cinephex

Girls Incarcerated looks at serious societal problems and hints at the complex systemic issues around an Indiana reform school. Unfortunately, it fails to interpret or critique these issues, missing opportunity after opportunity to delve into the psychological and environmental issues that landed these girls in the criminal justice system to begin with.

The series glosses over a few of the horror stories that led to the featured girls' problems, but it provides none of the context that would easily show how political and social apathy, the prison industrial complex, and anti-science policymaking have created this mess.

The filmmakers repeatedly fail to critique the unscientific "discipline" and teaching methods that seem to be employed, and they never challenge the (probably illegal) anti-LGBTQ+ religious indoctrination that's rammed down these kids' throats at a taxpayer-funded institution. There's nothing in the series that adequately educates viewers on the generational trauma, parental failures, or psychological issues that drive juvenile delinquency/crime, and there's no acknowledgement that many of the methods employed here are actually major contributors to recidivism.

In short, the series is voyeuristic and shallow, offering no vision for improving these institutions. Instead, viewers are treated to poverty porn that may appeal to people with empathy but no serious interest in the complex solutions needed to fix our broken criminal justice system. It will also appeal to the lowest common denominator of conservative rage-watchers - the sort who will focus on all the wrong things (swearing, acting out) while failing to comprehend the systemic problems that created the bad behavior in the first place (hint: it's not just bad parenting). Worst of all, the show lacks the psychological and intellectual insight to show its viewers a better way. It offers a reality TV approach that never takes a meaningful position on anything, and the show is lifeless and vapid as a result. Once again, these girls deserved much better treatment than they got.

Avatar has:

• A derivative story that's been told better a million times before (shocking, given that the films/stories it rips off - like Pocahontas and Gone With The Wind - weren't good to begin with)
• A script with stale dialogue that's worse than most fan fiction and uses stereotypes in lieu of character development
• A juvenile plotline that's bereft of originality and feels like it was written in the 1950s
• Possibly the least likeable protagonist in a decade
• Unimaginative sci-fi tropes, mostly plagiarized from superior books and films
• Wooden and unidimensional characters that are little more than laughable caricatures
• Subtitles in "Papyrus" font (seriously)
• A ham-handed attempt at an ecological morality lesson
• Generally good special effects that can't even begin to make up for the film's other deficiencies

Avatar targeted dim-witted popcorn-eaters and scored big with that disturbing large demographic. After being forced - for nearly 3 hours - to watch an idiot bumble his way through a video game environment that should have killed him in a matter of minutes, anyone with a better than room temperature IQ will find themselves frustrated beyond belief. This is especially true for people who have an elementary understanding of writing or filmmaking.

James Cameron targeted the bottom of the bell curve and hit his mark with the finesse, subtlety, and intellectual verve of a Michael Bay film. If you thought 300 was a masterpiece, Avatar is for you. Everyone else should steer clear.

This is a required-watch for anyone interested in the impact of religious political influence on American politics.

"The Family" is a well-researched documentation of the intentional and secretive infiltration of American politics by one tentacle of the religious right. It highlights the ongoing decimation of supposed divisions between church and state, categorically investigating the influence of just one of the many "Christian" organizations wielding outsized power in Washington. "The Family" examines the achievements of a largely-ignored organization that's pursued global political dominion, with the professed aims of subsequent Christian indoctrination of the masses. It narrates a complex web of illegal and legally-dubious behavior that has impacted American politics on a deeper level than almost anyone would like to admit. Highly recommended for political junkies, as this shines a light on what's previously been a poorly-documented yet integral piece of Washington D.C.'s swampy puzzle.