Documentary Project

1. Was there a specific scene that got to you? Describe and explain how it moved you (Angry? Curious? Delighted? Motivated?). Give a lot of detail, and really dive into how it affected you. Don’t hold back.

The last scene was the one that really got me, it was a slideshow of photos of the kids in the documentary, all young and happy with text saying what happened to them after the documentary ended, it got to me because I was like really rooting for the kids and I was invested in all the events that led up to them getting into the schools and was following their stories and struggles up to that point, and the fact that most of them didn't end up going to staying in school made me sad and kind of angry at their situation, it was a very unexpected ending because I thought the end would have an all around happy ending, but it was definitely a realistic documentary that didn't sugarcoat anything.

2. What surprised you? Why do you think it caught you off guard?

What surprised me and caught me off guard was their home life.  I knew that they didn't have the best living circumstances, but the meanness of some of their parents caught me off guard.  The moms and aunties called their kids every word under the sun while the kids cleaned and got them food. 

Before watching this documentary, I imagined a bunch of women forced into this line of work, who didn't want their kids to have the same fate but also had trouble getting opportunities for the kids.  I thought it would be like mom and kid together against the world, but it was not as wholesome as that. The parents would encourage their kids to follow in their footsteps into the line and some talked openly about how they want to get rid of their children because they don't work hard enough at chores or are not making enough money doing odd jobs, in front of their kids they would say this. 

3. What questions remain after the viewing? What feelings stayed with you after the film? Did they “pop up” in your life in unexpected ways? When? How? What was that like?

Some questions that remain are what red light district adjacent areas in other countries are like, and how the children and their lives are like in those places.  The movie was released in 2004 and most of the kids in it were only around 5-10 years older than me, meaning they would be around 30 right now and while the end talked about the immediate events after the documentary finished, I wonder how those kids are doing now.  When I take pictures now, I sometimes think of the kids and how something that I take for granted totally changed the trajectory of their lives, and it gave me a newfound appreciation for photography.

4. Why might we avoid including research in our summaries? What could go wrong? 

We should generally try to avoid including research in our summaries because it could take away from the story aspect of the documentary, it shifts from a story to a research paper which takes the purpose and charm out of the experience.  It also can change the intended persuasion method of the director.  If the documentary relied on pathos and emotional appeal to sway the viewers, throwing facts in their face could take away from the emotional appeal.