The Trouble with Aid (2012. Directed by Ricardo Pollack)

The Trouble with Aid (2012. Directed by Ricardo Pollack). ‘The Trouble with Aid’ tells the story of what really happened during the major humanitarian disasters of the last 50 years: from the Biafran War, through to the Ethiopian famine and Live Aid, to the military intervention in Somalia and to present-day Afghanistan. Despite the best intentions, aid can have some unintended and terrible consequences. Using the testimony of key players from the world's largest aid agencies, the film looks at what happens when good people try to help in a bad world. Today, any humanitarian crisis leads to cries that we must 'do something'. The Trouble with Aid challenges this fundamental assumption by asking the question few us are prepared to face: can aid sometimes do more harm than good.


GTC Medical Anthropology Film and Discussion Group - Film Programme Hilary 2023

Health Inequalities

3.30-5pm, Tuesdays (Weeks 4, 6 and 8)

Convened by  Alisha Maycock, Gaia Campanelli, and Farah El-Sharnouby (MSc Medical Anthropology) with Dr Paola Esposito (paola.esposito@anthro.ox.ac.uk)

The GTC Medical Anthropology Film & Discussion Group explores the extent to which film can complement, enrich and further the study of medical anthropology themes, topics and methods. After watching selected clips, we discuss a film’s content and approach, and interrogate its capacity to support the analysis of issues relating to illness, crisis, health and wellbeing.

This term we focus on the theme of ‘health inequalities’.