Common Sense Media Review
By Monique Jones
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Docuseries on failed festival won't answer its own questions
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 17+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
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Trainwreck: Woodstock '99
What's the Story?
The docuseries TRAINWRECK: WOODSTOCK '99 shows how chaos can quickly reign when a festival catering to a quarter of a million people isn't properly designed. The docuseries chronicles the festival's three days that became a horror show as rampant substance abuse, lack of security, and improper hospitality services (such as clean water and shelter) led to violence, rampages, and even sexual assault.
Is It Any Good?
This docuseries hopes to capture the same perverse magic as the various Fyre Fest documentaries that caught audience's attentions. On one level, Trainwreck: Woodstock '99 shows how the modern documentary has changed for mass consumption--the sheer amount of projects trying to create a "what the heck were they thinking?" vibe have skyrocketed since the Fyre Fest docs. Because of it, Trainwreck feels derivative. On another level, Trainwreck focuses almost exclusively on the horror of the music festival to get people talking without truly investigating the real stories behind the wildness. The series doesn't discuss how both Woodstock the '69 and '99 festivals were racially homogeneous -- while they claimed to address peace and love, the real-world issues affecting the journey to that peace and love, like racism, sexism, and class privileges (how were festival goers able to afford the high cost of tickets and transportation?) weren't discussed.
The series does touch on how the rioting seemed to stem from White male anger, an anger that feels unearned, considering the actual tragedies happening within the festival, such as women being harassed and sexually assaulted. Apart from the clear logistical issues at the festival, the series merely hints at the culture that told these young White men to burn things down without taking account for their actions. This makes the viewing experience less of an introspective exercise and more of one asking its audience to balk and titter at perceived zaniness.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Woodstock. What made the original Woodstock so important for American culture in the 1960s?
What about the original Woodstock is hard to recapture? Why did the Woodstock revival fail?
How do race and class play into the crowd's mindset at Woodstock '99?
How did sexism play into the events that unfolded?
What lessons can be learned from Woodstock '99's failure?
TV Details
- Premiere date : August 3, 2022
- Network : Netflix
- Genre : Reality TV
- TV rating :
- Last updated : August 5, 2022
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