Tuesday, June 17, 2025

'Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy' leads Outstanding Business and Economic Documentary nominees at the News & Doc Emmy Awards


As I promised yesterday, I'm covering Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy and the other nominees for Outstanding Business and Economic Documentary today. I begin with Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy | Official Trailer | Netflix.

Directed by Emmy-winning writer and filmmaker Nic Stacey, Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy pulls back the curtain on the world’s top brands, exposing the hidden tactics and covert strategies used to keep all of us locked in an endless cycle of buying—no matter the cost.
I've found yet another documentary I can recommend to my students. I can see applications of three of Commoner's Laws: "Everything must go somewhere (There is no away)," "There is no free lunch," and "Everything is connected to everything else." "Nature knows best?" Sorry, no. Still, welcome to blogging as professional development.  That will turn out to be a major theme of today's post.

Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy is the only nominee in this category with a second nomination, in this case for Graphic Design – Documentary, and the outstanding animation and special effects are all over this trailer. Also, other outlets have been paying attention to this documentary. YouTube's recommendation algorithm is showing me videos by CNN, CBS News, WGN News, and KCAL, and that's before I search for news reports on it. The TV news people are certainly aware of this nominee, and I'm taking that as a factor in favor of it winning. Remember, electorates matter and television journalists are part of the electorate for these awards. Between that and the 2,051,802 views plus 1,695 comments on the trailer, I'm considering Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy to be the favorite.

The first nominee in alphabetical order with only one nomination for Outstanding Business and Economic Documentary is Bitconned | Official Trailer | Netflix.

Ray Trapani had always wanted to be a criminal, even as a young boy. In 2017, amidst the economic frenzy of the Bitcoin boom, there was no better place for scammers than cryptocurrency. So when Ray's friend approached him with the idea of creating a debit card for crypto, Trapani jumped at the chance. There was only one problem: he had no idea how to do that. But thanks to fake LinkedIn profiles, paid celebrity endorsements, and the online community’s insatiable desire to "get rich quick," Centra Tech was soon raking in millions of dollars a day. Was it real? No. But did it work? Maybe. In this fast-paced, debaucherous documentary from director Bryan Storkel (Producer of The Legend of Cocaine Island + Director of The Pez Outlaw), Ray himself guides viewers through the ups and downs of his dramatic journey, alongside his family, former friends, and the journalist who exposed Centra Tech as the first high-profile fraud case of the crypto era.
This reminds me of McMillion$, an examination of an elaborate scam and the scammers behind it. It also shows the fine line between business and the economy on one side and crime and justice on the other. I'm not surprised the two intersected at cryptocurrency.

Next, Diane von Furstenberg: Woman in Charge | Trailer | Hulu.

The story of the iconic trailblazer known by her initials DVF worldwide. Child of a Holocaust survivor, Princess by marriage, and founder of a fashion brand. Featuring interviews with Oprah Winfrey, Marc Jacobs, Hillary Rodham Clinton and more. Watch Diane von Furstenberg: Woman in Charge on Hulu!
This looks fun and inspiring and is about glamorous and famous people. Those qualities would give it a leg up at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, where the voters would look at Diane von Furstenberg and say "she's one of us." I'm not sure it will have the same effect on the journalists and documentarians here. Again, electorates matter.

I'm continuing with The Hobby - Official Trailer (2024) Card Collecting Documentary from IGN.

A McDonald’s Happy Meal shortage. A security guard escort. Guns pulled in a Target parking lot. All of these are caused by a common factor: trading cards. In 2020, a new BOOM began. For the first time, large hedge funds, celebrities like Logan Paul and Steve Aoki, nostalgic millennials, entrepreneurs like Josh Luber, and billionaires scrambled to add sports, Pokémon, and other hot item cards to their collections and portfolios. Over the next two years, the hobby exploded — even causing card grading services to shut down due to overwhelming customer service. This documentary is a character-driven feel good deep dive into the high-stakes, eccentric world of card collecting, following buyers, sellers, card shop owners, graders, online streamers, auctioneers, and more, who all participate in the hobby in their own unique ways.
This also looks like fun, but it shows that collecting is literally serious business. It also shows that the pandemic is still having lasting effects.

Now for a nominee that the image above lists twice by mistake, MoviePass, MovieCrash | Official Trailer May 29 MAX Documentary.

It was the greatest thing ever. Until it wasn’t.

#MoviePassMovieCrash goes behind the scenes to reveal the meteoric rise and stranger-than-fiction implosion of the theatrical movie subscription app. The @HBO Original Documentary premieres May 29 on @StreamOnMax.
If MoviePass were a retail company with brick-and-mortar locations, it would be a good subject for a Retail Apocalypse entry. It still makes for an engaging story of failure snatched from the jaws of success.

The final nominee in this category is Razing Liberty Square | Official Trailer | Independent Lens | PBS.

Liberty City, Miami, was home to one of the oldest segregated public housing projects in the U.S. Now with rising sea levels, the neighborhood’s higher ground has become something else: real estate gold. Wealthy property owners push inland to higher ground, creating a speculators’ market in the historically Black neighborhood previously ignored by developers and policy-makers alike.
Welcome to climate gentrification, which is having its strongest effect in Miami. This is another documentary I can recommend to my students for extra credit. Again, welcome to blogging as professional development.

Follow over the jump to see the trailers for the nominees competing against Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy for Outstanding Graphic Design – Documentary, a category I haven't covered until now.


I begin with the sequel to Food, Inc., Food, Inc. 2 - Official Trailer | Directed by Melissa Robledo, Robert Kenner | Documentary by Magnolia Pictures and Magnet Releasing.

