Documentary Activism Updated: How awareness is made in media today

This study investigates how activism has changed in documentary film, particularly in environmental activism. This allows for an updated look into documentary activism as explained by media scholar Daniel Marcus in 2016, who showed that raising awareness for important issues went beyond explaining them through the course of a documentary film but by creating opportunities for the audience to interact with the subject matter after they watched the film. What different models of documentary activism have evolved in documentary film? What emerging practices are being used specifically for environmental awareness? Documentary films 2040, I am Greta, The Story of Plastic, and Anthropocene: The Human Epoch are investigated as recent, relevant examples of environmental activist documentaries. This study finds that interactivity that started as a fleeting link to websites with additional resources in the end credits of a documentary has turned into dynamic online communities who advocate across media. Understanding the actions of environmental activists today will allow for a better understanding of other kinds of activism in the media.