Human: The World Within (TV Series 2021– ) Poster

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6/10
Annoyingly overdramatic with some good learning that could be an hour doc
the_donnie28 June 2021
There's a repetition of the same images, especially the brain connectors over and over, as well as an overdramatization of some events to "make it" more interesting. Some of the cool stuff to learn end up getting blurred by the editing of this show. It could have been an hour documentary rather than a whole series.
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8/10
Men do not give birth
soulbreeda24 July 2022
Warning: Spoilers
The last episode asserts that a man can give birth but that assertion is false. Only a woman has a womb and birth canal. A persons outer appearance doesn't determine their sex. A persons DNA, genes, chromosomes and ones anatomy at birth gives identification of whether they are either a male or female. Even the few minority of people whom are born with unidentifiable sex organs due to deformity reasons. They're either a male or female according to their DNA, genes or chromosomes.
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7/10
Bloody Moaning Mary's Here
frosty-4443113 June 2021
So first of all whether you were taught this 20 years ago, it's still interesting to see and the graphics were brill. Yeah it did drag slightly but touched on some great subjects.

A good Male/Female biological real look at life. Ignore the moaning Mary's and those who identify as none human.
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This documentary is blue corn mush.
tgannon-291756 June 2021
Really? A multi part series that could have blown us away with all of the modern advances we have made in technology that give us the ability to dig deeper into the inner workings of the human body and instead we get this. A woman that walks around barefoot in the dessert. A Hindu woman that is obviously a strict vegan, and a native american ultra marathon runner that we are only lead to believe survives on blue corn mush and herbal tea?? No agenda here folks. I had to tap out on this one. Netflix... You have to step your game up on these documentaries because this kind of stuff is lazy at best.
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7/10
Looking inside at what makes us who we are as humans
paul-allaer6 May 2021
"Human: The World Within" (2021 release; 6 episodes of about 53 min. Each) is a new documentary series that looks at what makes us who we are as humans. As Episode 1 "Birth" opens, we are in "Los Angeles, California", and we get to know Alex and Ali, as the voice-over explains to us what "attraction" is all about from a medical perspective. Alex and Ali are professional tango dancers, and have been married for 14 years. Turns out that lust and attraction are fueled by hormones (but not the same kind). We are then introduced to Jacqueline, a 31 yr. Old immigrant from China and expecting for the first time. At this point, we are 10 min. Into Episode 1.

Couple of comments: this is a new documentary series airing on PBS, taking a look at the wonders that are our bodies. As one commentator puts it with amazement: "From one cell to a human being". The first episode "Birth" at times feels like Sex Education 101 but that's okay. It's not a bad thing to get a reminder course on things that many of us take for granted. Yet it also goes much deeper than that: the episode also looks at things like infertility (which occurs a lot more frequently that you might think), miscarriages, and other challenges. And of course also at the pregnancy process itself. Did you know, for example, that the placenta is the only temporary organ that we humans get (only during the pregnancy)? Episode 2 "Pulse" looks at the central role played by the heart, in every possible sense. Future episodes will look at how we "Fuel" our bodies, how we "Defend" our bodies against pain and suffering, etc. The camera work is top-notch, and the initial 2 episodes are well-paced and flew by in no time. I can't wait to see the remaining episodes.

Episodes 1 and2 of "Human: The World Within" premiered this week on PBS and are now available on PBS On Demand and other streaming platforms. New episodes air on Wednesday evenings at 9 pm Eastern. If you have any interest in how the human body functions or simply are in the mood for a good documentary, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.
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9/10
Third Episode : Fasting
id_unplugged12 August 2021
Love this series by Netflix. A lot of hard work has gone into making this spectacular masterpiece.

I just have one beef with it. In the third episode they were discussing fasting and they chose a Hindu to highlight it's benefits. Puhleez! If there is any one religion that is associated with fasting, it's Islam. Thirty consecutive days of not eating, drinking or smoking anything from dawn to dusk. And this fasting is a must for every Muslim, unless he is too ill.

I believe Netflix missed the trick here. Would have loved to have had them explore this phenomenon, from a scientific perspective.

