Broken (2019– ) User Reviews

Don't believe in bad reviews

[ella_kelbert · 8/10 · 11 June 2023]

The only biased views here are from the people who clearly are on the side of (or were paid by?) the big companies which do not want this information to be known.

This is a fantastic 4-episode documentary series that shows many flaws (that I did not know and was appalled by) of the industries related to vaping, make up, furniture and plastic. The last one in particular hits you on the face when it shows that we are almost at a non returning point in plastic global waste. This series should be seen by everyone who wants to know a little more about the reality of consuming and should also be shown in schools!

Ignore the paid for by the industry reviews.

[jertzeedon · 7/10 · 15 January 2022]

Unlike most of the reviews I have read, most people either watched nothing more than the first episode, or watched nothing more than the first ten minutes of the first episode.

I started with the plastics episode.

It has its flaws but it's also totally obvious that there is a serious problem with single use plastic and that the petrochemical industry will do whatever it can to smother the people trying to ban single use plastics, starting with the the state of Texas. And even as a UK resident I know how much oil contributes to Texas.

I also know that Ted Cruz is firmly ensconced in Texas.

Ignore the sub 5 star reviews.

Good episode but final comments not so much

[redheadlady-18471 · 8/10 · 18 October 2020]

I enjoyed this episode of Broken but the last comments on the show I don't necessarily agree with. The comment was to stop the counterfeiting consumer need to stop buying the product. True but one of the main reason they are buying the counterfeit is price. If you want consumers to stop purchasing the off brands then the cost of the real brand needs to be more affordable. Take Kylie brand. You market to a younger demographic but how do you expect them to pay for your product. It has to be a 2 way street.

Seems biased

[daveypem · 26 December 2019]

Seems biased and geared toward those who are lacking in common sense. The episode about the furniture tipping problem seems to be more like an infomercial for a particular furniture brand. Not that the danger isn't real. It's a shame that the consumer safety commission doesn't clearly state that consumers want to pay very little and get the highest quality product.... which is impossible. The whole point of view of the episode seem to take any responsibility form the consumer to assess their own personal risk. Stupid. Not impressed.

Interesting, but sometimes a bit exaggerated and long-winded

[nienkelaan · 7/10 · 6 February 2022]

Interesting, sometimes a bit exaggerated and long-winded though. Looks at the entire production chain of a few markets, making you realize that you and I as a consumer can actually make a change. If there's no demand, the product is not made. Buy locally. Think sustainable. I studied environmental crime but still learnt some new things from this 4-episode documentary.

Interesting docuseries worth watching

[farrahreed · 10/10 · 5 April 2022]

Those leaving poor reviews saying the series is an advertisement or is bias against Asian countries I wonder if they actually watched the series?

I watched all four episodes in there entirety and found them to be interesting and worth watching.

As consumers I think it's good to question what we are spending our money on and how we are being influenced by billion dollar industries, not to mention how our governments are being influenced by these industries.

I personally will be putting a lot more thought into my purchases going forward.

Well worth watching

[chanapai-27927 · 10/10 · 25 December 2019]

These are 4 shocking documentaries you can watch in any order: makeup, vaping, recycling and furniture. To give this show any less than a 10 is to disrespect the little boy killed by a dresser tipping over, I feel. Not as serious but still shocking, a girl put on fake Kylie lip kit and found her lips glued shut. Only a small percentage of what you put in your recycle bin gets recycled. As for vaping, they call it ripping. Yes you will learn all this and much more!!!

Biased and dangerous

[nonmarkingsoul · 1/10 · 20 January 2020]

Too one-sided to be considered a documentary - more like sensational propaganda. The episode about killer furniture is laughable - while I'm not defending Ikea in any way this was a total witch hunt with lopsided commentary. There's merit in the subject it covers but they've decided you are too lazy so they've made up your mind for you rather than presenting a fair and balanced argument and leaving you to come to your own conclusion.

Very informative series

[zgpaone · 9/10 · 1 May 2021]

Most of the previous bad reviews sound like a smear campaign by reviewers that watched only 5 minutes of an episode after being paid to write a bad review. Follow the money, I wonder how many of the corporations that are scrutinized in this documentary paid for these bad reviews. There is a lot of quality information from people that have years or even decades in their fields, exposing the damage these industries and corporations have caused.

Pure ideology

[jackjack-42624 · 2/10 · 18 December 2019]

This is just an ideological effort to sell us the idea that everything made in the USA is good and that the Chinese products are dirty and can kill you. Instead of making a criticism on consumerism and global economic relationships, this show only sells pro-USA ideological crap.

