Our America With Lisa Ling
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What parents need to know
Parents need to know that Our America with Lisa Ling is an informative documentary series that explores some mature subjects, including sexual abuse, mail-order marriages, and drug addiction. While most teens should be able to handle it, parents may want to watch with them and talk about the issues that are relevant to them.
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What's the story?
OUR AMERICA WITH LISA LING is an investigative series that looks at some of the most controversial and provocative social issues in America today. Host and journalist Lisa Ling travels around the country to learn more about subjects like faith healing, transgendered communities, and drug addiction. People touched by these issues offer first-hand accounts about their experiences. Ling also shares how her point of view on each subject is impacted by what she sees and who she speaks with.
Is it any good?
The insightful documentary series highlights the wide-array of beliefs and experiences held by different communities in American society. It offers a respectful look at these communities by focusing on the people that live within them, and by allowing them to offer their viewpoint about their lives and their choices.
The accounts offered here are both heart warming and heart wrenching. Ling sometimes gets emotional about who she meets and what she sees, which occasionally makes her reporting feel a little slanted. But overall Our America with Lisa Ling offers an interesting and non-exploitative way of learning more about the United States, and the diverse population that lives in it.
Talk to your kids about ...
Families can talk about documentaries lik Our America with Lisa Ling. What is the purpose behind a documentary? Are documentaries supposed to be completely objective? Why or why not? Are they supposed to be entertaining or educational? What is the difference between the work of a journalist and the work of a documentarian?
Does this show document anything surprising? Do you feel like you have a greater awareness or empathy for some of the people featured on the show? What role does the media have in strengthening or weakening human connections?
How does Our America with Lisa Ling promote compassion and empathy? Why are those important character strengths?
TV details
- Premiere date: February 5, 2011
- Cast: Lisa Ling
- Network: OWN
- Genre: Reality TV
- Character strengths: Compassion, Empathy
- TV rating: NR
- Available on: DVD
- Last updated: September 20, 2019
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