Arts & Culture
From famous art pieces, cultures, traditions, food, and more, these films and media pieces showcase the richness of the arts and culture from people around the world.
Image from ‘Street Food: Latin America’ / Netflix
*Note: Items listed may or may not have a blog post about them.
Encanto - Type: Movie - Where to Watch: Disney+
The story focuses a lot of the vibrant culture or Colombia and how the family dynamic shapes Mirabel.
Artbound Día de Los Muertos / Day of the Dead - (Season 10 Episode 3) - Type: Documentary - Where to Watch: PBS SoCal Website
The film deeply educates the audiences on the food, decorations, art, music, and dances that are all woven into the celebration.
Street Food: Latin America - Type: Documentary Series - Where to Watch: Netflix
By watching this series, audiences learn about traditional dishes and ingredients used in different countries, reflecting the diversity of the Latin American continent.
Coco - Type: Movie - Where to Watch: Disney+
This movie educates on the traditions of the Day of the Dead in Mexico and uses music and visuals to positively portray Mexican culture.
Lost in Translation - Type: Movie - Where to Watch: Peacock
The two main characters have to navigate being in a new city and culture (Japan) and have to fight against cultural boundaries in a place where they don’t know the language.
Slumdog Millionaire - Type: Movie - Where to Watch: HBO Max/Hulu/Amazon Prime
Through an interesting plotline and music performances, this film captures and reflects Indian culture as a positive and uplifting movie.
Life of Pi - Type: Movie - Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video
While the film doesn’t necessarily focus on Indian culture as the focus of the film, it dos shine through across the plotline and characters involved in the film.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding - Type: Movie - Where to Watch: Peacock/Hulu/Amazon Prime
In this fun romantic comedy, Greek culture and family values are highlighted through the main character, who’s life is heavily influenced by her Greek roots and traditions.
Babel - Type: Movie - Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video
This film showcases four people from three different continents (an American couple, a Japanese teen and her father, and a Mexican nanny). After an accident involving the American couple, the issue ripples into affected those individuals in the other continents.
Real Women Have Curves - Type: Movie - Where to Watch: Amazon Prime
In a Mexican-American household in Los Angeles, Estella faces the difficult challenge of her parents not wanting her to move away to college and instead work at her family’s sewing factory. As she works there, she learns important lessons and the film also highlights body image and confidence struggles that Estella faces.
Feminists: What were they thinking? - Type: Documentary - Where to Watch: Netflix
This inspiring documentary unveils photographs from a book from 1977 that reveals women breaking cultural restrictions. The film highlights the power of women and their influence in altering the cultural norms.
Summer of Soul - Type: Documentary - Where to Watch: Hulu
This documentary showcases several weeks of the summer of 1969, where thousands gathered for the Harlem Cultural Festival to celebrate Black culture, history, music, fashion and more.
Selena - Type: Movie - Where to Watch: Tubi or Vix
This film celebrates and honors the life of iconic TexMex singer Selena Quintanilla. A trailblazer for Hispanic women in the music industry and inspiration to so many, the film showcases the light that she was for the world and how her music touched the hearts of thousands.
The Karate Kid Part II - Type: Movie - Where to Watch: Netflix
A great movie for kids and adults alike, Karate Kid showcases a lot of life lessons through the journey of Daniel and his mentor Mr. Miyagi as they travel to Okinawa. The film is set as a pop culture symbol and and holds many universal messages like controlling yourself and never giving up.
Hoop Dreams - Type: Documentary - Where to Watch: Tubi or Peacock
A film shot during 5 years, this documentary captures the story of very African-American teenagers William Gates and Arthur Agee as they commute 90 minutes each way from inner-city Chicago to St. Joseph High School in Westchester, Illinois, a predominately white suburban school with a good basketball program. Gates and Agee dream of playing in the NBA, but face barriers with the social and physical obstacles that make it harder for them to be successful.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower - Type: Movie - Where to Watch: Amazon Prime
A film that encompasses American high school culture, it tells the story of a socially awkward teenager (Charlie) who is taken under the wings of two seniors at his school. This aesthetically pleasing film displays how Charlie experiences new things through music, friendship and love, but struggles to deal with the reality of his senior friends leaving.
The Social Network - Type: Movie - Where to Watch: Apple TV
This fictional portrayal of Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg takes on his journey of becoming the founder of Facebook and majorly changing the technological and social networks of the United States and the world. It also showcases the negative implications of his career and success as he faced lawsuits, ne even involving his close friend.
Stillwater - Type: Movie - Where to Watch: Hulu
An American travels to France to visit his daughter in prison for committing a crime she claims she didn’t commit. Having to confront cultural, linguistic, and legal barriers, he makes it his goal to make a new life in France and find a way to prove his daughter’s innocence.
El Norte - Type: Movie - Where to Watch: Vix or Amazon Prime
A film showcasing Mexican and Guatemalan culture, it follows the story of two teenage siblings who travel through Mexico on they’re way to Los Angeles as immigrants after their Mayan village is destroyed by the Guatemalan army. The movie not only shows their trials and tribulations as immigrants, but also the grit and perseverance the siblings had to face such a dangerous and unknown endeavor.
West Side Story - Type: Movie - Where to Watch: 2021 version on Disney+
With two versions of the classic story, West Side Story tells the the tale of forbidden love as Maria, a Puertorican girl living in New York meets Tony, a white boy who threatens Maria brother since he is on the enemies side of the gangs he participates in. The film shows Latino and Puertorican culture through their practices and dancing, but also their challenges of living in a place like New York where immigrants faced discrimination and backlash from the white people who lived there.