Directors: Alex Gibney, Ophelia Harutyunyan
‘Totally Under Control’ is a documentary filmed during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic and centers around the U.S. and it’s response to the outbreak. Using specialized safety techniques and a rigged ‘COVID Cam’ , this documentary crew interviews scientific health experts in search of the complicated answer of ‘What Happened?’ Where did we go wrong, why was a pandemic politicized, and where do we go from here.
If you were to google anything related to COVID-19, in the search for the answers of why and how it spread and damaged so many lives in this country, you’d be met with think-pieces, conspiracy theories, political posts claiming the virus is a hoax, along with many not so kind words about the people trying to save lives. This documentary covers the history of pandemics in the world, from H1N1, the Spanish Flu, to try to trace back where the problems first arose with the handling of the Corona-virus.
I really appreciated the attention to detail in explaining the current state of affairs and what led to it. Using experts and credible, reliable interviewers to explain what happened. I’d imagine most people who are already convinced that COVID-19 is overplayed and not as deadly as it is won’t find themselves to accept the truths this film has to offer, but it is important that the film persists to tell them anyways. It’s important to document and have on record the events that have transpired over the course of COVID-19, and this film does it’s best to do so in an engaging and informative way.
It’s frustrating to relive the greatest hits of President Trump downplaying and blatantly lying to the American people. It’s baffling that this country would sooner listen to a failed businessman pretend to know more than our healthcare professionals, and infectious disease experts dedicating their lives to prevent a catastrophe like what we are in the middle of. 200,000 people dead, and we now know Trump wanted to downplay the virus knowing full well the damage it could do to the people he was sworn to protect. To put it simply, he knew, he just didn’t care more than himself. I strongly recommend you watch this documentary if anything to just recap what a downward spiral we have been in since January, and to make sure that we never let businessman or money men get in the way of public safety.
I’m giving ‘Totally Under Control’ an 8/10