America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders

I thought this documentary drama series was interesting to see the inside of this iconic organization. A lot of people are going to scream sexism blah blah blah but there is certainly a tradition here that is highly respected. The ladies work so hard to make the team. My biggest appalling moment was finding out this is more of a hobby instead of a full time paying job. Also the physical toll that cheerleading is on the body. There's definitely a "type" to this space, and I'm definitely not one of them, but I gained so much respect for these ladies after seeing their dedication and commitment and heart into becoming a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader.

This 7 part doco is a well funded story that looks good and does well. It has all the structure, flesh and hallmarks of what that old pamphlet "How to make a documentary for Netflix", required.

Thing is though - if this is what America is all about, then geez! We're doomed.

It would have been good if the producers could have shown some of the love and community that apparently they are famous for, but No. It was absent.

Not without content though - In the last reunion episode we had a lady that was an original 70 model, currently battling and surviving from ovarian cancer.

Would have been good to see how the DCC came together and supported this sister.

But no, there is no footage or record of that,...because it didn't and doesn't happen.

America and it's values take centre stage here. We're screwed.

$25k a year to sell your soul and body to a billionaire. Maybe that's what Hollywood has always been too. Being cut for being too short, or smiling the wrong way, or not having the '"it factor". Hollywood. Hip replacement at 25 years old? All for the honour and joy of being part of a sisterhood. But for $25k a year? Netflix owns the global franchise for sports and entertainment exposes and this one is as good as Drive to Survive in its own way. Utterly compelling. The steely inhumanity of The Owner is probably normal for corporate America, But is it acceptable? Slave labour in todays world isn't right.....

I think the show did a really good job at capturing the process and the experience of the girls and the management. Personally, I found it fascinating. I'd be happy to watch them make the 2024 season all over again.

I felt sad and moved, even stressed!, for the majority of it - but ultimately it was a fair display of the business and industry. Show biz isn't a pretty biz. Sports is a money making machine and ultimately that's the goal.

Only a few girls are really picked to be the focus - which makes sense in terms of time and storytelling but I feel like we only got glimpses of the personalities on the team.

It shows the hard work, determination, ethics, passion, brutality, stress, commitment, etc.

The question does remain - how do these girls endure so much stress, over work, deterioration of the body. Severe physical and mental health- for so little money/payoff?

I guess I'll never truly understand the sisterhood and community (to the point that's it's their personality and identity) that their life revolves around.

It seems like a lot of viewers missed the point of this. It's as if some of you thought you were rating DCC directly. If you found the music tense instead of bright, it's because it's supposed to be. If you found the way the cheerleaders are spoken to in a toxic manner, you were supposed to. If you were disappointed this wasn't about hard working dancers loving their low pay part time job because it's "tradition" and was instead about toxic workplaces, impossible beauty standards, and the exploitation of women's bodies, you're a part of the problem. The DC as an organization has the money to pay these women a reasonable salary a hundred times over. At the VERY least bodyguards. Lastly the constant Jesus talk was meant to highlight how and why it's so easy to take advantage of a group of young women.