In recent years the ‘wellness’ industry has absolutely skyrocketed, and it seems that everyone is ditching traditional medicine in favour of a holistic, or ‘natural’ solution to their ailments. But do these things really work?
In Netflix’s new show, (Un)well, we get to explore the world of wellness, with a first-hand peek into the now trillion-dollar industry, meeting the patients trying out these alternative remedies and the business owners profiting from the desperate in search for a cure.
The new six-part docu-series is taking a look at the biggest wellness trends, speaking to (so-called) experts, doctors and those in search of a cure, to see whether the trend is really anything more than a fashionable craze. The series explores the world of essential oils, tantric sex (this one is particularly interesting), fasting and bee sting therapy. Whilst the show doesn’t necessarily offer anything you can’t already read in a magazine article, this is definitely a more digestible – maybe with the aid of a natural probiotic? – way of getting the facts, and there are also some pretty fascinating personalities featured. The series does, however, set itself apart in that it delves into the dark underbelly of the wellness industry, by exploring the impact of pyramid schemes. With this more investigative side, alongside the exploration of the ever-curious world of wellness, it makes for an interesting and entertaining show.
(Un)well has received a considerable amount of press since its release, and has been listed as one of Netflix’s top documentaries by the publication Wired. It has received a lot of praise for showing all sides of the ‘wellness’ industry – the good, the bad, and the manipulative. And, with the producers choosing to remain neutral in the series, its up to us to decide how we feel, meaning that the show has had a lot of online feedback. We’re talking entire threads of people arguing whether an alternative treatment works or not, and many, many memes abut the show’s contributors – we recommend you check out the ones about essential oils guru, Dr Z.
If you want a documentary that’s going to entertain, outrage and mystify you, this could just be the one.
First shown August 2020. You can watch the trailer by pressing play on the show image, or by clicking here.
