Blog Background

Four more films that put the “act” in Action!

January 31, 2025 | Lauren Newhouse

Back in 2015, DefeatDD published our first-ever movie review highlighting five films that imparted valuable lessons about diarrheal disease (DD). Ten years later and with Academy Awards season in full swing, we thought it the perfect time for a follow-up—dare we say, “part doo.” 

So now—back by poop-ular demand—here’s our list of four more films that bring to light strategies to prevent deadly and debilitating DD. The films are ranked according to the urgency of the DD situation using a “toilet seats up” (🚽) rating system (patent pending) on a scale of 1 to 4. 

1 = “I can handle this with just some routine maintenance.” 

2 = “Managing this will require considerable changes, but it’s my dooty.” 

3 = “If I don’t overhaul my way of life, bad things will happen.” 

4 = “This is a matter of life and death!” 

SPOILER ALERT! We never like to divulge the ending, but when it comes to defeating DD sometimes it’s necessary. Read on at your own risk.  

The Aviator (2004) 🚽 

A person washing hands over a white sink with a bar of soap. The sink has two faucets and a small plug in the center. The background shows a tiled floor.

This biopic tells the story of American aerospace engineer and business magnate Howard Hughes. From airplane manufacturing (including the Spruce Goose, the plane so big it couldn’t fly), to setting multiple air speed records, to producing controversial Hollywood films—Hughes had no shortage of notable (and notorious) accomplishments. Yet alongside these, the film examines a man also suffering from mental illness, including an obsessive aversion to germs that drives him to incessantly wash his hands to the point of bleeding.  

The DD take away: While we don’t condone Hughes’ injurious approach to handwashing, we do agree with him on one essential truth. Handwashing helps reduce the spread of germs. Washing hands with soap is a crucial part of the clean water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) toolkit for eliminating the bacteria and viruses that infect the body to cause diarrhea and other illnesses.   

Shadow in the Cloud (2020)  🚽🚽 

Air force pilot Maude Garrett is guarding a top-secret package aboard an allied WWII bomber. The plane soon comes under Japanese attack. Worse, a stowaway gremlin (yes, gremlin) attacks the crew and sabotages the plane (as gremlins do). Launching into superhero mode, Maude dodges bullets, crash-lands the plane, and defeats the gremlin in hand-to-hand combat—all while protecting the mysterious package containing [SPOILER] her baby! After having saved the day, Maude takes a moment, sits down, and calmly breastfeeds her baby amidst the wreckage. The end. 

The DD take away: True, WWII bombers and gremlins don’t have much to do with DD prevention, but breastfeeding does. As well as being an ideal source of nutrition, exclusive breastfeeding reduces infants’ exposure to DD-causing waterborne illnesses in places where clean water is hard to find. Also, disease-fighting antibodies can pass from mom to baby through breastmilk. The film’s final scene is a rare depiction of breastfeeding in cinema and zooms in on this life-giving practice for what it is—a superpower. A warning for which DD germs (and gremlins) should stay abreast. 

Toilet: A Love Story (2017) 🚽🚽🚽 

In typical Bollywood form, boy meets girl, boy marries girl, girl moves into boy’s house. Keshav and Jaya are a few dance numbers away from happily ever after … until Jaya discovers that Keshav’s house has no toilet. In his rural Indian village, men go openly in the streets while women must venture before dawn to the fields outside of town to relieve themselves. When Jaya realizes this is her fate, she threatens divorce unless Keshav solves the toilet problem. To get the girl, Keshav must get a toilet—and confront community traditions and the government bureaucracy to do it.  

The DD take away: No outhouse, no spouse. Not only does open defecation spread disease (including DDs like rotavirus, ETEC, Shigella, cholera, and typhoid), but long treks and lack of privacy put women and girls at greater risk of violence and other harms. In fact, the Sustainable Development Goals call for an end to open defecation by 2030, recognizing sanitation as a human right. In sum, Bollywood’s message is clear. Nothing says love like a loo. 

Gone with the Wind (1939) 🚽🚽🚽🚽 

Dimly lit room with a bed covered by a dark cloth. A small table with a lit candle stands beside it. Shadows dominate the scene, creating a somber atmosphere.

Frankly, my dear, this Oscar-winning classic does give a damn about an important cause of diarrhea—typhoid. The saga chronicles the American Civil War and its aftermath through the eyes of Southern belle Scarlett O’Hara. It’s four hours long, so we’ll jump to the key moment when Scarlett flees the Union Army’s siege of Atlanta and returns to her family’s now-desolate cotton plantation, only to find her mother dead from typhoid. The death parallels the dying Southern way of life as Scarlett knows it and sets her on a path of perseverance in a changing post-war America. 

The DD take away: Typhoid is found mostly where access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure are a challenge. Such conditions, rife during the 1860s Civil War era, are still factors in some countries today, leading to over 9 million typhoid cases and 110,000 deaths annually worldwide. The best way to prevent and treat typhoid is by integrating vaccines; WASH; diagnostics; and appropriate antibiotics. Together, these tools offer a hopeful future when put within reach of those that need them most. After all, tomorrow is another day … to take on typhoid

Honorable mention: Psycho (1960) 

Perhaps the most influential of legendary director Alfred Hitchcock’s films, Psycho redefined the horror genre. The most famous and bone-chilling scene broke filmmaking rules of the era when the main character was stabbed to death in the shower less than an hour into the movie. But the scene broke another rule that DefeatDD loves even more. Yes, it was the first-ever in Hollywood to feature a flushing toilet. Up to then, showing commodes was a no-no in the movies. Using one as a plot device lifted the seat out of the shadows—securing a future in film for many a toilet since.  

The DD take away: When it comes to breaking the “poo taboo,” Alfred Hitchcock is the Godfather (another great film, by the way).