This post was originally published on this site
Safe to say, Barack Obama is a fan of Netflix Inc.
The former president shared his favorite movies and TV shows of 2019 on Sunday, with four Netflix NFLX, -1.06% original movies — including one he and his wife co-produced — and a Netflix series among them.
“This year’s list includes everything from explorations of class dynamics and relationships, to an inspired reboot of a classic graphic novel, to a portal back to one of the most special places in history — an Aretha Franklin concert,” Obama said in a Facebook post.
His favorites included “American Factory,” a Netflix documentary from the production company Higher Ground, which he and his wife, Michelle, run. The film details the plight of working-class Americans, and is among the shortlisted frontrunners for the 2020 Oscar for best documentary. In April, the Obamas announced a slate of projects for Netflix.
Three other Netflix movies made the list — Martin Scorsese’s mob epic “The Irishman,” Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Story” and the Africa-set romance “Atlantics” — along with the rape-investigation miniseries “Unbelievable.”
Overall, the movie list skewed away from Hollywood blockbusters and was heavy on critically acclaimed indie films, such as “Booksmart,” “Parasite” and “The Last Black Man in San Francisco.”
Here’s the whole list:
Movies
• “American Factory”
• “Amazing Grace”
• “Apollo 11”
• “Ash is Purest White”
• “Atlantics”
• “Birds of Passage”
• “Booksmart”
• “Diane”
• “The Farewell”
• “Ford v Ferrari”
• “The Irishman”
• “Just Mercy”
• “The Last Black Man in San Francisco”
• “Little Women”
• “Marriage Story”
• “Parasite”
• “The Souvenir”
• “Transit”
TV series
• “Fleabag: Season 2”
• “Unbelievable”
• “Watchmen”
Obama said his year-end lists have become “a fun little tradition” that he hopes people enjoy.
“Because while each of us has plenty that keeps us busy — work and family life, social and volunteer commitments — outlets like literature and art can enhance our day-to-day experiences. They’re the fabric that helps make up a life,” he said on Facebook.
On Saturday, he revealed his favorite books of 2019:
• “The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power” by Shoshana Zuboff
• “The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company” by William Dalrymple
• “Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud and the Last Trial of Harper Lee” by Casey Cep
• “Girl, Woman, Other” by Bernardine Evaristo
• “The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present” by David Treuer
• “How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy” by Jenny Odell
• “Lost Children Archive” by Valeria Luiselli
• “Lot: Stories” by Bryan Washington
• “Normal People” by Sally Rooney
• “The Orphan Master’s Son” by Adam Johnson
• “The Yellow House” by Sarah M. Broom
• “Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland” by Patrick Radden Keefe
• “Solitary” by Albert Woodfox
• “The Topeka School” by Ben Lerner
• “Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion” by Jia Tolentino
• “Trust Exercise” by Susan Choi
• “We Live in Water: Stories” by Jess Walter
• “A Different Way to Win: Dan Rooney’s Story from the Super Bowl to the Rooney Rule” by Jim Rooney
• “The Sixth Man” by Andre Iguodala
As well as “a reminder of books that I recommended earlier this year:”
• “American Spy” by Lauren Wilkinson
• “The Education of an Idealist” by Samantha Power
• “Exhalation” by Ted Chiang
• “Finding My Voice” by Valerie Jarrett
• “Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth” by Sarah Smarsh
• “How to Read the Air” by Dinaw Mengestu
• “Inland” by Téa Obreht
• “Lab Girl” by Hope Jahren
• “Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive” by Stephanie Land
• “Men Without Women” by Haruki Murakami
• “The Moment of Lift” by Melinda Gates
• “The Nickel Boys” by Colson Whitehead
• “Pachinko” by Min Jin Lee
• “The Shadow of Sirius” by W. S. Merwin
• “The Shallows” by Nicholas Carr
• Toni Morrison’s collected works
• “Tough Love: My Story of the Things Worth Fighting For” by Susan Rice
• “The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration” by Isabel Wilkerson
• “Wolf Hall” by Hilary Mantel
His list of favorite songs will likely be unveiled in the coming days.
