Human rights films becoming an integral part of cinema

Using cinema for political propaganda has always been a given. Now, it’s taking the coveted role of the human rights advocate. More and more films are shedding light on human rights violations around the world, reaching more audiences.

Moving images might be the single most powerful tool for propaganda, and it has been that way since the appropriation of cinema as a form of mass entertainment in the last century. Early Soviet cinema, the German and British cinemas of World War II, and, well, Hollywood cinema are just some that have used film for the blatant promotion of ideologies and political propaganda.

If cinema has served as a powerful tool to impress masses by disseminating messages to promote dominant ideologies, it has worked the other way as well. The violation of human rights, wars, repression, oppression and censorship have also found their way into movie theaters, not from the point of view of those responsible, but from the oppressed.

Not until very long ago, films addressing human rights issues reached only small numbers of people, mostly those who were already aware of the issues. That all seems to be changing now. Film has become a widespread medium to inform, inspire and influence audiences around the globe on struggles small and grand, ongoing and historical.

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