Lesson 1 in analysing the documentary film 2040

1. Film Analysis
and
2040
Looking at future sustainability through the power of film

2. Learning intentions
● Learners will build on prior learning experiences about cinematic techniques
● Learners will grow an appreciation of how present action on sustainability could
shape the future
● Learners will consider how the creators of texts use techniques to serve specific
purposes

3. Documentary Film as a Genre: A Brief History
● The oldest films were technically
documentaries - focusing on real life
events. The first films in the late
1800s were only seconds long and
mostly focuses on people moving
in/out of frame. An example of this
is in the 1895 film by the Lumiere
Brothers: Workers Leaving the
Lumiere Factory
Remember: This film, and others like it,
travelled all around the world. And
people paid to see it! (and people
complain that the new Avatar movie is
boring…!?)

4. Rise of activism and political documentaries
During the 1960s and 70s, many
documentaries were made with the
intention of raising awareness about
social and political issues, and to spur
action. This can be still be seen in
contemporary times, with films such as
An Inconvenient Truth which highlights
the dangers of climate change.
The documentary 2040 follows this style
of documentary filmmaking!

5. Feature-length documentary vs TV documentary
You may be familiar with David
Attenborough, or possibly Louis Theroux,
documentaries on television. These are
usually 50 minute documentaries that are
designed to be shown on TV.
But documentaries such as 2040 are
“feature-length” - they’re usually 80+
minutes and designed to be shown in
cinemas.
Has anyone here seen a documentary at a
cinema before?

6. ACTIVITY: Persuasive documentary films
Learners join in groups of 2-
3 and are assigned a
documentary from this list.
They will spend 10 minutes
exploring online what the
film is about, watch a trailer
on YouTube, and then share
with the class what the
documentary is about.
These documentaries are
considered to be quite
persuasive.
Shoah (1985)
The Thin Blue Line
(1988)
Bowling for
Columbine (2002)
Super Size Me (2004)
The Cove (2009)
Gasland (2010)
Bully (2012)
Blackfish (2013)
That Sugar Film (2014)
American Factory (2019)
In My Blood It Runs (2019)
The Mole Agent (2020)
Navalny (2022)

7. 2040 Bingo
While watching the documentary, you are encouraged to take notes using the prompts on this active-viewing
sheet. Your educator may pause the film every so often to prompt discussions or note taking.

8. You now have 2 minutes to:
● Put your iPad away
● Get out some kind of writing utensil
● Get comfy. Make sure you can see the screen.
Enjoy the film!