cb_whitewood

I've only heard of Brandy Melville in discussions of past fashion trends... but I always love a good documentary.

I think this documentary covered all that it needed to, but still fell a bit flat for me. I understood the hype sustained by teenage girls, the strangely predatory business practices that went unnoticed, the casual racism... but it was all "tell" and very little "show." Maybe it was just not possible, but I think lots of more interesting incidents could be found via social media where people regularly "expose" others, such as Tiktok. You're telling me there were no recorded incidents of discrimination/bad attitude from sales reps/etc anywhere???

Obviously those who worked closely for this brand are still suffering the repercussions of that, and I'm not aiming to minimize, but I don't think this film conveyed the impact well enough. Overall an interesting watch, but no re-watch value here in my opinion.

I watched this blind, in the mood for something suspicious and thrilling to ring in autumn...

ACTOM fit the bill pretty well! The production of this documentary really keeps you hanging off everyone's last word, trying to piece together what could possibly have happened. The characters in this scheme are bizarre, interesting people, and the rabbit hole just keeps going deeper...

Until it doesn't. The twist at the end really felt like "Wait, I watched all of that for this?!" By no means do I mean the "verdict" is far-fetched or unbelievable, but the final episode and wrap-up to this series was such a belly-flop of nothing compared to all the build-up the previous episodes had.

Not a bad watch, but unsatisfying ending in my opinion.

And that's a good thing! I love Hoarders, and I really enjoyed CAH too, but Hoarders feels much more exploitative of its hoarders. CAH shows the dismal living quarters without the dramatic edits, but also gives the families of hoarders support in the form of a therapist (who usually facilitates an intervention).

It's really refreshing to see people with severe mental illness being treated like people, but ALSO to see these same people face the consequences of their actions. Usually positive change came about too, but it did feel disingenuous from some hoarders at times.

Overall, if you like Hoarders, there's a good chance you'll like this program too. It's less dramatic and engaging, but still interesting and awe-inspiring at times.