Coming to theatres today, Friday, December 5: POVERTY, INC
Michael Matheson Miller’s exploration of the downside of global charity debuted at Anthem, the Libertarian Film Festival, this Summer, where it won the audience award. Other festival stops have included Austin, Docutah, Chagrin Doc, Savannah, Denver, and Leeds.
Miller’s film questions whether the good intentions of international aid actually do more harm than good in the long run, encouraging dependence rather than self-reliance, and propagating paternalism that inevitably positions the recipients of relief as lesser or incapable nations. While altruism in and of itself is not viewed as a problem, the film instead suggests that the way it has historically been employed bolsters an inefficient, if not wholly broken system. Not unexpectedly, a major focus is Haiti, where the immediate humanitarian response to the devastating 2010 earthquake was certainly necessary and warranted, but continued past the point of emergency to disincentivize the local community from rebuilding. When rice is provided for free, and numerous NGOs provide free services, the argument goes, the local populace sees no need to take the lead in shoring up their community, developing entrepreneurially to solve their own problems, and thereby creating capability on a local level that sustains the community as a whole. While the film may not be able to offer comprehensive solutions, the essential message is to assist in more thoughtful ways, integrated with the needs of the community, and presented in a way to empower them to take over and build on it, rather than to simply grow dependent on the assistance. As a whole, while there’s nothing objectionable about this concept, the film’s approach, while straightforward enough, is also a fairly flat and artless survey, with weak narration and a parade of expert talking heads that are more suited to television than to a theatrical context.
what (not) to doc 