In Food, Inc. 2, the sequel to the 2008 Oscar®-nominated and Emmy®-award winning documentary, Food, Inc., filmmakers Robert Kenner and Melissa Robledo reunite with investigative authors Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma) and Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation) to take a fresh look at our efficient yet vulnerable food system. Since the first film, multinational corporations have tightened their stronghold on the U.S. government. The system at large has robbed workers of a fair living wage, and profit focused corporations are proliferating a chemically formulated international health crisis by focusing on growing the market for ultra-processed foods.

The film centers around innovative farmers, future-thinking food producers, workers’ rights activists and prominent legislators such as U.S Senators Cory Booker and Jon Tester, who are facing these companies head-on to inspire change and build a healthier, more sustainable future.
If I'm showing the original to my students, I can certainly recommend the sequel. In fact, I should watch the entire documentary to see if its worth replacing the original and leaving an updated assignment for my successor. Again, welcome to blogging as professional development.

Speaking of the original, its graphics impress me every time I watch it, and I'm pleased that the animation and special effects in its sequel are being recognized. I didn't know that the original won two News & Documentary Emmy Awards for Best Documentary and Outstanding Informational Programming - Long Form until I saw that it was "Emmy-winning." I suspect that's because I started showing it before it won those awards. I can now tell my students that Food, Inc. is "Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning," just like Chasing Ice.

The most nominated entry in this category, FRIDA - Official Trailer (2024), is next in alphabetical order.

An intimately raw and magical journey through the life, mind, and heart of iconic artist Frida Kahlo, FRIDA is told through her own words for the very first time, drawn from her famed illustrated diary, revealing letters, essays, and candid print interviews — and brought vividly to life by lyrical animation inspired by her unforgettable artwork. The feature film directorial debut of acclaimed editor Carla Gutiérrez (RBG, "La Corona"), FRIDA posits a striking context as to why the artist – and her art - remains as powerful as ever.
FRIDA earned nominations for Direction – Documentary and Music Composition – Documentary in addition to Outstanding Graphic Design – Documentary. I might get to those before June 26th if I have time. If I don't, I will certainly cover any awards it wins, and I have a drum corps show to celebrate them. Yes, really. I think FRIDA has the best shot at winning Outstanding Graphic Design – Documentary — consider the source material. It also earned two nominations at the Critics Choice Documentary Awards for Best Biographical Documentary and Best New Documentary Filmmaker(s), which I think is worth something, even if the electorates may not overlap that much.

I'm familiar with the subject matter of Join or Die — Trailer (2023), having read Bowling Alone a quarter century ago.

Join or Die is a film about why you should join a club — and why the fate of America may depend on it. In this feature documentary, follow the half-century story of America's civic unraveling through the journey of legendary social scientist Robert Putnam, whose groundbreaking "Bowling Alone" research into America's decades-long decline in community connections could hold the answers to our democracy's present crisis. Flanked by influential fans and scholars — from Hillary Clinton, Pete Buttigieg, and Surgeon General Vivek Murthy to Eddie Glaude Jr., Raj Chetty, and Priya Parker — as well as inspiring groups building community in neighborhoods across the country, join Bob as he explores three urgent civic questions: What makes democracy work? Why is American democracy in crisis? And, most importantly…What can we do about it?
While I first wrote about "third places" in Vox on America's dying malls as failed third spaces, which I consider my first real Retail Apocalypse entry, I first encountered the idea of third place in Bowling Alone. It's also the first place I read about social capital, which I lecture about to my students as a form of human capital. This would be at the periphery of what I would recommend to my students, but it still qualifies. Surprise, more blogging as professional development!

Join or Die ties for the second most nominated film in this field with Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy, as its second nomination is for Writing – Documentary. It's not my personal pick in that category, which is Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story, but it's definitely a legitimate choice. As for its use of graphics, it's effective, but I'm not sure how creative it is.

Today's final trailer is Omnivore — Official Trailer | Apple TV+.

Food is the language that everyone understands. From celebrated chef René Redzepi comes Omnivore, a new series that explores the people, places, and ingredients that shape us all. Omnivore is now streaming on Apple TV+ https://apple.co/Omnviore_

Created and narrated by René Redzepi, the esteemed chef and co-owner of world-renowned restaurant Noma, “Omnivore” takes viewers on an immersive journey into the world of food, exploring the profound beauty and intricate complexities of the human experience through the lens of the key ingredients that connect us all.

Each episode of “Omnivore” celebrates the cultivation, transformation and consumption of eight of the world's most essential ingredients, including bananas, chilies, coffee, corn, pork, rice, salt and tuna, revealing how they serve as the cornerstones of global cultural heritage. Redzepi and Emmy Award-winning executive producer Matt Goulding (“Anthony Bourdain: Explore Parts Unknown”) guide audiences on a globe-spanning odyssey, unveiling intricate stories behind the ingredients that have shaped societies, cultures, beliefs and the course of human history. The series takes viewers to destinations around the world, including Denmark, Serbia, Thailand, Spain, Japan, Djibouti, Peru, South Korea, France, Colombia, India, Bali, Rwanda and Mexico, as well as locations throughout the United States. In each episode, Redzepi and various series contributors offer an intimate exploration of culinary traditions, showcasing local efforts to honor, conserve and protect Earth’s offerings.
This looks like a cool series I can recommend to my students — five today, a good day for blogging as professional development — but the trailer did not include any graphics, so I can't judge their quality. Darn.

That's a wrap for today's installment. Stay tuned for the remaining nominees in Outstanding Promotional Announcement - Documentary tomorrow.

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