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The Need to Grow

Name: The Need to Grow
Director: Rob Herring, Ryan Wirick
Released: 2019
Duration: 96 min

Representation Score

5.6/10

Fair

2019

Director

Rob Herring, Ryan Wirick

Runtime

96 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

The documentary emphasizes environmental urgency and systemic critique rather than identity-based representation. It highlights the role of young voices and renegade innovators in challenging established authority. However, the film lacks clear evidence of racial, ethnic, or LGBTQ+ diversity. The focus remains on the mechanics of agricultural revolution and resource management. Ultimately, the work calls for institutional rethinking without delving into social identity intersectionality.

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Category Breakdown

Does The Need to Grow have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

The film centers on environmental activism and agricultural innovation without mentioning any LGBTQ+ characters or stories about non-straight identities.

How does The Need to Grow portray gender?

Fair

A young girl challenges the ethics of a major organization, disrupting traditional power structures by positioning herself as a moral provocateur.

How racially and ethnically diverse is The Need to Grow?

Fair

The narrative does not specify the racial or ethnic makeup of the activists involved. There is no clear indication of a predominantly non-white cast.

How does The Need to Grow represent religion and culture?

Good

The documentary criticizes traditional Western institutions and industrial models, emphasizing the need for systemic change and individual resistance against established corporate and agricultural practices.

Does The Need to Grow include disability representation?

Minimal

There is no information about characters with visible or invisible disabilities.

Present on Screen

Empowers young voices to challenge major organizations' ethics.
Highlights renegade figures who disrupt traditional industrial and corporate agricultural models.
Promotes a systemic critique of global natural resource management.

Limited or Absent

Lacks explicit representation of LGBTQ+ identities or non-straight narratives.
Does not provide specific details about racial or ethnic diversity among the subjects.
Offers no information about the inclusion of individuals with disabilities.

Official Synopsis

With only sixty years of farmable soil left on Earth, and the increased threats of climate change, the need to rethink how we use earth’s natural resources has never been more important. The Need to Grow takes an intimate look into the hearts of activists and innovators in the food movement who are redesigning our future; an eight-year-old girl who challenges the ethics of a beloved organisation, a renegade farmer struggling to keep his land as he revolutionises resource-efficient agriculture, and an accomplished visionary inventor facing catastrophe in the midst of developing a game changing technology.

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