The Third Wave

Third Wave is a 2007 documentary that focuses on the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and subsequent tsunamis. Among the affected regions is Sri Lanka, which is the focus of the documentary. While the documentary seeks to present a realistic perspective into individual efforts to help provide support and help rebuild Sri Lanka, there are several issues that arise. The Third Wave seeks to present the humanitarian efforts of a group of volunteers, however there are several occasions in which the documentary comes off as exploitative and self-indulgent.

At the beginning of the documentary, a group of four volunteers decide they are going to go to Sri Lanka, specifically a tribal village called Peraliya, and provide aid to the people that reside in the region. Although the volunteers' intentions can be construed as being noble and self-less, the documentary showcases the error in their approach. The volunteers are not part of any formal aid organization, such as the Red Cross, and thus, do not have the authority to delegate officially with any single organization or with officials. This, of course, means that since they are not affiliated with any organization, there is no way to monitor what they are doing. I think that the volunteers were too eager to provide the help they thought was needed and misrepresented themselves to the Sri Lankans, which is why the villagers turned on them. You can't really blame the villagers because they thought they were getting help on a larger scale so much so that government officials came to town to welcome them. I also think that the volunteers are setting a bad example to the villagers because they are teaching them that if they want something to be done, they have to do it by taking what they want. Also, I don't think that the volunteers were informed well enough to deal with the villagers and that the cultural differences caused more problems because of the arbitrary way in which the volunteers began to determine who needed it more.

Honestly, despite the volunteers' good intentions and their efforts, the documentary comes off more like a public service announcement or a commercial intended to raise awareness and collect donations. It feels as the only thing missing from the end of the film is a 1-800 number or a website where a person can find out more information as to how to donate to the cause. Granted, it is a little bit upsetting that the documentary brings to light the misappropriation of funds from legitimate donations, the fact that the volunteers are not affiliated with any organization makes the claim slightly less impactful. I think I would understand and be more upset if the volunteers were part of an official organization that was promised money and did not receive it because of corruption, but the volunteers don't actually have any ties to any official organization and they are in Sri Lanka at their own risk. The quality of the documentary itself is also sub-par and looks more like a video diary than a professional endeavor. The documentary even has intertitles with statistics that try to make the viewer more sympathetic to what is going on in the area. There is no arguing that the volunteers helped the Sri Lankans, however the documentary makes it appear as though they did it more for themselves than for other people; they just want to give and give and do not care who they help and how they help them as long as they feel like they are making a contribution.