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Start 2017 Strong With These 8 Inspirational Films You Can Stream
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Jan 2, 2017
Modified Jan 2, 2017
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By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Jan 2, 2017
Modified Jan 2, 2017
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Before the election, when the prospect of a Trump presidency was a mere night terror instead of a living one, we rounded up some life lessons sourced from Hollywood's best apocalyptic films. Now that we're at dystopia's door, though, perhaps it's better to prepare for 2017 by watching inspiring stories meant to spur us into action, instead of devastating stuff that makes you want to give up.
Sadly, there's a lot of good stuff I want to recommend that's not streaming—Malcolm X, Casablanca, Remember the Titans, Thelma & Louise, Milk, and Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, to name a few—but we're sticking with films that are streaming on Netflix, Amazon Prime and HBO Now. Leave your favorites in the comments, please. (And it goes without saying that watching a movie is no substitute for activism; consider making a donation to non-profits like these before or after the credits roll.)
Spotlight: Priests abusing children isn't exactly uplifting stuff, but the (true!) story of how a team of dedicated Boston Globe journalists—and one hell of an editor—pulled the lid off a massive cover-up is a good reminder of both the importance of a free press and why you should push past the obstacles the folks in power put in front of you.
Streaming on Netflix
All The President's Men: Before there was Trump, there was Nixon, a president taken down by two intrepid journalists who followed the money all the way from the Watergate Hotel to the White House. Fast-forward 40 years, and a suspicious security breach at the Democratic National Committee is once again major news. It turns out we haven't come all that far since 1974, and considering the conflicts of interest we're already seeing in the emerging Trump administration, we're going to need an army of dogged reporters like Woodward and Bernstein to bring vital new facts to light.
Streaming on HBO Now.
To Kill A Mockingbird: Atticus Finch might have been conceived initially as a doddering old racist, but to us he'll always be Gregory Peck, bespectacled and kind and teaching us to stand up for what's right.
Streaming on Netflix
The American President: I am grateful every day that The Newsroom is no longer around to rub Will McAvoy's superior 20/20 hindsight in our faces, but this early Aaron Sorkin screenplay is liberal fantasy at its pre-West Wing best. What a joy it would be to have a Commander-in-Chief who considers the plight of the night janitor working at a political enemy's intelligence headquarters before bombing it, or at least one who bothers to buy his date flowers.
Streaming on Amazon Prime
Working Girl: There are some much better feminist films in the non-streamverse—Thelma & Louise, Norma Rae, Erin Brokovich, and A League of Their Own, to name a few. Still, watching Melanie Griffith overcome classicism and sexism to climb corporate America's ladder is satisfying in its own right, even if Working Girl is a weird celebration of 1980s capitalism and quick wealth, "Let the River Run" is inspiring as hell, and hot Harrison Ford is always a good pick-me-up when the world's getting you down.
Streaming on Netflix
Fruitvale Station: Fruitvale Station isn't inspiring so much as it is infuriating, but let the outrage it sparks be a call to action. In 2009, 22-year-old Oscar Grant was killed by BART police officer Johannes Mehserle at the Fruitvale district station in Oakland. Grant was unarmed and bystanders recording the shooting on cell phones and digital cameras—the media picked up the videos, there was an uproar, and Mehserle was eventually found guilty of involuntary manslaughter (but not murder). Fruitvale Station is Ryan Coogler's debut film and follows Grant (played by Michael B. Jordan) on the last day of his life. There's no happy ending here, but it'll make you furious enough to fight for happy endings for other folks.
Streaming on Netflix
Elizabeth: We didn't get a badass woman leader this time around, but it's fun watching Cate Blanchett behead the shit out of her enemies. One day, boys. One day.
Streaming on Netflix
Defiance: I am still not completely sold on Daniel Craig as a Polish Jew, but this 2008 film about the Bielski brothers who spearheaded a Jewish resistance against the Nazis in Belarus is pretty stirring, even if it's not quite as satisfying as Inglourious Basterds (probably because it's based on a true story, unlike the latter). It turns out the real history behind the Bielskis is not quite as black-and-white as Hollywood's version, but it is nice, if wish-fulfilling, to watch Jews attack Nazis for once.
Streaming on Netflix
Previously:Now's The Time To Watch Interstellar & Learn What You Can From The Black Hole.
Tagged
2017
cinematic xanax
donald trump
god help us
hollywood
netflix
original
Rebecca Fishbein
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