I AM the Documentary: I AM opens with Tom Shadyac talking about his own personal struggles before and after his pivotal bike accident. Shadyac discusses the continued imbalance he felt between where he was in life and where he wanted to be; this propelled him to shift his focus from a comedic director to one that asks the deeper questions about life. What’s wrong with this world? How do we fix it? How are we being taught? What are we being taught? What should we be learning? If we know we function better as humans using positive emotions, why don’t we use more positivity? The documentary sets out to explore the notion of why our economy and way of life are based on selfish materialism that actually go against our true nature, which is to co-operate and unite. These questions inadvertently lead to even more questions, but also highlight the fact that our first step to solving any problem always starts within.