Social Justice in the Movies

I have 17 here, but I promise I don’t write about each one…

• (2013) — It’s not a masterpiece of a movie, but it makes you face what happened. Most of us with lighter skin are very hesitant to believe stories we hear like this, this story was actually captured on camera. The rest of the movie introduces you to the people and families most keenly affected by the event.

•  (2013)

• (2006)

• (2007) — This movie is actually good companion to watching . The inequality and evils in health care systems, including Canada’s, is more than just frustrating. It’s inhumane and must be at least talked about, and at best acted upon.

• (2002) — “ My son is dying, and I’m broke. If I don’t qualify for Medicare, who the hell does?”

• (2014) — It doesn’t matter if you’re a vegetarian, meat eater, vegan, or meat-a-tarian, the things happening today in the food industry is wrong, horrific, and nonsensical. The world is working overtime to feed North America’s insatiable appetite. People suffer, animals suffer, our planet suffers. Our indifference is going to be met with dropped jaws by those reading about us in the future. Watch this if you’d like to know what is happening. Or just do the ostrich-head-in-the-sand thing. You do you.

 (1982)

• (2014)

• (2008)

• (1989) — When I saw this movie I liked it, but wasn’t sure if I fully understood it all. Reading what Roger Ebert, who loved the movie, wrote about it really brought it to life for me. It’s a true modern classic.

• (2004)

• (2013)

• (2012) — You’d be shocked to know what happened in the recent history of Indonesia and the attitudes that still linger. It gives a good picture as well of what happens when a large group of people follow a faulty way of thinking that has its roots in hatred for people different than themselves.

• (2017)

• (2011)

• (2018)

• (2016)

And we can’t forget , the movie that I would probably place in between and . Some from the LGBT community were critical of it, where the gay characters were fairly one-dimensional, it took Hollywood a decade to finally address the issue, etc. However, it was a kind of first step for us in understanding. Which I believe is the first step in social justice. If you don’t seek to understand, the next steps are near impossible.

Congratulations . This is your week.

Best Actress: Octavia Spencer as Wanda in .

Best Actor: Adam Driver as Flip Zimmerman in

Best Quote: “I AM NOT GOING TO BURY MY SON! MY SON IS GOING TO BURY ME!” — Denzel Washington as John Quincy Archibald in

There are many other movies, of course. (1993) and (2004) I left out, as well as (1998), (1939), (2006), and (2015). I also enjoyed (2009), (2006), and (2013), which are more allegorical stories of social justice. So, if there are any listed that you haven’t seen and they pique your interest, maybe this is a good time to gain a little bit more understanding. We could all use more of that.