Anyways, this is a brilliant effort. A must watch.
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9/10
Amazing
clsnrnls6 June 2021
All I can say about this documentary series, is just watch it already. It's incredibly interesting and everything is explained very well and clear. Makes you look at your body in a different way and makes you realize how connected everything in this universe is.
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4/10
Woke to the wokeness
phildamb2 April 2022
I love documentaries,but netflix have dumped all over the fact side of them to try and push an agenda from the concepts of gender to only using females as the experts. Dull American nasel tones drone on without giving you much in the way of an education about the topic. I'd give it a miss.
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10/10
Superb!
jonaslonnn14 May 2021
This is a very upbeat positive inclusive story of our bodies and all the wonderful amazing systems within them that make us uniquely human. I'd like to give it 20 stars but only 10 more possible. Please check it out!
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5/10
Scientist's Perspective
TheProteanGirl5 July 2021
Warning: Spoilers
As a biochemist, I always love to watch documentaries like this because there is always something new you can learn. However, I spotted what many already mentioned from the "React" episode. You can tell this is a film with an agenda. Every other scene has to be woke. Something that made me even more angry is that they brought in a chiropractor as a "source" of information instead of a physiotherapist for that massaging scene. For those who don't know Chriopractory is based on pseudoscience (it's a whole topic you can search about). These people don't know anything and yet they ask their opinion. First docu series I see with this kind of factually incorrect thing in it. Another thing, they let the biomedical engineer girl talk waaay more than the actual neuroscientists, which is very weird to me since they are the most knowledgeable on the brain. Didn't go into any history, very superficial anatomy and information (as others mentioned) as well. The only reason I like it is that it talks about biomedical topics in a video medium with real life examples, which is enjoyable to watch, no doubt. I just wish they would've taken it more seriously and checked certain things.
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This should be on PBS Kids
VolkiTalkie8 June 2021
Absolutely no new piece of information whatsoever and the information given is middle school grade at best. No evidence for any research on any specific subject. 3 doctors telling you about why you poop well when you eat green. And why they're constantly smiling and trying to look so happy and energetic?
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10/10
I'm a student nurse. I like how the human world is explained with so many real stories and medical aspects mixed up well. Would like more of the show!
xiangfangzhenxfz29 July 2023
I'm a student nurse. I like how the human world is explained with so many real stories and medical aspects mixed up well. Would like more of the show! ( The damn word count when writing comments) I'm a student nurse. I like how the human world is explained with so many real stories and medical aspects mixed up well. Would like more of the show!

I'm a student nurse. I like how the human world is explained with so many real stories and medical aspects mixed up well. Would like more of the show!

I'm a student nurse. I like how the human world is explained with so many real stories and medical aspects mixed up well. Would like more of the show!
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10/10
Love the serie.
karinita-5187219 June 2021
Love every episode, love the images and the information and knowledge of the professionals on the show.
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2/10
Boring
matt_73113 June 2021
A few talking heads basically telling you nothing mixed with some pretty footage. That's about it.
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10/10
To understand about Our own body
rajeshrajpara16 October 2021
We have knowledge about everything Machines,gadgets ,earth etc but we don't have primery knowledge about how Human Body functions ? How our systems work ? How our organs activities are connected which each other ...I deeply thankful to Producers & team who have created such an amazing series .

Personally I like more visuals, Concept & correlations between our body functions & its effect on us

waiting for more series with more episodes.
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1/10
Utter Netflix Garbage
VapAndrei29 September 2021
Ok, so Netflix is out to crap all over documentaries too. If you're going to include force feed people your stupid agenda, each and EVERY GODDAMN EPISODE, at least throw in some scientific facts too so the bad taste washes away. Utter garbage. Netflix killed documentaries too.
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10/10
I like it
ktclavijov17 March 2022
Very informative show! Is amazing when we see how God didn't miss anything when creating us... only thing I didn't like was that they mentioned that C-19 was because wild animals (bats) but that's wrong, this virus wasn't from nature. Fauci funded gain-of-function research on bat coronaviruses at China's Wuhan lab!
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8/10
I liked it
buyacme5 May 2022
Wow. Lot of people didn't like this show. It is pretty basic. From the first frames it looked like it was going to move like molasses. These days, this is what I expect from most of these informational science-y shows. They are slow, with lots of beautiful and often unnecessary imagery, expert interview clips, and usually they are usually pretty drawn out and elementary.

