Leftovers

Leftovers is a thought-provoking documentary released in 2017, directed by Seth Hancock and featuring Shane Bernardo and Beverly Berry among others. This film aims to give audiences a deep insight into the pressing issue of hunger in America, focusing on its scars on senior citizens. By echoing the lives of American seniors living in poverty and experiencing hunger every day, Leftovers aims to educate viewers about the reality and seriousness of this often overlooked issue.

The 70-minute documentary follows the journey of director Seth Hancock as he embarks on a quest through America, trying to understand the issue of senior hunger. Having been assigned to make a short public service announcement about food scarcity, Hancock's incidental encounter with the reality of hunger among America's oldest citizens inspires him to bring this unspoken issue to the forefront.

Hancock's journey shapes the narrative arc of Leftovers, as viewers see him transition from a man quite oblivious to the issue to someone deeply passionate about illuminifying this social problem. His growth goes hand-in-hand with the gradual exploration of the topic, allowing the audience to discover and understand the issue of senior hunger alongside him.

The focus of the documentary is not merely on the issue itself, but also on its many failed solutions. The film criticizes governmental nutritional assistance programs like SNAP, explaining how they fall short in helping the starving elderly. It showcases the shortcomings of the current strategies to combat this problem, accentuating the dire need for more effective solutions.

Weaving into the narrative, the life stories of suffering seniors offer a deeply human element to the issue. Interviews in the film give voice to individuals like Beverly Berry, whose stories of financial struggle, food insecurity, and inadequate support systems paint a heartbreaking picture of what life is like for many aging Americans. On the other hand, activists like Shane Bernardo provide more information and insight into current food availability and the detrimental impact of food deserts.

The documentary raises compelling questions about the interconnectedness of health, poverty, and age. It outlines the health consequences of sustained hunger and malnutrition, the physical stress it puts on the body, and how it can exacerbate pre-existing health conditions, especially in the elderly.

Making a film about such a complex social issue can be a challenge, but Leftovers does an admirable job of presenting this topic in a comprehensible and digestible manner. It is an emotional journey that underscores the harrowing reality of senior hunger and pushes the viewer to critically reconsider the effectiveness of current efforts in combating this crisis.

Instead of providing clear answers, Leftovers encourages the viewer to question why senior citizens, who often have contributed significantly to society, are left struggling in their twilight years. It leaves the audience pondering not only about the negligence of a system that allows this to persist but also about the values of a society that overlooks its elderly.

With stirring interviews, clear statistics, and compelling visuals, the dialogue between ignorance and awareness, between neglect and care, is opened. The audience is compelled to engage, to question, and to act.

Beyond being a social document, Leftovers is an open call for more profound empathy, compassion, and action. It is a splendid example of a documentary as a catalyst for social change. It focuses on transforming notice into knowledge and knowledge into action.

Ultimately, Leftovers is an honest, informative, and deeply moving piece of storytelling. It offers a stark contrast between the image of America as a land of abundance, to a reality where many citizens suffer silently from hunger. The film serves as a wake-up call for audiences to acknowledge and address the pressing issue of food scarcity and hunger among America's senior citizen population.