This paper investigates the problems in the global fashion industry relating to environmental pollution and the intensification of gender inequality in developing countries as portrayed in two films: The True Cost (2015) and RiverBlue (2017).
These documentary films depict the effect of the current fashion industry, which revolves around various financial interests, on people in developing countries and on the planet as a whole. By considering aspects of these films’ social role, function and influence, this paper takes a close look at how these films bring these serious universal issues to the screen, paying particular attention to its analysis of the many correlating aspects between environmental pollution and gender inequality as seen through these films. Both documentary films, as acting media, depict the social problems analyzed in this paper in an attempt to convey objectified truth and thereby demand change from the audience. They encourage participation in social improvement by communicating a message that uses the imagery in and popularity of the film medium to reach the widest possible audience.
Additionally, they attempt to engage society in social change using the reality-oriented production methods characteristic to documentary films, resulting in a corresponding visible impact.