Movies

The 12 Best Vice Documentaries on YouTube

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Vice

For those who enjoy unusual, unique, or downright weird documentaries, Vice is what you’ll want to search on YouTube. Vice is a media company that has dealings in all sorts of different mediums, including film production, television, music, and art. Vice is known for covering stories and topics that traditional media outlets refuse to even consider. Their content is typically aimed for the younger generation, with the majority of their journalists, reporters, and filmmakers representing a younger generation than who you’d see on regular cable networks. The content can be graphic in nature, and is often times controversial, but it is informative in a way that does not hold back. So, without further ado, here are some of the most mind blowing documentaries you can watch by Vice.

Inside Veteran TV’s Dark and Controversial Humor

San Diego is home to over 240,000 military veterans, which makes up 13% of the county’s population. VET Tv uses dark humor to depict what military life is really like for post 9/11 veterans. What VICE reporter, Erica, finds when she goes behind the scenes at VET Tv is that military life is extremely far from the glorified heroic story Hollywood pitches. While most civilians who watch VET Tv won’t want to see America’s heroes portrayed as perverted fratty killing machines, their target audience of veterans relies on the network for a sense of community, and a means to laugh through the immense trauma experienced in combat.

From Rehab to a Body Bag | Dying for Treatment

This documentary serves as a Vice’s exposure of the luxury rehabilitation industry, centering around the centers that provide treatment for addicts of many sorts. It displays the corruption and inability to validate the practices of these expensive treatment centers, while shedding a light on how they prey upon those who come forward for help. The documentary follows Brandon Jacques, a 20-year old who was enrolled in one of these treatment centers, but died two months later due to gross negligence by the treatment center.

Suicide Forest in Japan

Many may recognize the suicide forest in Japan, after it made headlines due to a YouTube star filming a dead body he and his group came upon while exploring the forest. This documentary sheds light on this forest in a more humble and less controversial way. The site is said to be the most popular place in Japan for people to commit suicide, and legend has it that the forest is haunted by those who have taken their lives in it. Authorities sweep the forest once a year to search for bodies, due to the surrounding trees and plant life being too dense.

The Real Walter White

Breaking Bad is often cited as being one of the greatest shows to ever air on television, but what many don’t know is that there was a real life Walter White who built a fairly extensive meth empire. While it doesn’t mirror the hit TV show completely, it is still an interesting story, and is one you don’t want to miss if you’re a fan of Breaking Bad.

The Giants of Iceland

While Iceland is a small island covered in ice with an even smaller population, that doesn’t mean the people who live there are small. This documentary details the legacy of Iceland’s world famous strongmen, and why so many of the world’s strongest and biggest men hail from this small island. Plus, if you’re a fan of Game of Thrones, you’ll see a cameo from Hafþór Júlíus “Thor” Björnsson, otherwise known as portraying The Mountain.

World’s Scariest Drug

Widely known for being one of the most shocking Vice documentaries, it covers a new drug that has been found in the markets of Columbia called Scopolamine. Also known as “The Devil’s Breath” it is shown to rob those who abuse of their free will, becoming more or less an obedient person without them even knowing it. The first-hand testimonies alone will blow your mind.

Death in a Can: Australia’s Euthanasia Loophole

Suicide has been a common topic in the news as of late, but there is one interesting aspect of it that isn’t touched on very often – assisted suicide. An issue that is difficult to grapple with, there are many that seek it out to escape from chronic illnesses that drastically lower their quality of life, as is seen in this documentary.

The Islamic State

Taking you into the world of the Islamic State, this documentary gives you a rare glimpse into the of Raqqa, the capital of the world’s newest declined states. Displaying the graphic nature of the Islamic State, it also allows you to get a greater understanding of what life in like in the Caliphate.

Garbage Island: An Ocean full of Plastic

After watching this, you’ll understand the sheer gravity of a world becoming overfilled with plastic. We hardly give plastic a second thought, but many people don’t know that there is a massive floating island of it in the North Pacific Gyre. Those who have seen it in person have said the floating plastic island is about the size of Texas. Also watch Part 2, and Part 3

This Is What Winning Looks Like

A scathing expose on the aftermath of the war in Afghanistan, this documentary takes you into the lives of those still living in the third-world country after the deadly destruction that took place fighting backing the Taliban. It shows just how much progress we have truly made in helping Afghanistan establish a stable government after the war.

The Cannibal Generals of Liberia

Unrelenting civil war and a raging problem of warring clans have transformed Liberia into an exceptionally dangerous place to be. This Vice doc shows you just how deranged and senseless the violence there.

The Gangs That Inherited Pablo Escobar’s Drug Empire: Cooking with Cocaine

After the hit Netflix Narco’s, there was a renewed sense of interest in the vast drug empire that Pablo Escobar created. Many people don’t know that this empire simply moved to come under the control of new drug lords who operate with the same amount of violence and brutality.

Avid writer and reader with a curious mind. I'm always looking to get the most out of life! Follow me on Twitter @whatsaschoon

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