Social Issue Dramas on Netflix
Last updated April 20, 2024
Flight
2012 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsAfter his amazing safe landing of a damaged passenger plane, an airline pilot is praised for the feat, but has private questions about what happened. Further, the government's inquiry into the causes soon puts the new hero's reputation at risk.
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I Am Slave
2010 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsThis drama inspired by true events follows Malia, a young Sudanese girl who is kidnapped and sold into slavery. After being sent to London to work for a diplomat's family, Malia dreams of freedom and learns to fight her powerful oppressors.
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Blood Done Sign My Name
2010 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsFrom director Jeb Stuart comes this earnest drama based on the real-life 1970 murder of black Vietnam veteran Henry Marrow by virulent racists subsequently acquitted by an all-white North Carolina jury despite overwhelming evidence of their guilt. As local white minister Vernon Tyson (Rick Schroder) tries to integrate his congregation in the midst of the trial, African-American schoolteacher Ben Chavis (Nate Parker) begins a crusade of his own.
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Monsieur Lazhar
2011 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsWhen an Algerian immigrant seeking asylum in Montreal takes a job replacing an elementary school teacher who committed suicide, he finds that his own secret, tragic background enables him to help the children deal with their loss.
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Catherine Cookson's The Glass Virgin
1995 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsWhen wealthy socialite Annabella Lagrange learns that her real mother is a madam at the local brothel, she flees the family estate with a childhood friend, and the two begin a new life in the working-class world.
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Pope Pius XII
2010 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsThis controversial miniseries explores the German occupation of Rome during World War II, and the Vatican's reaction to the Nazis' treatment of Jews. James Cromwell stars as Pope Pius XII, as he struggles to save Vatican City from destruction.
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Harlem Aria
1999 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsHarlem kid Anton (Gabriel Casseus) is young, black and gifted with a voice of operatic beauty. A mental disability can't hamper his plans for stardom, which combust when Anton hears pianist Matthew (Christian Camargo) playing Verdi in the park and breaks into song. While Matthew is cynical and Anton too trusting, silver-tongued street buddy Wes (Damon Wayans) has enough gumption to go around, and he's determined to land the duo in the limelight.
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Catherine Cookson's The Glass Virgin
1995 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsWhen wealthy socialite Annabella Lagrange learns that her real mother is a madam at the local brothel, she flees the family estate with a childhood friend, and the two begin a new life in the working-class world.
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Joy Road
2004 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsWhen he agrees to defend his sister's shady boyfriend against a murder charge, ambitious urban lawyer Tony Smalls finds himself sucked back into life in the 'hood -- and squaring off against a criminal justice system stacked against his client.
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A Stoning in Fulham County
1988 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsBased on a true story, this thought-provoking drama profiles two fathers: an Amish man whose young child is killed by reckless teens, and the prosecutor who tries to bring the youths to justice despite the condemnation he faces from the community.
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Snow on Tha Bluff
2011 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsSet in urban Atlanta, this hyperreal gangster drama centers on kinetic dope dealer Curtis Snow, who nabs a video camera off a pair of college kids, then begins recording the deals, deliveries and shoot-outs that comprise his daily operation.
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Black Butterfly
2010 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsSixteen-year-old Ariel is training for a U.S. Olympics Swim Team tryout when she's brutally raped. Now she must find the inner strength to deal with the pain and repercussions of her attack if she's to make her Olympic dreams come true.
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The Cider House Rules
1999 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsA surrogate son and protégé to a kindly physician who runs an orphanage in rural Maine, itchy Homer Wells sets off wide-eyed to see the world -- but cold reality soon intrudes on his youthful idealism and moral certitude.
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La Mission
2009 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsUltra-macho ex-con Che Rivera learns the true meaning of being a father when he discovers his son is gay. At first, he turns violent. But when a beautiful neighbor helps him see through his anger, he begins to reconcile his long-held beliefs.
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Hard Lessons
1986 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsThis drama based on a true story stars Denzel Washington as George McKenna, the tough, determined new principal of a notorious Los Angeles high school. Life is full of hard lessons for McKenna, who risks it all by going head-to-head with the drug-infested, gang-run war zone known as George Washington High.
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We the Party
2012 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsMario Van Peebles directs this dramedy that explores the ups and downs of a group of high school friends trying to negotiate their way through the sometimes treacherous waters of relationships, money, sex, identity and social media.
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Pope Pius XII
2010 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsThis controversial miniseries explores the German occupation of Rome during World War II, and the Vatican's reaction to the Nazis' treatment of Jews. James Cromwell stars as Pope Pius XII, as he struggles to save Vatican City from destruction.
Details about Pope Pius XII
Cry, the Beloved Country
1995 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsShot in the aftermath of Nelson Mandela's election, this film adaptation of South African author Alan Paton's novel tells the story of two men -- one black, one white -- who must cope with family tragedy in the apartheid era. Rural minister Stephen Kumalo (James Earl Jones) travels to Johannesburg in search of his troubled son, while white landowner James Jarvis (Richard Harris) comes to the city to attend to his activist son's murder.
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The Rainmaker
1997 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsWhen young attorney Rudy Baylor goes to work for a seedy ambulance chaser, he wants to help the parents of a terminally ill boy sue their insurance company. But to take on corporate America, Rudy and a scrappy paralegal must open their own law firm.
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People Will Talk
1951 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsDr. Praetorius is a professor at a dull Midwestern college who impresses those around him with his unorthodox ways of teaching. Out of the blue, Praetorius falls in love with an unattached pregnant woman, spiraling him into uncharted territory.
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Ocean of Pearls
2008 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsWhen young Sikh surgeon Amrit Singh (Omid Abtahi) senses that his outward appearance could cost him dearly when it comes to professional opportunities in America, he shuns his traditional family, takes off his turban and cuts his long, black hair. But shedding his religious convictions proves far more complicated in this penetrating tale about racism and self-realization. Heather McComb, Ron Canada and Navi Rawat also star.
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Colors
1988 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsVeteran cop Bob Hodges has nothing but contempt for his new partner, fiery rookie Danny McGavin. But he gradually comes to appreciate Danny as they patrol the streets of East Los Angeles, where a gang war between the Crips and Bloods is escalating.
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Rain
2007 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsRain (Brooklyn Sudano), a young black musical prodigy, finds trouble and heartbreak when she witnesses her sister's murder by gangbangers. In order to protect her daughter, Rain's mother secretly contacts Rain's biological mother, and Rain learns the truth of her parentage: She is the daughter of a white socialite. Sent to live with her wealthy grandmother (Faye Dunaway), Rain adjusts to boarding school life, where her musical talents flourish.
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Puncture
2011 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsDrug-addicted attorney Mike and his business partner Paul take on a case involving an emergency room nurse who has been pricked by an infected needle. Uncovering a web of corporate conspiracies, Mike and Paul quickly find themselves outmatched.
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School Ties
1992 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsDavid Greene, a working-class Jewish teen, receives a football scholarship to a prestigious prep school in the 1950s. But in favor of fitting in, he chooses to hide his religious heritage from his wealthy, prejudiced classmates.
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