Tag Archives: documentary
‘The Pushback’ is an Expansive Look at the Texas Left’s Fight for Power
A new documentary on progressive politics in Texas is an ode to the growing pains of a changing state.
During my four years at the Texas Observer, I’ve scrambled after stories about the progressive movement all over the sprawling Lone Star State. So while watch...Read More
Tiger King Could’ve Told a Tough Story of the Legal Mistreatment of Animals, But It Didn’t
Netflix’s runaway hit is a salacious interpersonal drama that buried what could have been a hard-hitting exposé of the patchwork regulations that are failing to protect animal welfare and public safety.
Just three weeks ago, during a narcotics raid in Hidalgo County, authorities discovered a white Bengal tiger, a bobcat, emus, porcupines, and a kinkajou being h...Read More
How the San Antonio Police Are Rethinking Mental Health
A new documentary on policing in San Antonio makes a simple suggestion: Instead of arresting mentally ill people, listen to them.
It’s the middle of the night, and a skinny young man is slumped on a curb outside a San Antonio strip club. Officer Joe Smarro—dressed casually in jeans, sn...Read More
‘Ghosts of Sugar Land’ Tracks a Texan’s Path to ISIS
In this contemplative, vulnerable new documentary, a group of friends try to understand why their former classmate embraced radical Islam.
One day in the summer of 2015, Bassam Tariq logged on to Facebook to see a long missive posted by a former friend, Warren Christopher Clark. “I am now current...Read More
Ken Burns’ New Documentary Builds a Bigger Tent for Country Music
Co-opted by whites, country music was largely shaped by black and immigrant musicians.
As a filmmaker, Ken Burns sees himself as a uniter and not a divider—an admirable endeavor in these polarized times, but not always a successful one. His 2017...Read More
Fearless and Funny, Molly Ivins Comes to Life in ‘Raise Hell’
If only she were around today.
I learned within my first day at the Texas Observer that Molly Ivins looms large over this place. Literally, two sizeable black-and-white photos of her hang abo...Read More
‘Man on Fire’ Searches in Vain for the Truth About Racism in East Texas
The new documentary asks why a minister self-immolated in the town of Grand Saline, but doesn’t uncover any new answers.
On June 23, 2014, 79-year-old retired Methodist minister Charles Moore drove to the parking lot of a Dollar General store in his hometown of Grand Saline, east ...Read More
Drag Queens and Churchgoers Find Common Ground in ‘The Gospel of Eureka’
With arms outstretched, the 67-foot-tall mortar Christ of the Ozarks sculpture towers over Eureka Springs, Arkansas, literally and figuratively. For decades, to...Read More
‘Get High With Ricki Lake!’: New Film on Medical Marijuana Leaves Out Texas Families
Featuring heartrending stories, Weed the People aims to change the stigma around cannabis treatment — but fails to look much outside its California bubble.
“I smell weed!” Ricki Lake walks onto the back patio of a South Austin home and laughs. It’s Monday night and the backyard is filled with people v...Read More