We live in a problem abounded world. When complexities of problematic systems, behaviour patterns and processes become mind-boggling, the on-screen visual representation of such phenomenons makes them more digestible. The aim of media and art is to promulgate a message to the audience. Some movies/documentaries in my opinion have perceptively and holistically captured the essence of many human-made problems of global consequences. Climate change, exploitative systems of production, consumption and decision making, patriarchal living, narrative war are a few broad categories. The list for the purpose of this article is limited to the author’s own inclination towards English/Hindi language cinema therefore better storytelling on the same topic may have been done by some other visual representation.
1. David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet
Renowned broadcaster and natural historian David Attenborough walks us through the beauty that Earth is. Images of pristine eco-system followed by eco-system damage were enough to shake my conscience. The consequence of our socio-economic systems on innocent organisms is more real than our perceived problems. The documentary ends with a cautionary note: The Earth will regenerate with or without us. The threat really is of the human exodus.
2. Sherni
Do you remember the 2020 public discourse on man-animal conflict? Following the brutal death of a pregnant elephant in Kerela, remorse and opinions flowed across social media. This 2021 Hindi thriller tells us that there is more to the picture than what reaches the eyes.Vidya Balan is a forest service officer stationed at a village where a man-eating tigress is on a rampage. Facing the loss of forest land the tigress is compelled to attack the villagers. Traditionally, communities living close to forests have had amicable respect for the forest and its animals. But profit making and complete neglect of grassroots nuances have turned them against each other. Both are competing over scarce resources. And the human capacity allows fear to turn into hate and then adapt into measures for self-defence. The anomality of the matter is that forces external to the eco-system, like government, mining companies, urban dwellers, are leeches onto the resources belonging to the local community and tigers. The human in the human-animal conflict is situated miles apart, and the whims of their survival are the main killer. The ultimate solution for the survival of both parties lies in restoring the previous co-dependence. Local communities once again become the guardians of the forest and its beings.
3. don’t look up
The movie deserves all the attention that it had received earlier this year. What sets it apart from other extinction sci-fi’s is that the cause of extinction was an external factor. The comet wasn’t a human created threat like global warming or food crisis. The film points at the manner in which human systems responded to this threat. And in that sense, extinction is owed to internal factors, our socio-eco-political systems. The movie is scary because even when the scale of danger was huge, immediate and reversible, the system failed to act appropriately. Intllectuals lack the vocabulary to speak to the masses, while politicians fool the masses. Communities polarize along political lines. Even in the face of common danger, groups find their vocabulary of differences. The ability to form groups has contributed to our thriving survival. The same ability might just become the cause of extinction. The film also reminds us that how transient and beautiful earthly life is. Then, why would you want to do anything to hamper your already fractious existence?
4. Monsson Wedding
This 2001 film traces the drama that unleashes in an upper-class Indian family. In the background of a wedding, family secrets spill and romantic pursuits awaken. Behind the image of a happy well off family lies a story of pain and abuse. The resounding generality of this premise holds particularly true in the Indian family setup wherein the image of normalcy is forced for social status. Behind closed doors, in private spaces, individuals yearn to be heard. Certain individuals also exploit through the bonds of kin and later seek protection under its covers. The film asks us to rethink the notion of doing things merely for public display, especially when an action infringes on your truth.
5. Generation Wealth
In this 2018 documentary, photo-journalist Lauren Greenfield examines people’s will to be wealthy at any cost. Through first-person stories, the confluence between wealth and status, as well as its shocking consequences are portrayed. Links between consumerism, celebrity culture, body-image disorders and global economic shockwaves uncovers the costs of being cool. In this world of excess, unhappiness and inequities abound.
6. Coded Bias
They say that machines don’t differentiate. Think again! This 2020 documentary narrates MIT researcher Joy Buolamwini’s exploration into racial bias held by facial recognition systems across the USA. Artificial intelligence learns by itself. But the data systems through which it learns are human-made. The implicit biases are fed into the machine and it starts profiling and stereotyping people, for instance on the basis of race. Increasing the diversity of data sets becomes crucial.
7. THE Kashmir files
Some things need to be watched critically, and in our communally charged times, this film tops the list.
- Post-truth: We live in a world where passion can turn falsity into truth. The candor with which references are cited for fictitious history is scary. Intellectuals and professionally trained critical thinkers are claimed to be the enemy of the people, and ally of oppressors. While the current regime is on the side of the people, and is setting right the historic injustices. The imagery of a wisdom bounty Bharat is once again invoked.
- Narrative war: The movie is marked by the good versus evil spirit. That truth is a culmination of multiple perpsectives is true. But groups try brandishing their own story as ultimate. Yes, a certain side has to be brought to the mainstream. But can’t this be done without giving the issue a communal flavour? Mainstream audience do not think critically and in current times are especially motivated by communalism under the guise of patriotic fervour. In such situations doesn’t the onus lie on makers of such cinema to excercise caution while executing their stories. But again, the makers arent spokespersons of peace and harmony
- The significance of symbolism: Brutually graphic depictions of conventionally vulnerable group members like women and children is generously used. The image of a left wing intellectual is that of a black lipstick, black bindi, indie sari clad professor. She sings ‘Hum Dekhenge’ and “corrupts” a Kashmiri Pandit boy to disssociate with his upper class identity and associate with vulnerable Kashmiri Muslims. These categories are invoked to further arouse the audience.
- Listening to people: The intergenerational trauma of a group cannot be undermined. But this expression in a complete black and white format owes to sufferers suffering being ignored in the mainstream. The pain if supported by a new status quo ends up being expressed and resonated with extreme emotions.
The movie is everything that one needs to be cautious about in contemporary politics. In fact, after a very long time, the movie hall was filled to the brim. When the film ended, a bunch of young men gave the “nationalist cry”-Bharat Mata Ki Jai. When a thinking pattern is being unapologetically portrayed in mainstream cinema, you know how pervasive it has become. And cinema will further reinforce this mentality. I really wish that the same was true for the more socially significant movies mentioned above.