Documentary Summary: Unnatural Causes

When sailing through the ocean and navigating to an ultimate destination, sailors must take into account not only the strength of their ship and supplies, but also simultaneously battle the strength of the ocean, its waves, rainfall, and other environmental cues which come in its path. Much like this ship, our health is influenced by several factors, many of which we cannot control. While we can control the cleanliness of our houses and our personal hygiene, we cannot control our socioeconomic status, our ethnicity, or the opinions and interactions of our community members. These issues are of the utmost importance because any deviation from healthy practices can create a ripple effect when combined with social determinants to negatively
It is a term inclusive of both physical and nonphysical factors. The physical factors include the people in our town, the town’s infrastructure, its services, its conditions such as level of sanitation, and more. The nonphysical factors include the amount of money earned by the population, the interaction and support the town offers, and other social determinants. This is a broader definition of community than offered by the documentary, Unnatural Causes. Unnatural Causes does not explicitly define “community” but shows through many examples that a community is one’s immediate surroundings, predominantly the group of people by which someone is surrounded. From watching the videos, a community to me became more than what is around someone’s house; it became everyone and everything that affects a group of people, whether connected through geography or
As the only Indian and darker skinned student in my class, going to school affected me emotionally. My classmates harassed me because of my darker skin. I thought the harassment would stop after elementary school, yet it only amplified. The September 11th attacks on America turned everyone with my skin tone into enemies. My close friends decreased their interaction with me while others threatened me. On the news, I would hear of attacks and murders of fellow Indians. Our house was egged, our cars were scratched, reminding us that at any point, the harm could be direct. Our family lived in constant fear of physical harm and we suffered emotional harm. Our family members became depressed, decreasing the children’s morale and spirit. This is when I first noticed that the surrounding community, using my broader definition, impacts the overall health of its occupants. I do not remember why, but our visits to the family doctor became more frequent. My father and uncle were both prescribed medication for high blood pressure. My cousins and I could not sleep at night, affecting us academically and making us tired in school. My family and I, deeply connected to Hinduism and Indian culture, felt we could not openly practice important aspects of our lives. We could not hold regular festivals without being tormented by others in the community. This continued for many years until moving to a new upper-middle