In the world of documentaries there occasionally comes a character like no other. Louis Theroux is a man who seems to fit in regardless of how much he doesn't quite fit in. Traveling in search of a great story, he finds them by pushing your buttons. He comes on as harmless but he's armed with sincere questions and a polite manner. Beneath his friendly exterior there seems to be a hidden comedian. He seeks out the unusual and the bizarre, as he calls it "the dark side of human nature." Spending his "Weird weekends" with some of the most odd people humanity has to offer. Louis Theroux exposes some of the stranger aspects of modern life. His adventures take him to places that most people would avoid. From the lawless city of Johannesburg to the back yard parties of swingers, to the hobbit holes of survivalist.
He has a talent for exposing some of the more complex issues. When he interviews a couple who are life long meth addicts, they reveal an aspect of drug use that remains taboo and unmentionable. This couple does not want to stop using and view their use as a pleasure which enhances their lives, a perspective that is entirely missing from nearly all other drug related documentaries.
Touching on a spectrum of complex issues that rightly deserve attention. His episode about the Westboro Baptist Church aptly named "The Most Hated Family in America", is probably his most compassionate work I've seen yet. He effectively shows the suffering and delusion the church members live under. Ironically he turns the 'Most Hated Family in America' into a subject of pity. A follow up episode further illuminates the families alienation. Interviewing former members, he adds to the sense of misfortune among this broken family.
Sometimes he seems to spin a story that might misrepresent his subjects. For example, his interviews with the survivalists in northern Idaho basically make them out as white supremacists. He even goes so far as to interview the head of the Aryan Nation church. Theroux has an obvious fascination with Nazism and white supremacists. However, he does provide a fair perspective by allowing these freaks to speak for themselves.
He travels to Africa and questions the ethics of big game hunting. Filming in private reserves where wealthy Americans pay to kill African animals, Theroux introduces us to the illusory paradox of conservation by commercial hunting. In this episode a reserve owners explains that "they (African animals) are going to go extinct if they don't bring in any money... if it's not for hunting, there will be no species left in Africa." An apt counter to the ignorance of animal rights propaganda.
His strongest impact on me came from the documentary filmed in San Quentin called "Behind Bars". According to Wikipedia, "it was ranked the tenth most watched program of the decade on BBC Two." Netting some 5.8 million views, it touches on relationships among prisoners themselves and between the guards and the inmates.
Many of his documentaries are of a less serious nature but a very serious one is "Law and Disorder in Johannesburg." Where in South Africa mercenary police forces are the only law enforcement authorities. Sadly he only touches on the stupidity of rampant homelessness among empty and abandoned buildings. An issue itself which deserves more attention.
After seeing nearly all of his BBC published works, I am convinced Louis Theroux would be a fun guy to hang around. Perhaps I'll introduce him into my own eclectic world books, linguistics, rocks, guns, gardening and entheogens.
To Louis, If you ever read this, always stick with your gut feeling but remember what the Douglas Adams' 'Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' says about Earth. It's "Mostly Harmless." Have you ever thought about doing something on Mormonism? Please keep up the good work! Oh, and thanks for 'Going Clear.'
END rant.
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