How does Nanfu Wang’s documentary One Child Nation examine the legacy of China’s one-child policy?

Nanfu Wang’s 2019 documentary One Child Nation, directed with Jialing Zhang, examines the legacy of China’s one-child policy by framing the state’s population control efforts as a "war against its own people." The film explores how the policy transformed reproduction from a private choice into a state-controlled mandate, enforced through militarized measures such as forced sterilizations, late-stage abortions, and infant abandonment.1

The documentary highlights the following aspects of the policy's legacy:

• Normalization of State Control: Wang illustrates how state propaganda conditioned citizens to accept authoritarian intervention, turning health care workers into both perpetrators and victims of human rights violations.1
• Personal Impact: Through oral histories, including an interview with a midwife who performed thousands of forced procedures, the film reveals the deep psychological and physical trauma inflicted upon families.1
• Erosion of Autonomy: The film documents how the policy stigmatized families who exceeded birth limits and rendered unauthorized pregnancies acts of subversion, ultimately arguing that a society where propaganda replaces truth cannot be truly free.1