Can a Documentary Change Your Worldview?

I watched two documentaries this week and both were effective at changing my worldview. One was a short-form documentary, Quest for Water. The other documentary with a full-length film called That Sugar Film. I’m going to give a brief summary of each, describe the structure use of media, and compare the effectiveness of each documentary. I found that both had content that kept my interest.

Quest for Water could be broken into three parts. In part one the filmmaker described the problems facing farmers, and tribal communities, and their competing interests. The film also explains how water is regulated by the federal government and gives a brief history of how water has been used and distributed in the past. Part two took a deeper look at the water shortage and conflicts associated with the lack of water available to farmers in California and the Growing Basin. Part three offers hope as people are finding creative solutions to the problem using conservation methods and innovation.

That Sugar Film gave a summary of how the American diet became so loaded with added sugars in our foods. In the late 1950s as fats were blamed for heart and other health problems manufacturers began making low-fat foods. The problem was and is that they replaced the fat with added sugars. The filmmaker who eats a diet free of added sugars embarks on a journey to see the effects added sugars have on the human body. He does this by adding 40 teaspoons of sugar a day to his diet, an amount that the average person consuming a Western-style would eat. At the end of this, we see that he has gained weight and developed precursors for fatty liver syndrome.

Quest for Water had a normal documentary feel with a narrator. Interviews with people who were affected by the water issue were effective at helping the viewer to understand and have compassion for the people dealing with the water shortages. The medium was effective and presented a clear picture of the issue, those affected, and a path to find solutions.

That Sugar Film was a well-produced full-length film. It had an interesting story, it had lots of sound bites, video clips, animation, and a music video at the end. The film held my attention for 2 hours and made great use of the medium to deliver its message.

Both films were impactful. While they both were documentaries, they used the short form and long form differently. That Sugar Film had more visuals, a storyline with a main character, and clips. This medium is similar to a movie. Quest for Water was able to use a narrative form and present it as an educational piece as a 24-minute documentary.

That Sugar Film had information that is relevant to anyone who is eating a Western-style diet, by following the advice offered by this film I believe that anyone who adopts a diet with less added sugars will see an increased quality of life. Quest for Water made me aware that as farmers struggle for water rights and if they are not able to keep up with consumer demand, we will all see increased food prices. That Sugar Film had a stronger emotional impact on me of the two films. The fact that the sugar industry is actively trying to suppress information. Information that if the general public had they could make better informed decisions. The sugar industry’s claim is not that sugar is the problem but that consumers eat too much. If consumers had all the facts, they would be more empowered to make better choices.