Steven Spielberg & Alex Gibney to partner for Why We Hate docuseries

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

These days, it feels as if you can't open an internet browser without seeing Steven Spielberg's smiling mug staring back at you. As the legendary director continues to work himself to the bone, promoting films like READY PLAYER ONE and ruining people's childhoods with the mere suggestion of converting his Indiana Jones character into a female named Joan, the highly acclaimed filmmaker has recently announced that he'll be teaming with Alex Gibney (TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE) for a new docuseries tentatively titled WHY WE HATE.

According to Deadline, WHY WE HATE will be presented as a six-part television event series that will explore human beings capacity for hatred and how we can work to overcome it. For the moment, the project is set to make a 2019 bow on Discovery. In regard to how the subject will be tackled, Spielberg and Gibney will explore the subjects of human psychology, neuroscience, sociology, and history, as they delve into the evolutionary principle of hate and share stories from both past and present to uncover the disturbing nature of such a regressive and universal emotion. Geeta Gandbhir and Sam Pollard of WHEN THE LEVEES BREAK: A REQUIEM IN FOUR ACTS fame will direct the hot-button and exploratory series.

In talking about the project, Alex GIbney stated, “This is not a series that simply documents something that’s happening, it’s an inquiry – an attempt to understand why we hate, through the science, and through a sense of common humanity,” said Gibney. “Hate is in our DNA. If we begin to understand this, that’s how we begin to get to a point of being able to hope that we can overcome hate.”

Spielberg also commented on the nature of the delicate series by saying that “Getting to the root of the human condition is something I find not only fascinating, but absolutely necessary in understanding who we are,” said the AMISTAD director. “With the team in place, we delve into historical and modern-day stories of hate, traveling around the globe to uncover its mystery in others and in ourselves. If we understand why we act the way we do, we can change the way we act. That is what we are uniquely capable of as human beings.”

Does the subject matter of WHY WE HATE intrigue you? Do you think Spielberg and Gibney are the ones to tackle the history and debilitating nature of such a raw and damaging emotion? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.