| South Park (1997) | 8.7 | |
| Twelve Monkeys (1995) | 8.0 | |
| Censored (2019) | 7.4 | |
| My Father and My Son (2005) | 8.2 | |
| Shahid (2012) | 8.2 |
Social activist movies and TV shows
The list contains the best, new and most relevant social activist movies ordered by relevance. The recommendation service has sorted out captivating, serious, realistic, political, thought provoking and emotional films and TV shows about / with social activist, society, politics, biopic, justice, death, betrayal, family relations, fighting the system and murder plots mostly in Drama, Biography and Comedy genres shot in USA, UK, India and other countries.
88
TOP 10 movies tagged as social activist: Battle in Seattle (2007), The Lady (2011), The Butler (2013), Hoffa (1992), Music Within (2007), The East (2013), The Names of Love (2010), And the Band Played On (1993), Silenced (2011), The Bang Bang Club (2010).
Best films
New films
List of social activist movies
Genre: Action, Drama, History, Thriller
Country: Germany, Canada, USA
Duration: 98 min.
Story:
Thousands of activists arrive in Seattle, Washington in masses to protest the WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999 (World Trade Organization). Although it began as a peaceful protest with a goal of stopping the WTO talks, it escalated into a ...
Style:
political, serious, emotional, suspenseful, rough ...
Plot:
politics, protest, police brutality, fighting the system, idealism, hopes, political unrest, chaos and mayhem, state affairs, rebelliousness, resistance, rebellion ...
Time:
20th century, 90s, year 1999, 80s
Place:
usa, seattle, washington d.c., canada, latin america
Is relevant?
12K
Genre: Biography, Drama, History, Romance
Country: France, UK, Thailand
Duration: 132 min.
Story:
The film is about the life of Aung San Suu Kyi (Yeoh) who spent more than a decade under house arrest. David Thewlis portrays Suu Kyi's husband, Dr. Michael Aris. Rebecca Frayn began working on the project after she and her husband, producer ...
Style:
sincere, touching, realistic, sentimental, educational ...
Plot:
military dictatorship, politics, resistance, social problems, election, human spirit, leadership, social activist, selflessness, tragic love, idealism, biopic ...
Time:
1940s, 20th century, 80s, year 1998, year 1947 ...
Place:
burma, france, china, asia, oxford university
Is relevant?
123K
Genre: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 132 min.
Story:
A look at the life of Cecil Gaines who served eight presidents as the White House's head butler from 1952 to 1986, and had a unique front-row seat as political and racial history was made.
Style:
touching, inspirational, political, factual, historical drama ...
Audience:
teens, date night
Plot:
racism, president, u.s. president, civil rights, black history, racial discrimination, butler, injustice, african american, politics, civil rights movement, father son relationship ...
Time:
80s, 70s, year 2013, 60s, year 1961 ...
Place:
washington d.c., usa, birmingham alabama, nashville tennessee, america ...
Is relevant?
26K
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 140 min.
Story:
Jack Nicholson's portrait of union leader James R. Hoffa, as seen through the eyes of his friend, Bobby Ciaro (Danny DeVito). The film follows Hoffa through his countless battles with the RTA and President Roosevelt all the way to a conclusion ...
Style:
tense, serious, neo noir, suspense, factual ...
Plot:
labor union, organized crime, mafia, politics, gangster, conspiracy, disappearance, union, working class, social activist, prison, profanity ...
Time:
70s, 1940s, 1930s, 20th century, 60s ...
Place:
detroit, michigan, usa, new york, washington d.c. ...
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
Genre: Biography, Comedy, Drama, Music, Romance, War
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min.
Story:
After a confrontation with one of his idols dashes his dreams of studying public speaking in college, Richard Pimentel joins the Army and ships off to Vietnam. During his service, Richard loses nearly all of his hearing. Joining a new circle of ...
Style:
serious, touching, sentimental, realistic, uplifting ...
Plot:
disability, hippie, vietnam war, hopes, friendship, social activist, mute or deaf, society, human spirit, injustice, self discovery, dignity ...
Time:
20th century, 1940s, year 2007, 70s, 60s ...
Place:
california, vietnam, portland oregon, seattle
Is relevant?
54K
Genre: Adventure, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 116 min.
Story:
An operative for an elite private intelligence firm finds her priorities irrevocably changed after she is tasked with infiltrating an anarchist group known for executing covert attacks upon major corporations.
