Four Documentaries that Expose the Hidden Injustices We Don’t See
Why students should pay attention to these films that uncover the hidden systems of oppression shaping lives around us.
As students, we often think of human rights abuses as dramatic events—wars, mass killings and harsh policing. However, injustice runs deeper, existing in silence and accepted in ways that are frequently overlooked. These four documentaries spotlight ignored unfairness, prompting viewers to consider how oppressive structures persist openly.
Zero Impunity (2019)
Across several countires including Syria, the Central African Republic and Iraq, Zero Impunity records instances of sexual violence during conflict using animation alongside other media. It combines reporting of not just what happened, but also how structures like global organizations allow offenders to avoid consequences, reinforced by shame and lack of accountability. This film reveals a pattern—a system where worldwide inaction alongside broken institutions allows harm to repeat itself. Moreover, it demonstrates how unspoken truths don’t end when fighting stops; they follow survivors, obstruction both healing yet also any chance at fairness.
13th (2016)
DuVernay’s 13th (2016), looks at America’s prisons, specifically, how they worsen racial disparities via widespread imprisonment. It proposes the 13th amendment, which ended slavery but contained an exemption for involuntary servitude as punishment for a crime, thus allowing prison to be used as a way of maintaining control. This film follows the story of an injustice—beginning after the Civil War—continuing through segregation, then evolving into modern police practices alongside for-profit prisons. The film reveals that injustice gets built into laws, so legal systems sometimes reinforce hardship instead of fixing it. 13th (2016) helps students understand the case study and connect it to policy, history and lived experiences.
The Conscience of Nhem En (2008)
The movie The Conscience of Nhem En (2008), directed by Steven Okazaki, uncovers the life of Nhem En, a young man who photographed horrors within Tuol Sleng, a Cambodian jail during the 1970s where countless people suffered. The film delves into what happens when communities confront—or ignore—official brutality. It prompts reflection on lingering pain and forgotten stories passed down through families.
The Unthinkable (2021)
Shot mostly on cellphones, The Unthinkable (2021) relays stories from those who lived through—or lost loved ones to—the crackdown following democracy demonstrations in Eswatini, once known as Swaziland. It shows events through the eyes of people directly involved. Most news about protests focuses on big countries; however, this movie shines a light on what’s happening in tiny Eswatini, which rarely makes headlines. Many young citizens there first became aware of politics because they experienced government crackdowns firsthand.
The stories in these films reveal that hardship does not constantly show in obvious conflict; often, it lingers in neglect, quiet acceptance and official indifference. They challenge viewers—especially students—to consider unfairness worldwide, but also within their own communities. Documentaries don’t just state facts, they also work to unsettle as they inform. That uneasy feeling? is what gets people thinking, fostering conversations that extend into everyday existence.
