I haven’t seen the whole film, but from the beginning clip we saw in class, I didn’t get a good vibe from the film. I completely agree with the people in class who felt that the author/producer didn’t really care about the issues in the film and I don’t think there was a true representation of the issues in the film. I felt Soma Girls did a better job of portraying every aspect in the film. Born into Brothels gave me a feeling of sadness, but mainly made me feel like there was nothing that could be done, at this point, to improve this situation. It seemed like a lost cause. Whereas in Soma Girls, I felt a sense of hope. The young girls are so resilient and want to make a change in their lives, so they can completely alter their lives. I think Soma Girls did a better job of portraying all emotions involved and didn’t leave the viewer with a feeling of hopelessness.

In Persepolis (Satrapi & Paronnaud, 2007), the main character Marjane faces many challenges in this coming of age story. In a time of revolution and many societal rules, Marjane spends her time hiding her love for heavy metal music and challenging the dress code. When she moves to Austria, she befriends a group of people that she believes she can be friends with. After a while, she feels lonelier than ever. She leaves school and becomes homeless. Finally, she moves back to Iran. Miserable as ever, she becomes depressed and tries to commit suicide. Her life has become a series of unfortunate events as a teenager rises to adulthood. This realistic character development is something that many teenagers can relate to. The inability to fit in or figure out who you are and what your identity  is, is something many people fear and struggle with everyday. This element of realism makes you feel extremely sad for Marjane and gives you a sense of understanding her whirlwind of a life. The story ends with her in a cab telling the cab driver she is Iranian. Although it is not a happy ending, Marjane is able to finally find and come to terms with the basis of her identity. This realistic element is nice to see because although it took her a while to find her identity, she has finally found it. Hopefully she can use that as a start to find happiness.

Although we did not view all of Born into Brothels, there was a key difference which I noticed almost immediately. It was hope. Soma Girls showed many interviews of the children with goals and aspirations to do well in school and take care of their mothers. All of the girls wanted to move their mothers out of the red light district. They were working for a better life. In Born into Brothels, there was only one interview with a child and she discussed the gross men in her building and mentioned she is always asked when she will join their line of work. Soma Girls was more pleasing to me as it portrays the girls aspirations. Although I am judging Born into Brothels just based on approximately 15 minutes of film, I feel like Briski decided to show Calcutta as like a black hole that you are stuck in forever while Sikand showed that it is possible to escape if you work very hard. Soma Girls is more uplifting while Born into Brothels is more depressing.

One critique people have about Miss Representation by Newsom (2011), is that her narration was in a monotone voice. People think this gives the film a more boring and less serious tone. I on the other hand think it makes the film more powerful. I believe Newsom took away her personal emotion so that the film was less about her emotion but rather about her story. Women are more likely to state a fact in a higher tone and finish the sentence almost as if they are asking a question. I think Newsom uses  monotone to state the fact. She avoids leaving it up to interpretation but rather states what is true.

In  the documentary “Soma Girls”, there were some shots of the statue of Goddess Kali. Goddess Kali is a figure of annihilation of evil forces that exist. I feel the context of Goddess Kali not only relates to the place the documentary is based on i.e. Kalighat but also  relates to how the girls are being educated,empowered and made independent so that they can raise their voices against prostitution and child marriage.These girls have been metaphorically represented as an example of courage and determination .

There’s another clip that shows the forming of clay.I feel this shot metaphorically represents how the Soma home is helping the girls to be empowered and independent.In a way, this home is shaping their  life by providing them shelter and education.

I was just beginning the season premier of Mad Men season 7 and the opening clip of the protagonist Don Draper, is a reference to the Graduate! They camera follows Draper on a moving walkway at an airport as people walk quickly by him, with a blank colored wall in the background. This character, similar to The Graduate‘s Benjamin, is somewhat lost, searching for what comes next in his life.

This is a reference to the opening scene of The Graduate as Ben stands on an automated walkway with people quickly walking past him in a hurry to get somewhere.

After watching both documentaries, Soma Girls and Born into Brothels, one can see how a director has so much power in portraying  what he or she wants the viewer to see and take away from a film. A perfect example is how in Soma Girls I saw how girls who have come from a tough upbringing are very determined to achieve their goals  for a better future for themselves. Instead of feeling sorry for the girls, I have feelings of admiration toward them for being so courages and strong. Meanwhile, in the few minutes I watched Born into Brothels, I just felt bad for the children. Therefore, it is amazing to see how similar topics can be so differently presented.

I was very intrigued by the camera shot in Born into Brothels. It was inserting that she had to shoot at such a low angle to make sure she would not get caught. It makes me wonder how the film would have had been if she could record normally and people would not run away or be frighten of the camera. Would she have been able to capture of moving scene? Would she be able to add crucial details that she wouldn’t have been able to before. I also wonder if the film would have still won an Oscar if it wasn’t  shot so secretively.

After watch Miss Representation I couldn’t help to think about all the commercials and ads that have been about self image and confidence in woman. One commercial that really stood out to me was the Akways #LikeAGirl Super Bowl commercial. It shows how people above the age of 8 and the young girls below the age of 8 interpret the term “run like a girl.” I found this commercial very moving showing that girls believe that they are strong, however, once they hit a certain age they think of themselves as weak because  thats what people tell them. I feel a large part of our culture has to do with young boys telling girls they are inferior to them and that they can’t do everything boys do.

Missrepresentation reminded me of  a recent nation wide movement made none other than Emma Watson. Her, like many others have seen the problems in the world that Missrepresentation  emphasized and so she reached out to UN Women and decided to do something about it. Her campaign movement entitled “He for She” urges men into supporting women looking to better themselves in the workforce and in leadership positions. The speech is phenomenal and its a great step in the right direction. Take some time to read!

http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2014/9/emma-watson-gender-equality-is-your-issue-too