Style:
suspenseful, political, cerebral, intense, serious ...
Audience:
chick flick
Plot:
terrorism, fighting the system, terrorist, environmentalism, espionage, anarchist, lost in the woods, undercover, working undercover, fbi, secret organization, anti capitalism ...
Time:
year 2013, 21st century
Place:
usa, washington d.c.
Is relevant?
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: France
Duration: 100 min.
Story:
Bahia Benmahmoud, a free-spirited young woman, has a particular way of seeing political engagement, as she doesn't hesitate to sleep with those who don't agree with her to convert them to her cause - which is a lot of people, as all ...
Style:
sexy, sincere, sweet, talky, melancholic ...
Audience:
date night, girls' night
Plot:
politics, public nudity, sex, bare breasts, cheating girlfriend, love story, nudity, promiscuous woman, coitus, family history, activism, culture clash ...
Time:
year 2010, 2000s, 70s, year 2002, 21st century
Place:
france, paris france, algeria, berlin germany
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 141 min.
Story:
The story of the discovery of the AIDS epidemic and the political infighting of the scientific community hampering the early fight with it.
Style:
touching, disturbing, uplifting, political, talky ...
Audience:
girls' night
Plot:
aids, epidemic, gay, lgbtq, medical, hiv, deadly virus, doctor, politics, investigation, glbt, human spirit ...
Time:
80s, 70s, 20th century, year 1976, year 1980 ...
Place:
san francisco, africa, usa, new york, copenhagen ...
Is relevant?
27K
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: South Korea
Duration: 125 min.
Story:
Based on actual events that took place at Gwangju Inhwa School for the hearing-impaired, where young deaf students were the victims of repeated sexual assaults by faculty members over a period of five years in the early 2000s.
Style:
serious, realistic, bleak, dark, intense ...
Audience:
teens, date night
Plot:
rape, child abuse, deaf mute, sex crime, mute or deaf, courtroom, sign language, disability, punishment, school, life is a bitch, deaf ...
Time:
year 2011, 21st century
Place:
korea, south korea, asia
Is relevant?
Genre: Biography, Drama, History
Country: Canada, South Africa
Duration: 106 min.
Story:
In the early to mid '90s, when the South African system of apartheid was in its death throes, four photographers - Greg Marinovich, Kevin Carter, Ken Oosterbroek and João Silva - bonded by their friendship and a sense of purpose, worked ...
Style:
thought provoking, realistic, serious, rough, independent film
Plot:
photojournalist, photographer, journalism, media, photograph, civil war, photography, newspaper, society, political unrest, discrimination, social activist ...
Time:
20th century, 90s, year 1994
Place:
africa, south africa
Is relevant?
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama, History, Thriller, War
Country: Germany
Duration: 120 min.
Story:
True story of Germany's most famous anti-Nazi heroine brought to thrilling, dramatic life. Sophie Scholl stars Julia Jentsch in a luminous performance as the fearless activist of the underground student resistance group, The White Rose. Armed ...
Style:
sincere, emotional, touching, suspenseful, political ...
Audience:
teens
Plot:
world war two, politics, nazism, nazi germany, death sentence, nazi, resistance, gestapo, justice, historical character, trial, lawyer ...
Time:
1940s, 20th century, year 1943, 2000s, year 2005 ...
Place:
germany, munich germany, europe, poland, berlin germany ...
Is relevant?
110K
Genre: Biography, Drama, History
Country: Japan, USA
Duration: 202 min.
Story:
A tribute to the controversial black activist and leader of the struggle for black liberation. He hit bottom during his imprisonment in the '50s, he became a Black Muslim and then a leader in the Nation of Islam. His assassination in 1965 left ...
Style:
political, factual, inspirational, thought provoking, intense ...
Plot:
civil rights, racism, politics, african american, black history, civil rights movement, assassination, islam, biopic, childhood, black, anti racism ...
Time:
20th century, 90s, 60s, 50s, 1940s ...
Place:
usa, africa, new york, saudi arabia, manhattan new york city ...
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller
Country: India
Duration: 160 min.
Story:
An enterprising youngster in a slum wants his people to lead a life of dignity, but has to take on an ambitious capitalist, who only wants to dominate his field.
Style:
disturbing, thought provoking, captivating, inspirational, emotional ...
