{"id":11722,"date":"2019-09-22T12:09:32","date_gmt":"2019-09-22T10:09:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.humanrightscareers.com\/?p=11722"},"modified":"2023-10-15T12:12:05","modified_gmt":"2023-10-15T10:12:05","slug":"human-rights-movies-to-watch-on-netflix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.humanrightscareers.com\/issues\/human-rights-movies-to-watch-on-netflix\/","title":{"rendered":"15 Human Rights Movies To Watch On Netflix"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since its birth, cinema has served as a mirror to society. It has reflected our greatest hopes and successes, as well as our fears and failures. Movies about human rights explore every angle of the human experience and raise awareness of the most urgent human rights issues of the day. Here are 15 human rights movies available to watch on Netflix:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
#<\/th>\nTitle<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
1<\/td>\nCrip Camp<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\nCoded Bias<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/td>\nReversing Roe<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4<\/td>\nRustin<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>\nDisclosure<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6<\/td>\nThe Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
7<\/td>\nDescendent<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8<\/td>\nBeasts of No Nation<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9<\/td>\n13th<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10<\/td>\nAd\u00fa<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
11<\/td>\n7 Prisoners<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
12<\/td>\nThe Swimmers<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
13<\/td>\nPray Away<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
14<\/td>\nTrees of Peace<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
15<\/td>\nToni Morrison: The Pieces I Am<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Note: At the time of writing, these films were available to watch on Netflix in the United States. Availability may vary by region. <\/em><\/p>\n

#1. Crip Camp (2020)<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Directors: Nicole Newnham and James LeBrecht<\/p>\n

Every summer, thousands of kids leave home to attend summer camp. Camp Jened was special. It gave kids with disabilities a space to play, make new friends, experience first love, and talk about their futures. It closed in 2009. Over lunch one day, filmmaking partners James LeBrecht and Nicole Newnham were discussing the camp, which James had attended. They decided to make a movie. Their film, which went on to be nominated for an Academy Award, explores how several campers and counselors from Camp Jened grew up to become leaders in the disability rights movement.<\/p>\n

#2. Coded Bias (2020) <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Director: Shalini Kantayya<\/p>\n

While working as an MIT media researcher, Joy Buolamwini noticed that facial recognition systems didn\u2019t work for her. She soon learned that many facial recognition tools didn\u2019t work for people with dark skin. We know humans discriminate based on skin color, but what happens if the technology we use daily discriminates, too? \u201cCoded Bias\u201d digs into this question, as well as other issues surrounding artificial intelligence and human rights.<\/p>\n

#3. Reversing Roe (2018)<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Director: Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg<\/p>\n

Released before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the film \u201cReversing Roe\u201d examined the history of the battle between the pro-choice and anti-choice movements. Using interviews with experts, activists, politicians, and journalists, the movie provides an essential explainer on how the US got to where it is today. \u201cReversing Roe\u201d was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Politics and Government Documentary.<\/p>\n

#4. Rustin (2023) <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Director: George C. Wolfe<\/p>\n

Bayard Rustin was a leader in the Civil Rights movement, as well as the movements for socialism and gay rights. He helped organize the Freedom Rides and the March on Washington. In his later years, he participated in many humanitarian missions. As a gay man, he was frequently discriminated against and his contributions were not publicly recognized in his time. \u201cRustin,\u201d which stars Colman Domingo as Bayard Rustin, releases on Netflix on November 17th, 2023.<\/p>\n

#5. Disclosure (2020) <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Director: Sam Feder<\/p>\n

Trans people have always existed, and they\u2019ve always been represented on the movie and TV screen, as well. The documentary \u201cDisclosure\u201d examines the history of Hollywood\u2019s depictions of trans people and how their stories have impacted American culture. For years, depictions have not been positive. Trans people in the film industry (like Laverne Cox, Jamie Clayton, Chaz Bono, and many others) discuss these films and TV shows, which include \u201cAce Ventura,\u201d \u201cVictor Victoria,\u201d and \u201cTo Kill A Mockingbird.\u201d<\/p>\n

#6. The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson (2017)<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Director: David France<\/p>\n

In 1992, Marsha P. Johnson died under mysterious circumstances. While the death was ruled a suicide, activist Victoria Cruz performed her own investigation. The film follows her journey while relating the stories of Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Riveria, who were iconic figures of the gay liberation and transgender rights movement in New York City. \u201cThe Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson\u201d premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and was released on Netflix.<\/p>\n

#7. Descendant (2022) <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Director: Margaret Brown<\/p>\n

In 2019, the wreckage of the last known slave ship to travel from Africa to the United States was found in the Mobile River in Alabama. When it arrived on the shore in 1859 or 1860, it had carried 110 African men, women and children. The documentary \u201cDescendant\u201d takes a close look at the community of Africatown, which is home to descendants of a group of West Africans enslaved on the last slave ship. The film premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and was released on Netflix.<\/p>\n

#8. Beasts of No Nation (2015) <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga<\/p>\n

Based on the 2005 novel of the same name, \u201cBeasts of No Nation\u201d tells the story of a young boy forced to serve as a child soldier in an unnamed West African country. For years, West Africa has had a high number of child soldiers. According to a 2021 UN report, more than 21,000 kids<\/a> have been recruited into conflict over the last five years. While \u201cBeasts of No Nation\u201d came out years ago, children are still enduring the human rights abuses depicted in the film.<\/p>\n

#9. 13th (2016)<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Director: Ava Duvernay<\/p>\n

The Civil War ended slavery in the United States, but we have still not achieved racial equality in the century and a half since. As the film \u201c13th\u201d explores, the United States instead reimagined systems of racial disenfranchisement through the Jim Crow laws, the war on drugs and the prison-industrial complex. The film gets its name from the 13th Amendment, which ended slavery but made a troubling caveat: slavery and involuntary servitude could be used as a punishment for crimes. \u201c13th\u201d was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.<\/p>\n

#10. Ad\u00fa <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Director: Salvador Calvo<\/p>\n

This Spanish drama tells three stories related to African immigration to Europe. In one tale, a six-year-old and his sister try to flee Cameroon. In the second, an activist fights against illegal poaching, while in the third, a group of guards and African immigrants trying to flee to Spain clash. The film won four Goya Awards, which is Spain\u2019s equivalent of an Academy Award.<\/p>\n

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When it comes to raising awareness of human rights issues, do you think fictionalized movies or documentaries are more effective?<\/strong><\/p>