I just had "gut" surgery a week ago, so this was of intense interest to me. And I know a lot about the digestive system as an informed patient, nevertheless I learned some stuff. It inspired me to think more about what I eat. I'm thinking a whole heck of a lot about what I eat in these recovery days. I'll be shopping for more fermented foods and probably start fasting from time to time. And to the guy that thinks there's an agenda because some non-whites are in it, relax, not everything is a conspiracy.
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2/10
Waste of precious time
philisheffner24 June 2021
The documentary was boring and at times I felt even erroneous. It was talking about fuel but didn't give us any understanding of the physiology of how we consume and use our fuel. By the way Insulin is there to drive the excess fuel we don't burn into our fat cells not give us energy. The food we eat when broken down gives us energy. All Insulin does is regulate our blood sugar ask any diabetic. When we need fuel there are 4 other hormones that convert the energy stored in our liver muscles and fat cells into energy. AT LEAST GET IT RIGHT!!!!
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9/10
High quality, underrated doco
jarmangif26 June 2021
Anything that has Jad Abumrad as a narrator gets a good review from me. High quality visuals, concise and effective explanations of internal body structures.
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4/10
So very disappointing.
landon-705819 June 2021
Filled with facts I learned well over 10 years ago. Sprinkled in some very rare new information, along with some director's idea of cool shots of people walking and totally unnecessary B footage.

It's like they took 1 episodes worth of info, and spread it out over a series. Then they sprinkled in some agendas, and bewildering choices of footage.

I was very excited to watch this, but ended up tapping out, and skipping ahead for most it in search of anything interesting.
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1/10
A cringe-worthy agenda.
joymars12 March 2022
I stay away from most documentaries because they tend to present a slant. If I'm interested in a subject I'll read about it. How did I know the human body is now a political football? But worse than this series' mind-numbing heavy-handed agenda is its ordinary insights. I don't know what audience this series was made for - the transhumanist community? I spent a couple of hours of my life that I will never get back watching this annoying pablum. I'm amazed PBS had anything to do with it. Netflix isn't a surprise.
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4/10
This Could've been Made 50 Years Ago
MeadtheMan4 June 2021
The graphics are modern, but the info is so outdated. Just 15 minutes in, we can already find quite a few problematic details. First, there are the confusing messages - "since our evolutionary ancestors created the first Homo sapiens" - is this creationism or evolution? Then, sex and gender are totally interchangeable, everyone just talks about a boy or a girl (like a regression on our gender studies). And the biological sexes, as we know, are far from being binary. Interestingly, they feature a trans-man later but they don't find contradictions with the first part of the episode.

Then there's the stereotype that only the alpha male sperm does all the swimming (even though recent studies have shown that the uterus does a lot of manipulation to "meet" the sperm too). Also, no mention of the dire situation of sperm count plummeting - exacerbated by the widespread use of toxic chemicals - in recent decades.

Then, the cringey feel-good images, stories and one-liners. It's like an infomercial for some fertility treatment.
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4/10
Visually appealing show with poor content.
lazaizi9 September 2021
Warning: Spoilers
The worst episode is Birth, which I by chance, watched the last. If I have watched it first, I doubt I would have watched the rest of the show.

What was the point of the part with trans man pregnancy? To teach us that someone with a uterus and ovaries can get pregnant? Groundbreaking!

Nothing new, nor interesting is to see in this episode, just the loss of time.

The rest of the episodes are decent, they did hold my attention but nothing more.
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2/10
Come on, dumb it down some more
jacquimoysey26 August 2022
I saw the womb picture and thought I was in for a David Attenborough style tour of workings of the human body. No, this is not that. This is fluff, with twinkly music and personal stories and a narrator that dumbs G protein coupled receptors down to "doors"! I can't do more than 25 minutes of this. This is not a documentary.
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