Plot:
corporate greed, food industry, social activist, factory worker, food, social justice, corporate conspiracy, corporate crime, fighting the system, corporation, protestant, society ...
Time:
2010s
Is relevant?
21K
Genre: Biography, Drama
Country: India
Duration: 129 min.
Story:
This compelling drama tells the remarkable true story of slain human rights activist Shahid Azmi, who became a powerful voice against the intercommunal violence that has engulfed Mumbai since the early 1990s.
Style:
realistic, captivating, thought provoking, tense, psychological ...
Plot:
human rights, muslim, legal, terrorist, courtroom, lawyer, false arrest, civil rights, life is a bitch, society, hopes, social activist ...
Time:
90s, 20th century, year 2008, 2000s, 21st century
Place:
india, asia, mumbai india, pakistan, kashmir
Is relevant?
Genre: Comedy, Drama, History, Romance
Country: Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, France, UK
Duration: 115 min.
Story:
The Parade, in a tragicomic way, tells the story about ongoing battle between two worlds in contemporary post-war Serbian society - the traditional, oppressive, homophobic majority and a liberal, modern and open-minded minority... The film, which ...
Style:
semi serious, realistic, humorous, funny, offbeat ...
Plot:
gay, gay slur, gender, lgbtq, gays and lesbians, society, gangster, disorder, social activist, muslim, post war, love ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
europe, former yugoslavia, balkan, croatia, bosnia ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 93 min.
Story:
A portrait of Lord Longford, a tireless British campaigner whose controversial beliefs often resulted in furious political debate and personal conflict.
Style:
realistic, serious, talky, tense, political ...
Plot:
prison, serial killer, lawyer, politician, cruelty, judge, family relations, trial, civil rights, friendship, social activist, notoriety ...
Time:
60s, 80s, 70s, 20th century
Place:
england, europe, manchester, yorkshire
Is relevant?
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 58 min.
TV show
Story:
Seven strangers from different walks of life forced together to complete a community payback sentence in Bristol.
Style:
satirical, funny, captivating, disturbing, tense ...
Plot:
group of strangers, social activist, gang member, community, community service, fighting crime, public, satire, society, businessman, addiction, coming of age ...
Time:
2020s, future
Place:
england, united kingdom, britain
Is relevant?
Genre: Biography, Drama, History
Country: Ukraine, Russia
Duration: 100 min.
Story:
This is a metaphorical story about the tragic and mysterious death of the most powerful poet of 1960s, human rights activist, hero of Ukraine Vasyl Stus and his struggle with the Soviet system. The events of the film unfold during the last attempt ...
Style:
thought provoking, psychological, political, serious, disturbing ...
Plot:
human rights, kgb, fighting the system, poet, writer's life, writers, social activist, historical figure, activist, heroes, historical character, freedom fighter ...
Time:
60s
Place:
ukraine
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
4K
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: India
Duration: 130 min.
Story:
Mannar Mannan, an ordinary villager, decides to call himself the president of the country and starts fighting against the injustices he comes across in his society. What's his agenda?
Style:
social, psychological, semi serious, captivating, thrilling
Plot:
protest, countryside, political activism, political intrigue, political candidate, political campaign, ambitious man, political activist, ambition, society, political unrest, social activist ...
Place:
india
Is relevant?
Genre: Crime, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 89 min.
TV show
Story:
Hunting down killers to help bereaved families get justice is more than just a job; it’s a duty for Thomas Bareski, a retired, hotshot police detective eager to reopen unsolved murder cases in a mission to find the culprits.
Style:
suspense, tense, detective, captivating, disturbing ...
Plot:
investigation, cold case, justice, sleuth, murder investigation, fighting crime, uncover truth, private investigator, murder, unsolved crime, crime solving, social activist ...
Time:
2010s
Place:
france
Is relevant?
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration: 106 min.
Story:
People from Saitama Prefecture are persecuted and, because of this, they hide the fact that they are from there. In Tokyo, Momomi Hakuhodo (Fumi Nikaido) is a male high school student and the son of the Tokyo governor. Physically, Momomi Hakuhodo ...
Style:
humorous, disturbing, captivating, shoujo
Plot:
discrimination, student, japanese school, class conflict, classism, class differences, revolution, revolutionary, civil rights, social activist, high society, society ...
Place:
tokyo, japan
Is relevant?
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 93 min.
