7 Netflix Documentaries To Watch Right Now That Will Make You A Better Person

1. Blackfish

At this stage, it's an oldie, but still a goodie. Blackfish will make you rethink how you see theme parks, circuses, zoos – anywhere that keeps animals in captivity for entertainment. 

2. West of Memphis

It's the story of three teenagers who spent 18 years in prison for a crime they didn't commit – and it has a lot to say about how we, as a society, view outsiders, and the collective hysteria that takes hold of a small town when a young boy is murdered. Gripping, disturbing, thought-provoking stuff.

3. The Hunting Ground

For anyone who thinks rape culture doesn't exist, this documentary sheds some light on the issue – focusing on campuses across the US where rapes are systematically hushed up and brushed under the carpet. It's scary – but eye-opening.

4. Cowspiracy

If industrial farming is the biggest evil humans have wrought on the planet – and that's a smaller if than you'd think – then Cowspiracy is to factory farming what Watergate was to politics. We'd recommend getting your fillets in before watching; rib-eye will never be the same again.

5. Dreams Of A Life

How many people would miss you if you died – just dropped dead, in front of the TV? Dreams of a Life is the story of a woman who wasn't discovered for four years, and asks a lot of questions about how connected we really are in this modern world of connectivity.

6. The True Cost 

The fact that the fashion industry relies on low-paid workers, toiling for hours in factories we'd barely use the loo in isn't news – but why is it that we just don't care who makes our clothes? This documentary will ruin fast fashion for you, and you won't even care. Important, guilt-inducing viewing.

7. She's Beautiful When She's Angry

This is the documentary to put on when someone in your life is talking about how the women's rights movement isn't important – it seems insane, but we all know someone. And this, a history of 60s and 70s women's rights movement, is even more pertinent right now, with Ireland's own #repealthe8th movement.