America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders

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.

Very interesting to see some sort of cult like group, that work incredibly hard to fight for a spot in a cheerleading team. Most of them dedicate their talent to God and Jesus instead of them working incredibly hard.

It's interesting to see American cheerleading culture to its finest. You have to look a certain way, act a certain way and put on (fake) smiles to be able to join this elite group, where you purposely injure your hips, back, feet, etc. They do this to please the coaches/judges, because they can be thrown out of the group whenever the coaches think it's time. Sometimes they don't even give a reason, but just because they like someone else a little bit more.

I respect their hard work and dedication, but it saddens me that these girls are ruining their body and self esteem for validation and (hopefully getting) minimum wage, sometimes less. They are being judged on everything, including: losing or gaining weight, feeling sad or less energetic, nervous or not limber enough.

It is filmed well and is an emotional rollercoaster.

Meant by those involved to paint the organization in a positive light, I felt this series highlighted the misogyny, the exploitation, and the objectification of these women. Paid a repugnantly small salary, these women devote their time and destroy their bodies to be part of something that is frankly beneath them. Many of them are highly educated, most of them have had years and years of formal dance training. Surely they can do better than this. But as one of the veterans said, they had "drank the Gatorade". Eye-opening for those of us unfamiliar with the franchise and worth watching as it exemplifies one of the ways in which the patriarchy is still alive and well, and how some women are perpetuating it.

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.

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.