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Activism in Film

Since the beginning of filmmaking, writers, directors and actors have used the medium of film to not only convey important messages around the world but to also showcase how cinema, as a whole, is inherently political. Film, like most if not all art forms, is incredibly vital as it allows artists to express their opinions, political or not, and encourages ideologies to be heard. Activism has always been present in film and with the upcoming release of Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, out Friday 26 September, let’s take a look at some examples of activism in film.

Selma (2014)

Directed by Ava DuVernay, ‘Selma’ explores the events, challenges and violence faced by activists in 1956. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. headed a campaign to secure equal voting rights; this led to an epic march of 25,000 activists and supporters from Selma to Montgomery to convince President Johnson to sign the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Whilst the film was nominated for several major awards, including Best Picture at the 2015 Academy Awards, the main message was to showcase the determination and perseverance of the activists that fought for the rights people have now.

The Janes (2022)

In the USA, before Roe v. Wade in 1973, people seeking abortions had to come across the right resources and connections. Between 1968 and the Roe decision, a group of women in Chicago formed and organised a network that performed around 11,000 abortions. ‘The Janes’ demonstrates the dicey activism these women undertook; the film documents interviews from several members and details the history of secret abortions. This film is now more prevalent than ever, it was released just months before the US Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade and thus caused a new era of illegal, secret and unsafe abortions in America.

How To Survive A Plague (2012)

Much like the documentary itself, journalist David France had covered the AIDS epidemic from its beginnings. The documentary follows a group of AIDS activists and founders of the AIDS group ACT UP at the start of the epidemic in New York City. It follows their struggle in developing effective HIV/AIDS medication and showcases how these activists took it upon themselves to convince the FDA to approve drugs that could slow or halt the virus. The documentary also includes clips of protests that were held during the 1980s and 1990s against the immigration policies banning HIV positive people from immigrating to the United States. France dedicated the film to his partner Doug Gould who died of AIDS-related pneumonia in 1992.

I, Daniel Blake (2016)

Directed by Ken Loach, I, Daniel Blake tells the story of a middle- aged man who is denied Employment and Support allowance despite being declared unfit to work by his doctor. Loach highlights the rising rates of poverty in the UK along with the complexities and injustices of the welfare system; this is shown through the characters in the film who are unable to pay their rent and heat their homes due to the system failing them. One of the key moments in this film is when Blake refuses a job at a garden centre as his doctor still hasn’t declared him fit for work. When his work coach tells him he must find a job or be sanctioned, Blake spray paints “I, Daniel Blake demand my appeal date before I starve.”

How To Blow Up A Pipeline (2022)

Drawing from ideas advanced in Andreas Malm’s book of the same name, ‘How to Blow Up a Pipeline’ (directed by Daniel Goldhaber) follows a fictional group of eight young individuals who plan to blow up an oil pipeline at two key locations. The film showcases how the industrialisation of the planet has impacted people’s lives and how eco activism raises awareness about environmental issues and challenges corporations and governments. It explores the moral validity of radical environmental activism, the question of terrorism and the use of property damage and sabotage as activist tactics. ‘How to Blow Up a Pipeline’ was praised for its psychological and moral challenges, however critics expressed concerns surrounding the film's narrative of violence and perceived promotion of terrorism.

One Battle After Another

Paul Thomas Anderson's film is a satirical action-thriller inspired by Thomas Pynchon's novel Vineland. It follows Bob Ferguson (played by Leonardo DiCaprio), a former revolutionary who lives off-grid with his teenage daughter, Willa. When his old nemesis, the unhinged white supremacist Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn), resurfaces, Bob is forced to confront his past to protect his daughter.

The film blends its serious themes of activism and conspiracy with a dark, farcical sense of humor. The comedy arises from the absurdity of the characters and situations: Bob is a washed-up, stoned revolutionary in a bathrobe who can't remember crucial code words, while Lockjaw is a bizarre and terrifying figure whose villainy is laced with a strange, almost pathetic sexual obsession. The movie masterfully blends its serious themes with a dark, farcical sense of humor, using the absurd and ridiculous nature of its characters to satirize the chaos and paranoia of modern "culture wars."

out fri 26 sep

Written by Izzy Crilly - Team Member at The Light Stockport
19 September 2025

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