You are here:

Grit

Name: Grit
Director: Cynthia Wade, Sasha Friedlander
Released: 2018
Duration: 80 min

Representation Score

8.9/10

Excellent

2018

Director

Cynthia Wade, Sasha Friedlander

Runtime

80 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

Grit succeeds by centering a non-Western perspective on a systemic environmental crisis. It avoids the typical victimhood clichés found in disaster films by highlighting the political mobilization of its protagonists. The film's strength lies in its portrayal of women's ability to drive the story and its critique of industrial capitalism. By focusing on the Indonesian community in East Java, it provides a necessary shift in the global disaster narrative. However, the film lacks explicit representation of LGBTQ+ identities and does not clearly address specific characters living with disabilities. The focus remains primarily on the intersection of gender, race, and corporate negligence.

Watch this, not that →

Category Breakdown

Does Grit have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

The film focuses on the familial bond between Dian and her mother. There is no explicit mention of LGBTQ+ characters or non-straight relationships within the narrative.

How does Grit portray gender?

Good

The story centers on women's ability to drive the story, positioning a mother and daughter as leaders of political resistance. Dian’s growth from a child to a teenager challenges passive femininity through civic leadership.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Grit?

Excellent

The documentary provides strong Southeast Asian representation by focusing on the Indonesian experience in East Java. It shifts the lens away from Anglo-centric clichés to center a non-white community.

How does Grit represent religion and culture?

Excellent

The narrative critiques how global capitalism and industrial expansion disrupt local stability. The submersion of mosques highlights the destruction of traditional religious and social infrastructures by corporate forces.

Does Grit include disability representation?

Fair

While the film documents profound physical and psychological trauma, it is unclear if specific characters are portrayed through the lens of permanent disabilities or neurodivergence.

Present on Screen

Strong representation of Southeast Asian perspectives and non-Western communities.
Empowering portrayal of women's ability to drive the story and political leadership in a crisis.
Effective critique of how industrial capitalism impacts local religious and social structures.

Limited or Absent

Lack of explicit representation regarding LGBTQ+ identities or non-straight relationships.
Limited clarity regarding the specific portrayal of characters navigating permanent disabilities.

Official Synopsis

When Dian was six years old, she heard a deep rumble and turned to see a tsunami of mud barreling towards her village. Her mother scooped her up to save her from the boiling mud. Her neighbors ran for their lives. Sixteen villages, including Dian's, were wiped away, forever buried under 60 feet of mud. A decade later, 60,000 people have been displaced from what was once a thriving industrial and residential area in East Java. Dozens of factories, schools and mosques are completely submerged under a moonscape of ooze and grit. The cause? Lapindo, an Indonesian company drilling for natural gas in 2006, unleashed a violent, unstoppable flow of hot sludge from the earth's depths. It is estimated that the mudflow will not end for another decade. Shot over the course of six years, GRIT bears witness to Dian's transformation from young girl to a politically active teenager as she and her mother launch a resistance campaign against the drilling company.

How are these scores produced? →