In celebration of the 89th Academy Awards, the Public Health Post editorial team looks back at our favorite movies with public health themes. Whether we’re watching Marion Cotillard stop a pandemic with the World Health Organization in Contagion or Richard Gere confront HIV in And the Band Played On, these films tackle conversations on public health. If you’re looking for a way to nerd-out over social determinants on the big screen and you missed Ohio State University College of Public Health’s list from 2013, here’s ours. Tag us and your votes with #publichealthmovie on Twitter.
And the Oscar goes to…
1) 13th (2016)
An in-depth look at the prison system in the United States and how it reveals the nation’s history of racial inequality.
2) Contagion (2011)
Healthcare professionals, government officials and everyday people find themselves in the midst of a worldwide epidemic as the CDC works to find a cure.
3) Food, Inc. (2008)
An unflattering look inside America’s corporate controlled food industry.
4) Still Alice (2014)
A linguistics professor and her family find their bonds tested when she is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease.
5) Living in Emergency (2009)
In the war-zones of Liberia and Congo, four volunteers with Doctors Without Borders struggle to provide emergency medical care under extreme conditions.
6) Sicko (2007)
A documentary comparing the highly profitable American health care industry to other nations, and HMO horror stories including shotgun deaths.
7) And the Band Played On (1993)
The story of the discovery of the AIDS epidemic and the political infighting of the scientific community hampering the early fight with it.
8) Wall-E (2008)
In the distant future, a small waste-collecting robot inadvertently embarks on a space journey that will ultimately decide the fate of mankind.
9) The Invisible War (2012)
An investigative documentary about the epidemic of rape of soldiers within the US military.
10) It’s a Girl! (2012)
Every year in India and China, millions of babies are killed, neglected or abandoned simply because they are girls.
Feature image: mark lorch, cinema seats, used under CC BY NC 2.0/cropped from original
Movie summaries from IMDB.com.