Pertinent info that could have been presented better

[OneAnjel · 8/10 · 24 August 2023]

I think the cosmetic episode was not the best one to put first since only if you're on social media and a female between the ages of say 15 to 31 would you be interested in the plethora of social media so-called influencers showing you how to apply makeup or interested in that dramatic method of using makeup. Although very eye-opening (no pun intended), there was too much focus on the Influencers themselves instead of what they do and why their contribution to this problem is based on the chaotic freedom of social media. I shall disagree that it's as simple as consumers just saying no to cheap products. Most people who buy these knock offs wouldn't purchase them if they didn't think it was the real thing. Throughout the series, in fact, one of the main problems is the lack of education and awareness by the American consumer as well as the free-for-all trade agreements between the US and these anything for a dollar countries that the 45th president was trying to fix. This series really highlights how people trying to sell cheap junk have changed the landscape of a country by taking advantage of the gullible uninformed consumer in a land where integrity was once coveted world wide.

I see a lot of reviews saying the furniture one was rediculous and that its up to parents to safeguard their children. I can see why many minds go in this direction. When I was a little girl and a young mother I was constantly reminded to be aware of whether or not a furniture item was safe and how my child might use it . So I can agree that there is a big disconnect between how we used to socialize in our families and teach each other how to best protect ourselves and our children . But simply testing an item isn't always going to produce the kind of data that companies like Ikea have already concluded , as indicated by their warnings on the actual leaflet that comes with the dresser . Being from the legal field, I can also agree that there is, and always has been in the United states, a lean toward making sure the buyer knows that they are the one who has the final say on whether or not this or that item is appropriate for their needs. Such as when you buy a small lightweight car, common sense will tell you that it's unlikely to protect you in a major accident. You don't need the court or a piece of paper to tell you that. And if we pressure the government and their resources to tell us what can or can't be bought or sold then we would not have available to us many things such as electrical items, motorcycles, cigarette lighters, treadmills - the list is endless . So it is my strong opinion that the long-standing law of Let the Buyer Beware is first and foremost, and we should all teach our children this. Just because it's for sale doesn't mean it's safe, edible, or a good option. But if you read the actual court documents, you can see why even Ikea agreed that they were negligent. They knew these dressers were killing children. The rule of Let The Buyer Beware that prevents most lawsuits and makes it impossible for companies to be completely controlled and regulated by commissions. So when a suit is won, you know the seller or manufacturer was proven neglegent, like the hot coffee suit which is only critisized by those who've not read the court documents. I did agree that walmart and Amazon are some of the worst perpetrators of these cheap knockoff products.

The episode on Plastics is hopefully something everyone is aware of , and when they say that the consumer needs to be the one to tell the government that it needs regulating I completely disagree because it's very obvious that the consumer thinks of themselves as just the end user . If this weren't the case we wouldn't be seeing all these Plastics in the ocean and on the land and in the wrong places . We would have more people trying to avoid buying single-use Plastics and demanding that places like Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk find alternatives to the single-use Plastics that end up in the ocean . This is something that absolutely must be mandated and needs to be done soon . There's only so many millionaires who have the time and resources to go spend their time on the ocean hiring Crews to collect garbage . The microplastics alone that are killing not only fish but humans have to be addressed . For me this should have been the first episode and should have been more hard-hitting. Most people watching the show aren't really going to concern themselves with how it's affecting China or Malaysia . But it is also very eye-opening in some ways since I consider myself a very informed person but I didn't know that we were sending 80% of our garbage to China and getting it back in the form of cheap products . Obviously this whole recycling mess has made the US a country where there's a lot of cheap Commodities and has quickly become a disposable landscape a landscape of disposability . This series will inform a lot of people but sadly it's not done as well as probably could have been.

This series is ... broken

[ichiga · 1/10 · 8 December 2019]

Terrible. The delivery lacks quality and depth. The 'experts' don't have any credibility, sometimes coming across as actors pretending to be important. Comments like 'and that would be really really bad' questioned whether I was watching a doco on fake makeup or a fake doco. The experts just seemed unscripted, lacking any convincing depth of knowledge of the topic. And everyone seems to be a CEO of their business a year out of nappies. We just started paying out the presentation rather than caring about the fake makeup industry. The investigated who like to put on disguises 'broke' us and we had to turn off. Disappointing.

A merely Made in USA commercial

[realogic · 2/10 · 11 December 2019]

Just watched two episodes, they seems both a US advertising about how good is Made in USA while everyone else is bad. Especially how evil and trash is China. Feel like Trump committed this mini serie.

Weird Show // 50min Colorpop Ad

[irynasan · 2/10 · 24 December 2019]

Fake Cosmetic Episode:

I agree that fake products contain toxic ingredients but so do original products. And Colorpop quality is the worst.

Deadly Dressers?

