Geeks logo

"Downfall: The Case Against Boeing" REVIEW

Years after the catastrophes that marred Boeing's reputation on the global scale, this documentary seeks to explain how and why those catastrophes happened in the first place.

By Littlewit PhilipsPublished 2 years ago 4 min read
1

Two questions:

  1. What comes to mind when you hear the name Boeing?
  2. What about specifically the 737 Max?

In October of 2018, a Boeing 737 Max went down outside of Jakarta, Indonesia. 189 people died. The world was horrified and confused. How could this happen? We were told to wait while investigations plumbed the depths of what had happened. So we waited. Theories were floated, and experts shared their opinions, and eventually the media cycle moved on.

In March of 2019, a Boeing 737 Max went down outside of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 157 people died. The horror and confusion only grew, and again, people needed answers. Again, we needed to know: how could this happen? And again, an investigation began.

However, in the modern media climate, the news moves fast. Do you remember the resolution of this disaster? Do you remember the answers the investigators found?

Speaking for myself, I remember that the verdict had something to do with a faulty sensor, but I couldn't say specifically what that entailed. Over three hundred people were dead, but exactly what did that mean for Boeing? Were the planes safe? Was someone held accountable?

Netflix's new documentary, Downfall: The Case Against Boeing, seeks to answer those questions.

It should come as no surprise that the resulting product is quite grim. The documentary begins by depicting the human toll of these disasters, focusing the camera's lens on the surviving family members of those lost in the two fatal catastrophes. They have the opportunity to tell their stories, and the documentary gives them time to explore that. There is a righteous indignation on screen. Downfall wants you to understand that people died.

Numbers make it too easy to rationalise or ignore, so Downfall invites the audience to look the survivors in the eye and understand what happened here.

After introducing the pair of disasters, and showing the audience the surviving family members, the documentary has a difficult task. To understand the disaster the audience has to understand the various technical components that caused the disaster. And to understand those technical components, the audience has to understand the environment of corporate aviation that contributed so heavily to this crisis.

Some viewers may find those technical sections more difficult to endure. While the material is undoubtedly important, it doesn't exactly have the fun appeal that we saw with other Netflix documentaries like The Tinder Swindler or Fyre: The Greatest Party that Never Happened. Considering the circumstances, it's even more difficult to endure than another serious Netflix documentary like Icarus.

However, it is worth remembering that this material really is important. There was a human cost in these disasters, and we deserve to know how they happened.

Hundreds of people died, and this documentary lays out the evidence for how it happened, why it happened, and what the ultimate consequence of that was.

It relies on sources from the surviving family members, experts on aviation, whistle-blowers who reported what was happening within Boeing, and the lawmakers who eventually tried to bring some kind of justice to the situation.

Like all the best documentaries, this story is about so much more than the simple event it depicts. Obviously, the event itself has the center stage here, as it should. There is a lot to unpack, and the documentary works through that evidence quite methodically. That said, while these two disasters form the beating heart of this documentary, the conclusion the documentary reaches are much broader than they might initially seem.

This is not just a documentary about a weird event that happened a few years ago. This documentary looks at how the corporate culture of Boeing, the United States of America, and the world at large contributed to these deaths. The story looks to Wall Street, to Congress, and to the FAA to see exactly how something could go so monumentally, catastrophically wrong.

This is not the most fun documentary I have ever seen. This isn't even the most fun documentary I've seen this year. However, it is one of the most important documentaries to come out of recent history, and if you have Netflix, I think it is worth your attention.

At times the technical discussions get a little bit dull, and at times the pacing seems a bit slow. This documentary is never really exciting. However, it is the clearest, most memorable explanation I have seen for that pair of aviation disasters from a few years ago, and for that reason alone I think it merits recommendation.

I strongly recommend you choose to spend 90 minutes with it.

"Downfall: The Case Against Boeing" is available via Netflix.

review
1

About the Creator

Littlewit Philips

Short stories, movie reviews, and media essays.

Terribly fond of things that go bump in the night.

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.