Where are all the films about philanthropy or the lives of great philanthropists? I really struggle to think of examples of philanthropy getting meaningful attention at the movies.

But so far, there is pretty much nothing. As far as I can think, philanthropy only ever appears as a convenient plot device rather than a proper subject for exploration. This might be as a way of trying to lend credibility to a character with seemingly infinite financial resources but also large amounts of spare time (e.g. Forrest Gump; Little Orphan Annie (via Daddy Warbucks); Batman, X-Men’s Charles Xavier, or Iron Man’s Tony Stark). It can also be used as a handy indicator that someone wealthy is up to no good, presumably because they are hiding their true nature behind a veneer of altruism (this is a favourite ploy when depicting comic book supervillains e.g. Lex Luthor, Green Goblin, Ozymandias in Watchmen).

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So, is it possible to get away from the idea that philanthropy is just a plot device, and get filmmakers to take it seriously as a historical and cultural phenomenon worthy of putting centre stage? Well, there are in fact some intriguing signs that this might be about to happen. Swedish director Lasse Hallström has been lined up to direct a movie based on the life of JD Rockefeller. Similarly, Brian Cox (the Scottish actor rather than the Mancunian physicist) has apparently bought the rights to David Nasaw’s biography of Andrew Carnegie, with a view to producing either a film or a miniseries based on his life.

Another interesting development has been the emergence of movie-making as a focus of philanthropy. In particular, the eBay founder and mega-philanthropist Jeff Skoll has, among his many other projects, set up a film production company called Participant Productions which focuses on “creating entertainment that inspires and accelerates social change”. Participant has applied this approach in funding a wide range of movies, starting out with the 2005 Oscar-winning documentary Murderball about the US wheelchair rugby team, and taking in further films including Good Night and Good Luck, The Kite Runner and Lincoln. To what degree all these films actual further the cause of social change is probably a valid question. However, the idea of harnessing the power of storytelling through films as a tool for philanthropy is certainly an intriguing one.

Read the source article at Charities Aid Foundation (CAF)

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