i’m starting to really like documentary films. they’re not something i was very well versed with or interested in until the rose event last semester, where we watched the movie street fight and then talked with the director about it, which was incredibly interesting, so recently i’ve been trying to make a concerted effort to watch more documentary films. (last week i watched the act of killing, which was very good–10/10, would recommend to a top ten friend.) plus, as an ilr student, with wealth inequality being a big point of interest for me, the name poverty inc. sounded right up my alley. i liked this documentary a lot because, while i obviously knew about the existence of third world countries and foreign aid, i didn’t know very much about the intricacies the interplay between them, or why this was an issue. i thought the film did a great job of finding people from many different sides of the situation–former ngo employees, local businessmen in haiti, anthropologists, scholars etc. and bringing their perspectives together into a pointed and powerful exposé on this complex and important topic. i would imagine that many people, like myself, without having seen this film, wouldn’t intuitively understand why companies like toms, which ostensibly seem really courageous and beneficial, perpetuate a cycle of poverty for the very people they’re trying to help. for that reason i think this is a very important documentary and i’m very happy to have gone. i also thought it was really cool that we were able to skype with one of the producers; he seemed very passionate and well informed. overall i’d give the event a 10/10 and would certainly recommend it to a top ten friend.