There's a lot of vegan documentaries out there. They're important to watch and they're packed with information. I decided to review some of the most memorable documentaries I've seen and I rated them out of five stars. Keep in mind these ratings are just my humble opinion and you shouldn't take them too seriously.
Food Inc
Food Inc has a reputation for being a vegan documentary, but I disagree. It's a documentary about food that doesn't promote veganism in any way. I doubt a single person has ever gone vegan or even vegetarian after watching Food Inc. Having said that, it is a very powerful documentary that is loaded with information about the food system in America. From meat to corn, you'll learn a lot about subsidising, capitalism and the way the food system has changed in the last 50 years. All of which are very important for everyone to know about, meat eaters and vegans alike. It is also translatable to different countries. The western world isn't all that different from each other.
There is some footage of gruesome factory farms but the majority of the documentary promotes healthier eating and finding alternative sources. For example, buying meat from family farms rather than factory farms. For this reason, I rated Food Inc 3 stars. ★★★
Vegucated
Vegucated is a documentary that challenges three individuals to take the vegan challenge for six weeks. There's a lot of good things about this documentary. Firstly, it is the only vegan documentary (as far as I know) to include any kind of religious debate when it comes to eating a plant based diet. It included a vegan Christian who had a lot to say on the matter and educated one of the three individuals who struggled with juggling veganism and their faith. Secondly, it did not criticise those individuals who had a difficult time on their journey, nor were they expected to continue with the vegan lifestyle after the documentary had ended. Thirdly, a portion of the documentary was filmed in the city I live in, Bath! Although, they did eat at the most expensive vegetarian restaurant with few vegan options in an extremely vegan-friendly city. (Boo)
Although I like Vegucated, when the documentary was over, I didn't feel slightly as educated on veganism as I thought I would be. Perhaps this is because I saw this one after Earthlings and everything after Earthlings feels like a pathetic attempt. It was good, though. Not very graphic. It didn't fat shame like I expected it to. It's a good documentary, even though I don't feel like it's extremely powerful. I rated this one a 3 star. ★★★
Forks Over Knives
Forks Over Knives is a documentary I've heard positive things about. I know it is shown in schools and I can't deny that this is a good thing. It definitely promotes vegetarianism and veganism, but I found, more than that Forks Over Knives promotes a plant-based diet. This ignores all of the other aspects of veganism such as elimination of animal testing, etc. However, as a specialised documentary, it has facts, information in abundance and it has changed many lives. It focuses mostly on health and little about animal rights, but that is not necessarily a bad thing here.
I rated Forks Over Knives a 4 star.
The Cove
I have to be honest, here. I had heard good things about The Cove, but when I watched it I felt slightly disappointed. It is about a Japanese town, Taiji, that hides a secret that is very obvious from the start of the documentary and even from the cover. It's a place where dolphin trainers go to pick out their dolphins, then in a place that is hidden from the public, the cove, the remaining dolphins are slaughtered and become meat. The dolphin meat is in many other meats in regular Japanese supermarkets and are even served as a part of a standard school lunch.
My main issue with this documentary can be summed up from one line: "You eat cows and chickens, we eat dolphins, that is our culture." This line was said by the 'villain' of the documentary and with this line, I'm completely on his side. Of course the slaughter of such an intelligent animal is a tragedy, I'm not going to deny this, but isn't it also a tragedy that the animals eaten in our own countries is also a tragedy? I find people who pick on other peoples cultures insufferable, especially when they do the same thing in their culture in a different form. If you eat a cow and say someone who eats a dolphin is wrong, then you are a speciesist and a kind of racist. A similar, much better documentary, is Blackfish and I think it is much more important to watch that than this one.
So for that reason, I'm going to rate The Cove 1 star. ★
You can watch The Cove here.
Blackfish
Blackfish is a documentary very similar to The Cove, only much better. It focuses on how SeaWorld treats their employees and their killer whales, particularly one named Tilikum. Despite having such a small area of focus, I found it said a lot about all animals in captivity, how they became captive and what we need to do as a species to stop it.
I'd definitely recommend watching Blackfish if you haven't already. It is by far one of the more controversial and moving documentaries that has turned hundreds of thousands of people against supporting industries like SeaWorld, vegans, vegetarians and meat eaters alike. This is why I rated it a 4 star. ★★★★
Earthlings
Earthlings is by far my favourite vegan documentary. And by favourite, I mean the only one that made me cry, scream, throw things and make serious changes to my life. Before watching Earthlings, I had tried and failed to go vegan at least five times, since, I've never looked back. It not only completely changes your perspectives, it makes you question everything. It's not a documentary you should put off seeing, it's an essential watch for anyone who eats meat, dairy, wears fur or contributes to any kind of animal abuse. However, if you have a delicate state of mind, I would watch with caution.
Not only is it incredibly life changing, it shows footage to back up every claim so nobody could ever describe it as propaganda. Joaquin Phoenix narrates with an incredibly unbiased tone. It goes further than any other documentary. It shows footage from family farms, factory farms, vivisection labs and animal shelters. Earthlings covers every angle of animal cruelty, the meat industry, the dairy industry, pet breeders, vivisection, animals used for entertainment, and everything in between. For this reason, I'm going to rate Earthlings a 5 star. ★★★★★
You can watch Earthlings here.
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