Social Medicine Films
Movies That Highlight Poverty
The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
A story of struggle, hope and the great depression based on the novel by John Steinbeck.
Sullivan’s Travels (1941)
Preston Sturges’ tales of a movie director that wants to experience “real life” and dresses up as a bum to find out what struggle means. When things go awry, the director gets more than he bargained for.
Monsieur Verdoux (1947)
Charlie Chaplin’s story of a man who loses his job and takes to marrying and then murdering rich women to support his family is darkly comic but also speaks to what poverty can make one do. Chaplin’s political commentary about war and society. It also features a stock market crash.
The Bicycle Thief (1948)
Poverty in Italy after World War II. Makes list as one of the greatest films of all time.
A Raisin in the Sun (1961)
Portrayal of a family living in the Chicago ghetto.
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Film about legal justice that explores the world of the poor and how they live and work.
Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974)
While Alice and her son aren’t in dire poverty in this film, the story does highlight a group that often struggles and in the past had it pretty rough – single moms. In the film Alice is forced to live in a hotel with her son and work some awful jobs just to get them back on their feet after her husband dies.
Coal Miner’s Daughter (1980)
Focuses on a small coal mining community and the realities of the lifestyle.
Movies about Community Health Centers
Out in the Rural: A Health Center in Mississippi
Presents the work in community-oriented primary care and social medicine in one of the first OEO community health centers in North Bolivar county in Mississippi
Anti-War Movies
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
Based on the novel by Erich Maria Remarque about a gung-ho German soldier in World War I.
Grand Illusion (1937)
Jean Renoir’s WWI drama.
Ballad of a Soldier (1959)
Account of young Russian soldier’s furlough from the front and his long trip home to see his mother.
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
Stanley Kubrick’s cold-war farce tells, the chilling tale of the “Doomsday Machine,” starring Peter Sellers in three roles.
Hearts & Minds (1974)
Peter Davis’ documentary about the Vietnam war alternates skillfully between personal accounts of politicians, pilots, and bombed-out farmers on the ground.
Das Boot (1981)
Wolfgang Petersen’s harrowing and nerve-wrecking tale of a doomed German U-Boat.
Sophie’s Choice (1982)
This harrowing film, based on the novel by William Styron, gives compelling insight into the lives of survivors of the Holocaust.
Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
The story of two orphans fighting for survival in World War II Japan after the
firebombing of Kyoto.
Three Kings (1999)
The film is set in Iraq just after the Gulf War has ended. Three soldiers discover a bunker with stolen gold and treasure from Kuwait, but their dreams of wealth are set aside when they discover a population in need. George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg and Ice Cube star.
The Fog of War (2003)
A portrait of Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara set to a score by Philip Glass. McNamara’s career unfolds, beginning with his role as one of the architects of the WWII fire bombing of Japan. The film won the 2004 Oscar for Best Documentary.
Suggestions provided by: Vic Sidel, MD
