Although many short films are also made with the intent to entertain the public through creative means, a surplus of other films allow people worldwide to express their thoughts on various social issues that are important in their own life in a brief amount of time to a major audience. Here are a few creations from the short film industry that are sure to change and make an impact on how you see the world.

Children is a four-minute-long Japanese animation about a highly-structured dystopian society that was created in 2011 by Okada Takayuki. The movie follows the life of Child 4483 as he attends an average school day with their identical classmates right before having a mental breakdown that tears down the uniform structure of the school. Although the film is just odd, it’s overall message is a commentary on the school system, especially that of Japan with the creator stating that the pressure of achieving perfection has severe mental effects on students. The message however is also mainly up to interpretation from those who watch it.

In 2005, Andrew Huang, a Canadian animator/musician created Doll Face, available as a commentary on the unattainable beauty standards depicted in the media every day. In the four- minute-long CGI animation, a robotic face emerges from a metal box in an empty white room containing only a screen. Upon looking at the television, the face must replicate the faces shown in front of her before progressing any higher out of the box. However, eventually the machine reaches a point in which they can no longer replicate the image, but their obsession leads them to destroy themselves to reach perfection.    

Christopher Kezelo is animator from California that has won awards for his films The Maker, that was created in 2011, and Zero, which was created in 2010. Both films have a gritty premise and were created using stop-motion animation and are available on YouTube. The Maker follows the life of a small stuffed bunny as he races to create another bunny before dying, and per the creator is supposed to represent the preciousness of life and what we achieve in it. Zero, however, explores the tale of a yarn person as he tries to find his place in the world after being abused and shut out of it.

Modern Educayshun and #Equality are two films created by Neel Kolhatkar that look at the dangers of political correctness and having an overly-sensitive society. Although there is nothing wrong with political correctness and being sensitive about others feelings, the film’s extreme depiction of both helps make the point that sometimes it can be quite dangerous. In addition, both argue that in extreme cases each idea can also be quite limiting to an individual’s right to free speech and equality when it becomes necessary to avoid anything that could be interpreted as offensive.    

Imagine A World Where Being “Gay” The Norm & Being “Straight” Would Be the Minority! by K. Rocco Shields and Stray by Dustin Brooks are impactful films about how heterophobia effects those who are part of the LGBT community. Although the shorts are quite graphic with their themes and language, both take the idea of “stepping into another’s shoes” uses their short-run-time to show real struggles many deal with to raise awareness of the issue. In Stay, the creator follows the life of a married man who must go in for counseling to become “normal”, while Shields’s follows the life of a teenage girl who is bullied and harassed to the point of suicide.   
While short films are primarily made to entertain, these shorts prove the art form can be much more than just entertaining by being a voice for social change or offering an insight into much larger issues. May these brief list of films help to offer you a new look into society and inspire you to make your own voice heard!