Some of the best documentaries are hard-hitting and powerful, but Channel 4's new offering, Boobs, explores an important topic without taking things too seriously.
In a world where many want to free the nipple on social media and countless others are ditching their bras, Boobs examines our ever-changing relationship with our breasts, from their significance in pop culture to the influence of men.
Here's what you need to know.
Narrated by filmmaker Elizabeth Sankey, it opens: “For as long as I can remember, breasts have been everywhere. They're drooled over in films, photographed endlessly and uploaded to every dark corner of the internet. They're a source of titillation, but also nourishment – and their increasing sag becomes a marker of our mortality. In this boob-obsessed world, it can feel like our breasts don't really belong to us. Instead they are public property, forever enthralled to the seedy stare of the male gaze. So how can we take back ownership of our breasts? After centuries of obsession with this part of our bodies, where should we begin?”
The film includes commentary from real women – some who speak while showing their breasts on camera – about how they feel about their boobs, their experiences having boobs, and how they feel about societal standards concerning their bodies, from the influence of plastic surgery to the male gaze.
Interviewees include reality star Megan Barton Hanson, podcaster Jackie Adedeji and artist Sophie Tea, as well as a female plastic surgeon who discusses how male-dominated the world of breast augmentations can be.
Boobs is regularly interspersed with clips from film and television over the years, such as Pamela Anderson in Baywatch and Meryl Streep in Death Becomes Her – as well as surprising clips from the likes of Friends and American Pie that many of us may have forgotten about.
Creator Elizabeth Sankey has said about the documentary: "Making this film was such a joy. I loved going through hundreds of films and TV shows to find the most the most iconic, bizarre and bodacious breast moments ever committed to screen. While cutting these clips together it quickly became clear that breasts are a very unique body part, obsessed over in Western culture, sexualised and twisted into an aspirational signifier of traditional young, white, beauty, while simultaneously acting as the most magical of food sources, providing nourishment for our children. While making this film I met so many incredible women who moved and inspired me, and also made me cry laughing (my crew included) and it was so refreshing to create a space where we could ditch the seedy stare of the male gaze to sit down with women and simply ask, “How do you feel about your breasts?”
The doc is said to be an ‘unfiltered’ look into the singer’s life.
Boobs offers a friendly look at a thought-provoking topic, with perspectives from women working in the adult industry to those that have undergone mastectomies and those that have seen their perspective on their breasts change after becoming a mother. Others discuss the body standards, sexualisation and shame associated with having larger breasts.
Filmed with an entirely female cast and crew, Boobs is refreshing in its warm and friendly way of sharing women's stories – and hopefully, you won't come away from it feeling triggered or terrified, like some of the trending documentaries that are hitting Netflix these days.
Boobs is available to watch on All 4.
