As an athlete, the thought of eating a healthy, high protein diet is essential to be able to perform and grow in our sports. Nutritionists lay out meal plans and break down the importance of macro and micro nutrients to ensure all the training, lifting, sleeping, recovering, etc, you do is not going to waste. For most, this diet is taught to be an egg & cheese omelet in the morning, a turkey sandwich for lunch, and a steak dinner. Through advertisements and marketing, it has become normalized that animal products are the staple of an athletic diet, ensuring consumers will “get big”, referring to the muscle they will put on.
“The Game Changers” is a thought provoking documentary that challenges the conventional beliefs athletes have been taught little about throughout their careers: advocating for a plant-based diet for optimal protein, strength, and performance. Directed by Louie Psihoyos and co-written by Joseph Pace and Shannon Kornelsen this film debuted in 2018. It features famous athletes such as bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger, Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton, and UFC fighter James Wilks as they dive deep into the transformative power of plant-based diets and its effect on athleticism and overall health.
This film is highly persuasive as it argues for adopting a plant-based diet and it has high credibility through scientific research, expert testimonies, and the inclusion of renown athletes that approve their message. This effectively challenges the typical stereotype that animal products, specifically meat, leads to more strength, muscle, and “makes you tough” as stated 7 minutes and 34 seconds into the film. James Wilks begins the film by sharing his journey and goals of being an athlete and the nutrition journey he embarked. He does this by sparking debates and encouraging many athletes to reconsider their dietary choices, as he found the most benefit in a plant based diet. The former UFC fighter faced double knee surgery in his career, allowing him to spend his recovery time investigating the link between diet and athletic performance. After learning that historic Roman Empire fighters ate a plant based diet, he embarked on a journey to explore the benefits of a plant based diet in today's age. While this challenged conventional wisdom that animal protein is necessary for strength and endurance, he spends his time in the film encountering elite athletes from an array of sports that thrive off plant based diets. From bodybuilders to marathon runners to Olympic athletes, these athletes share their positive personal experiences. Their diet has affected their performance, recovery and overall help.
The story of Scott Jurek stood out to me as he completed the record-holding time for finishing the Appalachian Trail as an ultramarathon runner, eating solely a plant based diet. Just like many transitioning athletes, Scott was skeptical about transitioning to this new lifestyle…how would he finish his race without meat? After winning not one, not two, but seven one-day ultramarathon events, he never looked back from his old eating habits when reaching his Appalachian dreams (2,200 miles by the way). Still skeptical? I was too but Wilks sat down with Dr. James Loomis, a former team physician for a World Series winning team and a Super Bowl winning team. He broke down the idea that glycogen is needed to avoid chronic fatigue and loss of stamina for athletes to compete at their best level. This glycogen comes from carbohydrates, so all those team dinners with steak and chicken as the main course were not helping athletes energize for competition.
To back up these athletes' experience, the film develops into scientific research that supports the advantages of plant based eating. Experts in the field of nutrition, sports medicine, and physiology provide information into the mechanisms behind these improved benefits in cardiovascular health, enhanced recovery times, and reduced inflammation, debunking myths about protein sources along the way. One of the most persuasive scenes was 23 minutes into the film when Dr. Robert Vogel took three professional football players from the Miami Dolphins and tested their blood after eating a healthy omnivore dinner versus a plant based meal. It was shown that the animal based foods impaired the endothelium, restricting blood flow and athletic performance. This was visually seen in the bloodwork as the blood post animal based meal was cloudy and the blood post vegan meal was clear. Wilks dives deeper into the science and challenges viewers to reconsider their dietary choices as athletes and embrace plant-based eating for improvement in many areas of their lives and careers. This information caught my attention because I have been an athlete my entire life and I have never been taught what how animal products affect my body. Like most athletes, I was taught by my nutritionists that the best way to meet our protein goal was by eating lean meat and whey protein. Little did I know this was actually minimizing athletic ability during a workout or practice.
This film has persuaded me to try a plant based diet after seeing elite athletes such as Morgan Mitchell, Dotsie Bausch, and Nate Diaz. They were all plant based but still had high muscle mass and reported extreme energy levels. My greatest concern with transitioning to a plant based diet would be not having enough energy to compete my best in my sport, but because of the positive personal testimonials of these high level athletes, I feel more inclined to give it a try. Another persuading aspect of this film was showing the comparison of plant based athletes competing and winning against their animal based competition. Not only were these vegan athletes being able to compete in their sport, they were faster, more energetic, and stronger than their competitors.
