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Surviving Progress

Name: Surviving Progress
Director: Mathieu Roy, Harold Crooks
Released: 2011
Duration: 86 min

Representation Score

7.9/10

Good

2011

Not Rated

Director

Mathieu Roy, Harold Crooks

Runtime

86 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

Surviving Progress serves as a systemic critique of human civilization rather than a study of individual identity. Its strength lies in deconstructing Western industrial myths and providing a global perspective on historical development. However, the film’s academic and macro-level focus results in a lack of representation for specific social identities. Since the narrative prioritizes ecological and economic systems, it bypasses personal stories that often explore gender, disability, or LGBTQ+ experiences. Ultimately, the film achieves high marks for cultural representation by questioning established global hierarchies, even while it remains neutral on more traditional demographic markers.

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Category Breakdown

Does Surviving Progress have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

The film focuses on societal trends and systemic ecology rather than individual identity, so queer narratives and non-traditional gender identities are not emphasized.

How does Surviving Progress portray gender?

Fair

The film avoids traditional gender stereotypes by focusing on expert testimony rather than interpersonal dynamics, making human civilization the central subject.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Surviving Progress?

Good

By featuring an international array of experts, the film maintains a globalist perspective, examining the global impacts of resource depletion and historical collapse.

How does Surviving Progress represent religion and culture?

Excellent

The documentary critiques Western industrial frameworks and capitalism, challenging traditional narratives of progress and emphasizing interconnectedness over nationalism or individualism.

Does Surviving Progress include disability representation?

Fair

The film centers on biological evolution and socioeconomic collapse, so there is no specific focus on visible or invisible disabilities.

Present on Screen

Challenges Western-centric narratives of progress and industrial expansion.
Uses a diverse, international array of academic experts and thinkers.
Promotes a globalist perspective on resource depletion and systemic collapse.

Limited or Absent

Lacks focus on LGBTQ+ narratives and non-traditional gender identities.
Provides no specific representation or discussion regarding disability.
Avoids exploring gender through interpersonal or character-driven lenses.

Official Synopsis

Humanity’s ascent is often measured by the speed of progress. But what if progress is actually spiraling us downwards, towards collapse? Ronald Wright, whose best-seller, “A Short History Of Progress” inspired “Surviving Progress”, shows how past civilizations were destroyed by “progress traps”—alluring technologies and belief systems that serve immediate needs, but ransom the future. As pressure on the world’s resources accelerates and financial elites bankrupt nations, can our globally-entwined civilization escape a final, catastrophic progress trap? With potent images and illuminating insights from thinkers who have probed our genes, our brains, and our social behaviour, this requiem to progress-as-usual also poses a challenge: to prove that making apes smarter isn’t an evolutionary dead-end.

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