Whatever your plans are for Thanksgiving this year, whether you choose to celebrate or not, you can't help but want to take advantage of having the whole family gathered in one place. Spend some family time together playing board games or just hanging out and hosting a family movie night. If you do go the movie route, we've compiled a list of what we think are the best Thanksgiving movie options to watch this year.
For many, Thanksgiving marks the start of family festivities that last well into the new year. Mom of two Raki Wright enjoys family movie nights with her extended family each Thanksgiving.
"I have such fond childhood memories of Thanksgiving with my family. My Grandma would prepare a big feast that she began in the early hours of the morning for us to enjoy in the early afternoon,” Wright told Mom.com. "We’d have the football game on in the living room, where most of the guys would eat. I continued the tradition with my family."
Movies coming out Thanksgiving 2022
Must-watch historically accurate Thanksgiving movies
It may be a challenge if you're looking to find the best Thanksgiving movie; one that is historically accurate and tells the true history of the time period. But there are some movies that do a fairly good job of dispelling myths or depicting the whitewashed history of our nation we've come to expect from Hollywood.
9. Saints and Strangers
This docudrama streaming on Amazon Prime premiered on network television in 2015. Critics agree that the way Native Americans are portrayed in the series can be exploitative at times, but it does provide insight into problematic colonialism.
10. Desperate Crossing: The Untold Story of the Mayflower
Given the actual history, this may be another movie that's better for ages 14 and up as it delves into the harsh realities of life in the colonies in the 1600s. What is particularly different and interesting about this docuseries, is that it is filmed both in Europe and at Plymouth Plantation. Royal Shakespeare Company actors and the Massachusetts Wampanoag tribe recreate what occurred during the first year of the colonist's arrival in Massachusetts.
For those looking for more, Apache-Lipan educator Kelly Tudor offered some suggestions in a video posted to the History Unboxed Facebook page. "There are a lot of great Native American films and documentaries out there; Native-made documentaries. On PBS and Amazon Prime as well, things like Rumble: Indians Who Rocked the World, that one's incredible," Tudor offered.
Additional movies and documentaries Tudor suggested in the Facebook post include:
- Gather
- We Shall Remain (PBS docuseries)
- Warrior Women
Tudor also suggests families visit cultural centers or Native American museums in their area to learn about and acknowledge the contributions of Native Americans throughout the years.
