America's Sweethearts: le cheerleader dei Dallas Cowboys: le cheerleader dei Dallas Cowboys

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.

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.

My favorite documentaries are the ones that don't need to explain everything for you and just show you things as they are, letting you form your own opinion. "America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders" on Netflix does precisely that, peeling back the glittery facade to reveal a world teeming with misogyny, toxicity, and emotionless aliens in human form. We witness super talented women being worked to the bone, paid next to nothing, and yet being told this is a "privilege" and a "job." The stark contrast between the glamorous image and the harsh reality is jarring, and will leave you cringing and in awe at the exploitation masked as opportunity (ESPECIALLY if you're a feminist).

This documentary is both heartbreaking and infuriating, a bittersweet yet important watch. It touches on subjects of mental health, depression, toxic environments, generational trauma, eating disorders, and even suicide. The treatment of these women is a devastating reflection of the broader societal issues at play. "America's Sweethearts" doesn't just entertain; it forces a necessary conversation about the costs of maintaining a facade of perfection at the expense of human well-being.

I mean I didn't know whether to rate this higher because it exposed the terrible pay, lack of diversity, the impossible standards set on these women...I could go on. Yet at the same time, I don't want to rate it higher for those exact same reasons. Let's start with the pay. Honestly I could not get past the first 20 minutes where they discussed the wages these girls earn (or lack thereof). Grossly inappropriate; I mean not just for how much football players make (although, I do think some players deserve higher wages themselves) but the astronomical amount of money the Dallas Cowboy's organization brings in and large in part to the these ladies is wildly inappropriate. The whole schtick of "well they just feel special because it's an honour to be chosen so you should feel privileged even to make it". In other words, if you come from a wealthy family where you don't have to solely rely on your salary to you know eat, live and stuff, then you have a 99% edge over everyone else. Oh and if you're white and blonde, even better (and this is coming from a blonde, white woman). Optics look terrible. Just no. I mean the drive, perseverance these women face is way more difficult than any football player does. We're talking weight, looks, technical precision, the "it" factor...my god. I feel slightly nauseous writing this. How is this the 21st century.

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.