This film was also highly entertaining due to how it utilizes a variety of formal techniques to convey its thematic content and engage viewers through a somewhat controversial topic to many nutritionists and athletes. The cinematography and editing uses the natural beauty of landscapes during an athletic performance to awe the viewers. Throughout the film, viewers will see high quality shots of nature, arenas, cheering crowds, and athletes performing their sport. Dynamic camera angles and fluid editing help to create a sense of energy, enhancing the storytelling for audience engagement. The use of switching from fast paced editing to slow motion shots during key moments reinforces the film's central themes of momentum and strength.
Mise-en-Scène effectively conveys the contrast between the well known animal based diet and the exploration of the plant based lifestyle. The scenes that focus on animal agriculture are often dark and eerie, emphasizing the environmental and ethical implications of animal based food consumption. In contrast, scenes highlighting plant based meals are colorful and vibrant, evoking a sense of vitality. The ways these different diets are showcased show how the film further exemplifies their persuading towards plant based diets for athletes.
The various uses of sounds are strategically placed throughout the documentary to enhance emotion in the film. The upbeat music during training and sports scenes creates not only excitement, but motivation. Opposite of this, there are moments of silence where viewers are encouraged to focus on the message being presented. Whether it is the narrator, a nutritionist, and athlete, their expertise adds to the credibility of the film’s arguments.
The genre of this film primarily serves as a documentary, but it incorporates engaging elements of sports and advocacy through the protagonist James Wilks. As he guides viewers through his personal journey of discovery, the film uses scientific evidence and other high level athletes' experience to create a compelling narrative towards and persuasive conclusion. This film revolves around how nutrition, athleticism, and sustainability can all be interrelated by exploring environmentalism, human health, and animal wellbeing.
“The Game Changers” stands as a persuasive and thought provoking documentary that ultimately challenges conventional beliefs of nutrition for athletic performance. Overall, this film does a great job of bringing in elite athletes to share their personal journeys of eating a plant based diet while entertaining viewers with visual appeal. Along with scientific evidence, the film effectively argues for the transition to a plant based diet. Stories of the positive impacts a vegan diet has on energy, strength, and recovery have inspired me to at least try a plant based diet.
The Game Changers Film on Netflix
I chose to write a film review of “The Game Changers” because I wanted to capture what the film was about and aspects I think made it persuasive for athletes watching. All high level athletes are health & fitness enthusiasts to some extent because of the amount of time and effort they put into their bodies to perform and recover correctly. Any athlete should be interested in reading a film review of a documentary that could tremendously help their game, which is why I decided to write about the film. By sharing information about science involved, people interviewed, and areas that persuaded me, I want to spread awareness about a topic that is not talked about enough in the sports industry and amongst nutritionists.
I am not an advocate for the plant based diet as I have not fully tried it myself, however I did notice benefits to my health when I eliminated dairy from my diet over a year ago. After struggling with acne, tiredness, and inflammation for some time, cutting out dairy from my diet helped to minimize these side effects I was facing. But what would happen if I cut out all animal products from my diet? I was interested in sharing how athletes in the film felt after transitioning to a plant based diet, with the sole hope that if it made me willing to try it, it may persuade others. After the research I did on animal farming and sustainability for Writing project 2, I am dedicated to making a change not only for my health but for the sake of the animals.
This film review focuses on analyzing the aspects within it that make it credible and for a target audience. Throughout the review, I give several examples of scientific evidence and personal experiences of high level athletes that support a plant based diet is best for endurance, energy, and recovery. While providing information within the film, I also wanted to include physical aspects that kept me entertained and engaged. No one wants to watch a documentary that is boring! By changing the mood of scenes with lighting and music, this film visually persuaded viewers to become more engaged in the content. By including my personal thoughts into the genre, I felt this would give credibility as an athlete who watched this for the first time and was never planning on transitioning to a plant based lifestyle.
Typically a film review is used to be informative and persuade or not persuade someone to watch the film. The audience is typically dependent on what the film category is based on, this can be a vast array from sports documentaries to fashion and everything in between. I adhered to these guidelines to the best of my ability because, as I mentioned before, I did not watch this documentary to find evidence to persuade my audience. The documentary was intended to be informative for high level athletes on nutritional ways to enhance their physical health and learn from some of the greatest who have ever done it. My personal touch on the film review is simply how I was persuaded by the film, why I would recommend it, and the benefits I hope to gain from a plant based diet.
I chose to specifically focus on this film because of how it related to my knowledge of being an athlete. My audience for this review is other people like me, athletes who want to perform better, recover faster, and overall feel better in our bodies. I have extensive knowledge of the nutrition and aspects of lifestyle that play into performing as a high level athlete. After watching “The Game Changers”, I knew if I was persuaded in any way than other athletes would be too. As shown in the film, even the top athletes who already had their careers and fame set in stone saw improvement when transitioning to a plant based diet. For this reason, I think even those athletes who think they have it all figured out should read this review and watch them film to determine what lifestyle changes they make next.