The Rise of Documentary Activism
Documentaries can shine a light into places we can’t see, show life through someone else’s eyes, and reveal stories behind events that shape our world. The digital age has democratized documentary filmmaking and empowered a new generation to tell stories from all corners of the earth. Whatever the subject or whoever the filmmaker, the best documentaries have the power to change how we see the world.
Acclaimed Oscar Winning documentary The Cove, which exposes and analyzes dolphin hunting practices in Japan, is a call to action film to halt mass dolphin kills, to change Japanese fishing practices, and to inform and educate the public about the risks and increasing hazard of mercury poisoning from dolphin meat.
The protest against this cruel practice has been worldwide. Celebrities joined together on social media to inform the public of this issue. However, despite all the efforts, the hunt is still taking place in Japan.
(Photo by Daniela Moreno)
How many times have we seen social media bombard us with petitions, actions, and awareness campaigns after the release of documentary or a powerful video? Countless times. Some campaigns work, others seem to work, but many just stay exactly where they started.
With today’s technology and access to information, powerful organizations still manage to profit from inflicting pain and suffering on innocent animals worldwide. Documentaries however, are now giving us light and information in a way we had never seen before.
Let’s take a look at a successful, still ongoing fight against the captivity industry. Since the documentary Blackfish aired in 2013 on CNN, SeaWorld has encountered more than just one struggle. On August 6, 2015, the company released its financial results for the second quarter of 2015, falling short on both attendance and revenue goals. SeaWorld’s net income fell to $5.8 million from $37.4 million in 2014.
Celebrities including Ewan McGregor and Russell Brand were appalled to see how these magnificent animals could live and suffer under this so-called “entertainment business” and many used social media to encourage people to watch Black Fish and The Cove and, more importantly, to think again about going to SeaWorld.
Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret is a groundbreaking environmental documentary that uncovers the destructive animal agriculture industry facing the planet today and investigates why the world’s leading environmental organizations are too afraid to talk about it. Animal agriculture is the leading cause of deforestation, water consumption and pollution, is responsible for more greenhouse gases than the transportation industry, and is a primary driver of rainforest destruction, species extinction, habitat loss, topsoil erosion, ocean “dead zones,” and virtually every other environmental ill. Yet it goes on, almost entirely unchallenged.
The most interesting fact about this documentary is that it was produced after the successful results from the documentary Blackfish. The producers Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn say in the publicity for the documentary, they teamed up to do what Blackfish is currently doing to SeaWorld.
Actor Leonardo Di Caprio has long been a champion of conservation and sustainnability causes. He backed the film and help take Cowspiracy to Netflix for global release on September 15th.
Although we are creating awareness on different issues and change is happening, there are many other issues that still need to be examined. People are not always open to watch documentaries because they are too painful or inconvenient to watch. However we need to inform and educate ourselves so we can and educate others. As a Native American Proverb says: "We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children".
