As a wave of censorship has flooded across the U.S., leading to more than 10,000 book bans in the 2023-2024 school year, filmmakers have taken note. These documentaries reveal the extent of the book banning crisis – and give hope in the form of activists working to return books to shelves.
Sheila Nevins’ MTV documentary goes from classrooms to school board meetings, from authors to activists –including the 101-year-old Grace Lin– and features some of the most banned books in the country. Popular titles such as Toni Morrison’s Beloved, Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation, Gender Queer, The Hate U Give, All Boys Aren’t Blue, and The Life of Rosa Parks all make the list. “Everyone deserves to have these beautiful books to read, to learn,” said one student in the film. “I like also learning about stuff so I can get smarter,” said another. Nominated Best Documentary Short Film at the 2024 Oscars, The ABC’s of Book Banning is an essential watch to not only understand the importance of the issue but its severity and breadth as it evolves today.
- To Be Destroyed
In 2021, in Rapid City, South Dakota, five books were pulled from the shelves by the order of the school board and designated “To Be Destroyed.” In the documentary, produced by MSNBC, writer Dave Eggers, whose book Circle faced the brunt of the ban, talks to teachers and students in the district. “The issue becomes overwhelming when parents and politicians begin using their beliefs and morals to monitor and discard books for other people’s children,” said an English teacher at Central High School, in the documentary.
When 97 books were banned from their school libraries, South Carolina teens united against the enforced censorship. “If you are fighting for book bans, if you are fighting against censorship, then you are a freedom fighter,” said writer Ibrahim X Kendi, at the Unite Against Book Bans Rally for the Right to Read in 2023. The documentary chronicles this student-led movement from their high schools to senate, along with interviews with authors, activists, politicians, and nonprofits including PEN America.
Panic attacks. Debilitating depression. Social isolation. Insomnia, weight gain, hair loss. These are some of the symptoms that 14 public school teachers describe experiencing in Trouble in Censorville, a collection of oral histories that demonstrates the human cost of the campaign against education undertaken by extremists. “I learned later that they had actually called 911 that Monday morning, saying that their child would be in danger if they were put into my classroom,” said Monica Coles, a nonbinary elementary school teacher who was placed on leave following rumors. The film captures testimonials from K-12 teachers across the country who have been fired, harassed, or smeared for teaching critical topics such as race theory, history, or for offering books with LGBTQ+ themes.
Directed by Sinead McHugh Keirans, Banned Book Club follows the story of students at Vandegrift High School who gathered to form the eponymous book club once censorship reached their town in Central Texas.
This short production – part of It’s Lit by PBS SoCal – delves into the history of banned books–from the days of the burning of the Aztec and Mayan manuscripts in 1560s to now. “Our job – and yours – is not to limit the horizons of a child, be he 6 or 12, 10 or 20,” the documentary quotes Judith Krug, the American librarian who started Banned Books Week in 1982. “The right of any individual to read is an absolute necessity in a democratic society.” With fun facts, illustrations, and stories, this special reiterates that book bans are not new, however, they continue to be a terrible way to wield power and control.