Story:
When a successful New York public defender loses his first case, he is pulled into a drug heist by a former client in an effort to beat the broken system at its own game.
Style:
humorous, tense, captivating, suspense, dark comedy ...
Plot:
attorney, drug bust, drug dealer, drug, war on drugs, lynching, crime boss, criminal, fighting crime, social activist, drug traffic, illegal drugs ...
Place:
bronx new york city
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 42 min.
TV show
Story:
Faced with the destruction of her town at the hands of a greedy mining company, rebellious high school teacher Sarah Cooper utilizes an obscure cartographical loophole to declare independence. Now Sarah must lead a young group of misfits as they ...
Style:
captivating, disturbing, tense, inspirational, political drama ...
Plot:
protest, social relations, female protagonist, independence, social activist, showdown, teacher, school teacher, teachers and students, fighting the system, society, mutiny ...
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
Genre: Action, Drama, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min.
Story:
Passionate BMX dirt jumper, Phin Cooper, wants nothing in life but to attain fame in his sport. After missing a competition when he lands in jail for unpaid citations, he is court-ordered for community service and reluctantly mentors one of the ...
Style:
captivating, entertaining
Plot:
bmx, youth, race, longing, social relations, life, friendship, illegal drugs, friends, desire for fame, athlete's life, community service ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Country: Canada
Duration: 88 min.
Story:
A boy and a girl fall in love during summer camp and promise to stay in touch, but they don't. Fifteen years later they meet again in the same camp under very different circumstances. What will happen to the camp and will they try again?
Style:
romantic, light, captivating, entertaining
Plot:
abandoned by mother, financial problem, enemies to lovers, businessman, fall in love, couple relations, renovation, romantic relationship, relationships, social relations, social activist, love and romance ...
Place:
seattle
Is relevant?
Genre: Comedy
Country: USA, Germany, UK
Duration: 70 min.
Story:
2020: A year so [insert adjective of choice here], even the creators of Black Mirror couldn't make it up… but that doesn't mean they don't have a little something to add. This comedy event that tells the story of the dreadful year ...
Style:
parody, funny, controversial, surreal, mockumentary ...
Plot:
adult humor, profanity, irreverence, social relations, violence, police, hypocrisy, social satire, morality, social activist, silly humor, topical humor ...
Time:
2020s, 21st century
Place:
america
Is relevant?
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Turkey
Duration: 120 min.
TV show
Story:
Valley of the Wolves
Style:
suspenseful, exciting, tense, bleak, rough ...
Audience:
boys' night
Plot:
mafia, politics, secret agent, military, dishonesty, rivalry, vengeance, government agency, political unrest, state affairs, murder, righting the wronged ...
Time:
21st century
Place:
turkey, middle east, istanbul turkey
Is relevant?
Genre: Comedy
Country: India
Duration: 136 min.
Story:
Jose, a Circle Inspector of Police, Special Branch from Trissur, Kerala, who comes from a respected and well-known conservative christian family, is on the lookout for a suitable bride who fits within his idea of an ideal woman. When he meets Lynta, ...
Style:
semi serious, captivating, satirical, psychological, serious ...
Plot:
police, love triangle, investigation, family relations, couple relations, love story, male female relationship, relationships, love affair, looking for love, boyfriend girlfriend relationship, love interest ...
Time:
2010s
Place:
india
Is relevant?
Genre: Drama, Romance
Country: India
Story:
To Noora with Love is a 2014 Malayalam film directed by Babu Narayanan and produced by Mohammed Ansar under the banner of Don Bros.
Style:
romantic drama, romantic, captivating, emotional, medical drama ...
Plot:
love story, husband wife relationship, pregnancy, love and romance, health situation, family relations, pregnant wife, health, pregnant woman, boyfriend girlfriend relationship, male female relationship, couple relations ...
Is relevant?
Genre: Biography, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min.
Story:
"Entertaining Angels" is an interesting title for this movie about the 1920's and 30's social activist, Dorothy Day, for it can be regarded that what this woman did, sometimes single-handedly, always controversially, in her fight ...
Style:
political, independent film, realistic, serious, sincere ...
Plot:
catholic, christian, political activism, biopic, liberation theology, journalist, social activism, social activist, newspaper, teaching, women's suffrage, injustice ...
Time:
year 1996, 90s, 20th century, 1920s, 1930s
Place:
new york, usa, america
Is relevant?
Related movie lists
