Test Your Temper: 10 Films About Social Injustice

Social injustice and the movements it’s incited have a long history, but it’s really only in the past few years that we’ve seen these reflected in the films that hit the screen.

I don’t watch a lot of movies about social injustice though, and it’s not because it’s a bad genre (the few I’ve watched were amazing!); they’re just not something I gravitate to because I already study and read a lot about this topic.

But you know who’s a whiz in this genre of films? My good friend and artist, Sydney! If there’s something we do together, it’s trying to understand the mechanisms of oppression (and getting infuriated by them too). She also just so happens to be one of the most knowledgeable people I know with regards to cinema.

Of course, thinking about societal problems constantly is not necessary. But we believe that watching films can be an entertaining way to reflect from time to time on the kind of society we live in, and to ask ourselves important questions about it.

So from films tackling racism to homophobia, sexual harassment and corruption, here is Sydney’s curated selection of films about social injustice. Not only will these films test your temper, but they will also give you hope.

The Mauritanian (2021)

Based on true events, this legal drama tells the other side of the story about what happened on 9/11. Being suspected of aiding in the attacks, a Mauritanian man named Mohamedou Ould Slahi was imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba from 2002 to 2016 without charge.

The month-long torture scenes and the total lack of due process will leave you fuming after watching this film. With amazing performances from Tahar Rahim, Jodie Foster, Shailene Woodley, and Benedict Cumberbatch, The Mauritanian is a painful yet important film to watch.

The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)

Mass protests, police brutality, racial discrimination, and an easily manipulatable justice system are at the forefront of this courtroom epic. In The Trial of the Chicago 7, seven anti-Vietnam war protestors known as the Chicago 7 are accused by the US government for conspiring to incite riots and are tried before court.

Exploring the oppressive power of governments, this dramatization of the infamous 1969 trial holds up a mirror for us to consider our present moment. It will enrage you as it explores one of the most shocking and graphic scenes to ever take place in an American courtroom.

The Hurricane (1999)

At the height of his boxing career, Rubin “Hurricane” Carter was framed for three murders. Despite passing lie detector tests and having a witness confirm that he was not one of the suspects, he was still convicted to serve three life terms.

There are people who lose their lives or large chunks of it merely because of the melatonin they have in their bodies. In other words, Carter lost 19 years of his life to jail due to the way society views the color of his skin.

Dark Waters (2019)

Do you use a non-stick frying pan? Teflon? It’s pretty convenient, isn’t it?

But did you also know that these pans are manufactured using the “forever chemical” C-8 acid, a chemical linked to birth defects and cancer? Perhaps not, because this is a fact buried for the purposes of profit.

Dark Waters chronicles an attorney’s investigation into chemical giant DuPont and how they have knowingly poisoned its consumers, workers, and the environment for decades. It’s now estimated that 99% of Americans have those toxic chemicals in their bloodstreams, yet Teflon remains rampant all over the globe.

Bombshell (2019)

Having gathered the courage to stand up to her boss, Gretchen Carlson finally files a lawsuit against Fox News founder Roger Ailes after he sexually harassed her and other women in the company.

But taking down a powerful man is never easy, as corporations often create a culture that protects the powerful and silences the powerless. In Bombshell, actors Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, and Margot Robbie play a blend of real-life and fictional characters who testify against the invulnerable Fox News head in their quest for justice.

The Boat That Rocked/Pirate Radio (2009)

Rock and Roll was declared evil by the British government in the 1960s, so renegade disc jockeys hopped aboard a ship and created “Radio Rock,” a radio station that broadcasted rock and pop music back to the United Kingdom.

Fighting to keep the “evil” music alive while avoiding persecution from the state, this hodgepodge of rebel broadcasters strike the silly and the serious in this film that celebrates the liberating power of music.

(Anyone who doesn’t like Bill Nighy and Rhys Ifans, two of my favorite actors, will also test my temper! —Sydney)

Trumbo (2015)

The witch hunt for suspected communists in America during the Cold War spared no one—not even Hollywood and certainly not even superstar screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, who penned classics like “Roman Holiday” and was blacklisted for being accused of spreading communist propaganda through his films.

Trumbo asks important questions about conspiracy, free speech, and the preservation of human rights as it depicts the US government employing invasive tactics against its own citizens in a desperate effort to weed out communists.

Made in Dagenham (2010)

Great Britain was tainted with grossly abusive gender-unequal policies during the Industrial Revolution. But because such policies didn’t affect the mothers, sisters, and daughters of the aristocratic ruling class, there was little societal hesitation in maintaining the policies on minimum wage female workers.

Made in Dagenham tells the story of daily wage earners like Rita O’Grady who’d finally had enough and led her colleagues from the Ford Motor Co. plant to strike.

Philadelphia (1993)

Philadelphia is one of the first mainstream Hollywood films to have ever tackled the issues of AIDS and homophobia. Twenty-eight years ago, Tom Hanks bagged the Best Actor Oscar for portraying a young lawyer who is infected by AIDS and then gets fired from his job at the largest corporate law firm in Philadelphia.

Believing that he was dismissed due to his AIDS diagnosis and his sexuality, the lawyer sues the company for wrongful dismissal. But get your stress balls ready because he settles for a homophobic lawyer to defend him in court, as no one else who would take his case.

North Country (2005)

Inspired by the first class-action sexual harassment lawsuit in the United States filed by Lois Jenson in 1988, this film starring Charlize Theron (Sydney’s a fan, okay!) dramatizes the story of Josey Aimes as she leaves her abusive husband and finds work in the mines.

Now working in an aggressive all-male environment, Aimes faces a culture that routinely targets women for sexual harassment.

Sydney is the artist behind syddiesketch, a place for people who adore vibrant digital art and watercolor prints. She is currently a multimedia arts student and bird mom. Follow her on Instagram to check out her latest art pieces!