I am critical of this documentary. I want to trust it, and I want to believe that Manoj Bhargava is doing some fantastic work - but the documentary feels so much like a commercial, that my gut reaction to it is: He is trying to sell something. Hopefully that something is an idea, using your wealth to make the world a better place, getting as big an impact as possible, etc. But from the way this entire thing is made - a one sided look into the kind of work they are doing - it just gives off the feeling of something being wrong.
I like one thing, though. Instead of spending lots of time showing the people they want to help - they work on the assumption that it is obvious (as it is) that many people need this. I can imagine someone else making the same documentary, only 30 minutes longer, to maximize emotional impact. At times the documentary is not afraid to get technical, and if anything I wish they would have gone further in this direction. After seeing it, I still had questions about some of these innovations.
So, my grade on this documentary is not at all a reflection of my opinion on Manoj Bhargava or the work he is doing, but rather on Billions in Change as a documentary.
I like one thing, though. Instead of spending lots of time showing the people they want to help - they work on the assumption that it is obvious (as it is) that many people need this. I can imagine someone else making the same documentary, only 30 minutes longer, to maximize emotional impact. At times the documentary is not afraid to get technical, and if anything I wish they would have gone further in this direction. After seeing it, I still had questions about some of these innovations.
So, my grade on this documentary is not at all a reflection of my opinion on Manoj Bhargava or the work he is doing, but rather on Billions in Change as a documentary.
