(Un)Well, Netflix review ★★★★★
Cures and curiosity: the latest Netflix docu-series (Un)Well examines some of the pros and cons of the wellness industry
(Un)Well, Netflix
"Are you well?" is the million-dollar question. Actually, it’s more like the trillion-dollar question, with the 'wellness' industry now valued at the 13-figure sum and is also the subject of Netflix's latest 'docu-series' (Un)Well.
Advertised as: 'A deep dive into the lucrative wellness industry', it’s closer to Netflix dipping its toe into the wellness water. The six episodes cover topics that have been written about by women's magazines for the past 30 years: subjects like aromatherapy, tantric sex, fasting, healers, and the odd off-the-wall therapy thrown in for good measure.
Photo: Netflix
There are interviews with so-called experts, medical practitioners, and footage of first-person experiences that offer some sort of authenticity and mainly give it some heart. It lacks the gloss and humour of Gwyneth Paltrow's The Goop Lab docu-series and also doesn't offer too much in the way of a scientific and analytical approach by bona fide documentary power players either.
However, it does effectively expose a few of the darker sides of the wellness industry, such as the pyramid-style marketing schemes run by some international beauty brands, or the tantric sex retreats where you might get much more than the glossy brochure description. It reminds us of the care we must take when encountering certain 'well-preneurs' or 'gurus', and that wellbeing is an over-contemplated, consumerist mess driven by our insecurities.
Photo: Netflix
So, the question is: will you want to watch it?
If you’re part of the wellness community, or excited by vloggers and the rest, pushing their so-called healthy wares and words of (ahem) wisdom, then this might be interesting for you. If, on the other hand, you have supplements stacking up in the medicine cabinet, fitness trackers gathering dust, and are suffering from wellness fatigue – a more beneficial way to spend your time might be to grab your trainers and go for a pleasant walk in the park instead.
(Un)Well is available on Netflix from Wednesday 12 August
Advertised as: 'A deep dive into the lucrative wellness industry', it’s closer to Netflix dipping its toe into the wellness water. The six episodes cover topics that have been written about by women's magazines for the past 30 years: subjects like aromatherapy, tantric sex, fasting, healers, and the odd off-the-wall therapy thrown in for good measure.
Photo: Netflix
There are interviews with so-called experts, medical practitioners, and footage of first-person experiences that offer some sort of authenticity and mainly give it some heart. It lacks the gloss and humour of Gwyneth Paltrow's The Goop Lab docu-series and also doesn't offer too much in the way of a scientific and analytical approach by bona fide documentary power players either.
However, it does effectively expose a few of the darker sides of the wellness industry, such as the pyramid-style marketing schemes run by some international beauty brands, or the tantric sex retreats where you might get much more than the glossy brochure description. It reminds us of the care we must take when encountering certain 'well-preneurs' or 'gurus', and that wellbeing is an over-contemplated, consumerist mess driven by our insecurities.
Photo: Netflix
So, the question is: will you want to watch it?
If you’re part of the wellness community, or excited by vloggers and the rest, pushing their so-called healthy wares and words of (ahem) wisdom, then this might be interesting for you. If, on the other hand, you have supplements stacking up in the medicine cabinet, fitness trackers gathering dust, and are suffering from wellness fatigue – a more beneficial way to spend your time might be to grab your trainers and go for a pleasant walk in the park instead.
(Un)Well is available on Netflix from Wednesday 12 August
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| What | (Un)Well, Netflix review |
| When |
12 Aug 20 – 12 Aug 21, ON NETFLIX |
| Price | £n/a |
| Website |