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REEL MEDICINE:
FOUR FILMS THAT EXPANDED OUR VIEW OF PUBLIC HEALTH

From climate change and lifestyle trends to pandemics and public health systems,
these films take a bold look at the past, to better prepare us for the future.



Climate change is contributing to public health crises in nearly every country
worldwide. From a renewed fight against vaccine-preventable diseases to
pandemics and health inequality, getting a handle on public health is becoming a
race against time.

With the current global focus on public health due to recent crises like
COVID-19, the role of visual media in shaping public awareness and education has
never been more crucial.

Visual media helps bring the stories of real people affected by these crises to
life, making the challenges more relatable and urgent. By showcasing the
interplay between health systems and the individuals they serve, documentaries
can provide medical and public health students with a unique lens to humanize
global health crises and understand the broader systemic responses to these
challenges.

Yet understanding the challenges ahead is as much a human issue as it is a
medical one. A great example is the ever-popular Bending the Arc - a film that
directly challenges the moral compass of the healthcare industry in addressing
health inequity.



Image from Bending the Arc

Directed by Kief Davidson and Pedro Kos, Bending the Arc tells the inspiring
story of Dr. Paul Farmer, Dr. Jim Yong Kim, and activist Ophelia Dahl, who, in
their fight to provide high-quality medical care to impoverished communities in
Haiti, instigated a global health revolution.

The film chronicles their efforts in Haiti, Peru, and Rwanda with the
organization they established, Partners In Health. The group, just out of
college, faced significant challenges due to their inexperience and opposition
from the global health establishment. They fought to demonstrate that providing
quality healthcare for impoverished communities was not only possible but
crucial.

PIH turned public health on its head with a fresh approach that involved
training local community members as healthcare providers to provide respectful
treatment and high-quality medical care to all. Their work has helped change
world policies, transformed entrenched ideologies, and saved millions of lives.

As Bending the Arc illustrates the power of individual and collective action in
global health, How to Survive a Pandemic provides a timely and detailed look at
the world's response to one of the most significant public health crises of our
time.



Image from How to Survive a Pandemic

How to Survive a Pandemic, directed by David France, provides a comprehensive
examination of the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The documentary
focuses on the race to develop, produce, and distribute vaccines while
highlighting the scientific, political, and social challenges faced along the
way.

A riveting overview of public health crisis response, the film also explores
vaccine inequity and provides an insider’s view of the efforts to curb the
pandemic, featuring interviews with key figures involved in the vaccine
development process, including scientists, public health officials, and
policymakers from around the world.

For students, How to Survive a Pandemic, and contemporary COVID-19 films like
The First Wave, Behind the Swedish Model, and The Curve, serve as real-time case
studies of crisis management, public health strategy, and the importance of
global cooperation.

Continuing on the David France theme of survival, another of his films - and
perhaps one of his most recognizable - has become a staple in public health
studies. How to Survive a Plague chronicles the heroic activism of the AIDS
Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) during the height of the AIDS epidemic.



Image from How to Survive a Plague

Providing a searing historical account of the steep cost of apathy, the film
uses archival footage and personal interviews to place us in the center of the
group’s fight against government inaction, societal stigma, and bureaucratic
stalemates to push for life-saving treatment.

Along with activists and supporters, ACT UP stormed the country with protests
and infiltrated the pharmaceutical industry in a radical move to accelerate
treatment. In doing so, advocates not only reshaped the public’s understanding
of the disease but also brought about significant changes in how medical
research was later conducted, ensuring that those affected by chronic illness
have a voice in their treatment and care.

How to Survive a Plague provides an expanded view of public health, emphasizing
the importance of equity, access, and education in the fight to eliminate health
disparities and prioritize the well-being of all communities.

With global warming revealing an increasing number of biological threats, new
potential epidemics are emerging at an alarming pace. CNN’s Unseen Enemy is a
film that provides a sobering look at the invisible threats posed by emerging
and known viruses like Ebola, Influenza, and Zika, to examine how future
healthcare providers can be‌ better prepared for what’s to come.



Image from Unseen Enemy

Directed by Janet Tobias, Unseen Enemy delves into the complex world of
epidemiology and the ever-increasing threat of global pandemics. Featuring the
personal stories of those affected by some of the world’s most infectious
diseases, the film provides insights into how these diseases spread and the need
for global preparedness as climate change compounds contagious outbreaks.

Taking a worldview, the film emphasizes the importance of global preparedness
and the need for robust healthcare systems capable of responding swiftly to
outbreaks. Unseen Enemy showcases the challenges faced by scientists and public
health officials in tracking and containing diseases, highlighting the critical
need for international cooperation and investment in public health
infrastructure. For medical and public health students, this documentary serves
as a powerful reminder of the complexities and urgency involved in combating
infectious diseases.

Public Health has never had to work harder - or faster. While we work towards
fixing institutional issues, films like How to Survive a Plague, Unseen Enemy,
Bending the Arc, and How to Survive a Pandemic, each offer unique insights into
different solutions. Humanizing macro issues to underpin their urgency, these
films highlight the complexities of managing global health crises, the
importance of health equity, and the intricate connections between human health
and the environment.


Contact us to add these films and many more to your library



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IN THIS ARTICLE

 * Bending the Arc
 * How to Survive a Pandemic
 * How to Survive a Plague
 * Unseen Enemy
 * The First Wave
 * Behind the Swedish Model
 * The Curve


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WHAT IS FILM PLATFORM FORUM?

A blog highlighting the most relevant documentary film content for the academic
world and organizations with a mission to educate. Film events, professional
training, and academic research are carefully curated to amplify the impact of
documentary films included on Film Platform.


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assistants, and students!

 




WHY FILM PLATFORM FORUM NOW?

Documentary films tell us stories of social and political import. They reveal
hidden truths, are windows into investigative journalism, touch our emotions,
and uncover forgotten history. For higher education institutions and workplaces,
documentary films are a resource to engage, inspire, and inform like no other
form of content.

Such stories are vital to sustain and strengthen media literacy.  As faculty
keep pace with the media students consume, they also need to trust the
scholarship and content they are recommending. Like a syllabus, the monthly
edition of the Forum will be vetted, curated, and aligned to the monthly
documentary topic. In any given month the Forum may highlight a new film on Film
Platform, share a highly relevant panel event for faculty and students to
attend, direct attention towards new research, recommend ‘Calls to Action’, or
analyze the merits and veracity of critiques and controversies connected to the
documentary. 


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