Although film and poverty do not seem correlated in any capacity, there is a lot of implicit advocacy present in modern-day film-making that many may be unaware of. Pushing social change through film has now become trendy and is something that current film directors and producers are looking to showcase. Films target privileged people and allow them to experience the disadvantages present in the world that they normally would not have to worry about. In turn, this can expand their perspectives on certain issues and hopefully initiate change. 

A modern-day example of this is “Parasite,” a Korean film that came out in 2019 and swept the Oscars by winning all six awards that it received nominations for. This film aimed to highlight the economic disparities that capitalism has caused and the lengths that people will go to in order to survive. This movie increased awareness all over the world for poverty-stricken families and has led many youths to focus on advocating for and resolving this social injustice. Here is how film can raise awareness about poverty.

The Ways Filmmakers Can Raise Awareness About Poverty

There are numerous different techniques that filmmakers use in order to engage audiences and advocate for certain societal issues such as poverty. One of these includes the size and/or angle of the shots they use. A close-up, for example, is able to show the suffering that someone is going through and allow the audience to further empathize with them.

On the other hand, a longer and wider shot is able to show one’s environment and surroundings. For this reason, when showcasing poverty, filmmakers will often start with a close-up of an individual who is suffering and slowly expand the angle focusing on that individual’s surroundings – the cause of the suffering that they are going through. This allows the audience not only to empathize with the certain individual but also to be able to see what has caused them to be in that situation, further raising advocacy and awareness for such causes as poverty.

The Documentary Film Series “Why Poverty?”

“Why Poverty?” is a documentary film series that includes about eight films that are one hour long and 34 short films. The films originate from 28 different countries. The film series aims to raise awareness about poverty and get people around the world thinking and talking about poverty as a major societal issue. The long films explore the structural causes of poverty, such as capitalism and racism, and how to limit their effects on poverty-stricken families. On the other hand, each of the 34 short films provides a glimpse into people’s lives as they deal with poverty and inequality. More than 70 TV networks screened these films in 2012 and now people can screen them for educational purposes and/or purchase them.

Although it seems like film and poverty are topics from two different worlds, this article has shown that they are actually interconnected in several different ways. Through the size and/or angle of the shot, the length of the film, and the target audience, it is clear that modern-day filmmakers use several different techniques in order to showcase and advocate for different social issues such as poverty. How the audience decides to act on these issues is entirely up to them.

– Jennah Kalaaji
Photo: Flickr