The virality of “I Met the Tradwife Who Thinks Women Shouldn’t Vote,” Ben Zand’s documentary profile of far-right influencer Savanna Stone, can be explained by one chef’s kiss moment early in its 47 minute-run. As Stone holds forth on why women should submit to their spouses, we see her self-described full-time husband, Noah, quietly holding her purse. “Naturally, if your whole message is that a wife should submit to her husband, your own marriage becomes the evidence,” Zand deadpans.
“I Met the Tradwife Who Thinks Women Shouldn’t Vote,” the Sept. 1 episode of the Zandland founder’s YouTube series “Human,” arrives at an inflection point for both documentaries and tradwives. In a year that has brought us both Brett Ratner’s “Melania” and Alex Gibney’s “Musk,” Zand, a former BBC documentary producer who directed “The Cult of NatureBoy” for Hulu, is staking out the territory between serious subjects and Jubilee Media-style clickbait. Past “Human” installments include “Inside America’s Legal Brothel” and “I Took a Millionaire Into a Homeless Man’s Life.” The latest “Human” episode, “I Took a Feminist Into a Tradwife’s Life,” feels like an episode of “Wife Swap.”
