I'm even now watching a movie that shows how the artist Roy Lichtenstein stole his ideas from comic book artists. Never gave them credit, nor any financial help. HIs need to be taken off the walls and the originals hung w/ funds to the original artists. See " Wham, Blam! Roy Lichtenstein and the art of Appropriation.
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