[Polly_Styrene · 2/10 · 3 May 2021]

What was interesting about this was hearing the history of manufacturing and outsourcing in the furniture industry. Also, illegal logging and the evolution from solid wood to lighter furniture. And they spent a bit of time paving the way to saying ikea's furniture is much lighter than furniture used to be when it was solid wood - being the reason dressers were toppling on children. Such BS. What's changed is litigation and responsibility.

Before IKEA was a company, there were furniture items falling on children. My own brother climbed an 18th century wardrobe and luckily was thrown clear when it toppled. And that item was neither cheap nor light. Deadly Dressers? More accurate to say deadly irresponsible parents. Let's recount their actions: 1) Ignored instructions and warnings about securing the item to the wall 2) left their children unsupervised 3) took no responsibility for their own negligence. I was irritated by their self righteous attitudes. What's next? Spill hot coffee in their laps and sue McDonalds? Oh. No. That's been done.

These parents need a nanny state to do their thinking for them. The rest of us read instructions and if we care enough, will take the steps to protect our children.

Very bad

[emjaufachse · 1/10 · 12 February 2020]

Very weird documentary series. Seems like things are portrayed in a very biased way.

What did i just watch?

[Berk-Arslan · 4/10 · 31 May 2022]

This documentary describes some of information incredibly one-sided, and some of information is also completely misleading, this is an undeniable truth. But I didn't come here to say that. That would make this comment all too cliché.

Once they made an argument. This argument was the claim that a product killed babies. I call it "claim" because although this product was sold in such high volumes that specific year, infant deaths were ridiculously low. To prove it, they chose to attack the person who founded the company first, because of how morally inferior he is. They did the last thing a documentary should do, namely, an ad hominem. Then, after mentioning that Ikea's products are cheap and easily disposable, they went to the part where they obtained the trees illegally, but the trees obtained there were very healthy and the person who stated this was saying this by emphasizing how high quality the trees were. At the end of the documentary, a woman said that Ikea's specific product is expensive. The documentary is full of such inconsistencies. Ikea does not need such a thing, friends, this company already buys green space to grow its own timber. Also, cutting trees for a product in forests is not a problem. If timber is obtained in a forest for a product, that forest is used over and over again by planting trees. In the documentary, an atmosphere is created as if the forests are left to their fate after they are cut down. The problem starts when the structure of the soil where these trees are cut down changes. So you can buy printed books and furniture with peace of mind. After all, in the documentary, the furniture company that manufactures in America does not buy its timber from space. As a statistician, I'm emphasizing that, as mentioned in the documentary, if big retail companies had used a forest for one time to cut down trees, we would have lost all of our green spaces much sooner. The problem is not cutting trees, I repeat, changing the soil structure is the main problem. You can cut a tree to print a book and use the same area over and over again, but if you destroy the diversity of trees in a region and replace it with a farmland or plant a single type of tree, the soil structure will change. At one point in the documentary, it was said that 73 percent of people in America do not know about wall fixing. This can't be serious can it? Is there no earthquake education in America? There can be no other explanation for this level of ignorance.

Click Bait

[jkemohono · 2/10 · 23 February 2022]

They should've named this series The Chinese is ruining the American economy. 🙄

Every single episode is about how China this and how Asians that and complete bias 😒

No where does it say consumers need to be responsible for their actions. As in don't buy cheap make up from the street vendor or maybe geez I don't know how about, nail your furniture to the wall in your toddlers room🙄

Just a Pro-USA campaign, which would be fine if it wasn't at the detriment of other nations. America isn't a shiny diamond. There's a whole stack of documentaries to prove that. Really good ones too from Americans.

This is basically an advertisement, and the commentators don't seem to have any real credentials

[garnet-suss · 2/10 · 16 April 2021]

Garbage show made for people who have no critical thinking skills. The information isn't presented objectively, it promotes specific brands, it's very pro-USA, and it isn't at all interesting.

I'm thankful and not at all surprised there are only four episodes.

An 50 mins advertisement- don't watch

[margarettelung-26-119492 · 1/10 · 17 January 2022]

This must be a joke, just watched the first episode about make-up and the whole episode is 100% advertising of colorpop. Biased, non-informative, contentless. I am so disappointed that Netflix treat me like a fool and thought this kind of low-end advertisement is going to persuasive and working. I rather to watch a genuine advertisement than show on TV rather than a "pretend a documentary but indeed is a pure ad."

Spoiler- this is a 50 mins of colorpop ad without a twist ending. Bad acting with horrible script and terrible directing.

Too biased

[sososo-333 · 1/10 · 1 June 2022]

The furniture episode?? What is that lol. The company is already taking the right steps And they already gave a whooping 20million dollars to the families what can they do more.