Born into Brothels

1. The juxtaposed photos and eyes give the introduction more emotion. The viewer connects the child and the place in an emotional way; in this case we are sad and feel their pain just by looking at photos of where they grew up and their eyes. Eyes are a very deep and emotional part of the human body. I think eyes are a good close up in films to capture that emotional aspect. That being said, I think they used this strategy to do just that, capture a deeper more motional feeling for the introduction, and to set the tone for the rest of the movie.

2. I think photography was a great medium to bridge the lives of the children with the directors. Photography is still, but you can capture so much emotion and life in one photo. In this movie, the photos of the children were shown, and then photos of the director. It was not only a refreshing break from the video, which gave it good balance and structure, but the photos were amazing and helped tell the story. This worked well because she really was connecting with them in a way; they were all teaching, learning, and taking photos. She was relating to them and trying to be a positive impact through something she loved, and many of the children had grown to love too. You could tell how happy the children were and how hopefully Zana Auntie was. There is no doubt those children’s lives were not only better off, but forever changed just by taking photos.

3. Zana’s motivation for teaching the children to take photography is to change the children’s horrible educational and living arrangements. She wanted to get them out of the Brothels. When she first went there she wanted to focus more on the women of the Brothels, try to help them. But when she got there, there were so many children and they were all interested in her, and she eventually started her photography class to get them out of the red light district. She used her own talent and passion of photography to do so.

4. I feel that in this situation, it was a wonderful thing. Although, it is very important to understand the people where you are, and to fully respect them, especially the elders. Children are the future of the world, and I think there needs to be more people who are passionate about helping children out who are disadvantaged. But it’s not always fully accepted by the local people, therefore one should stay there a long time and try to get to know lots of people and try to make changes on a closer, friendlier level. Zana was in Calcutta for three years, if I remember correctly, and I think she was smart in that she lived there and fully got to know the community. She wasn’t just going there to change people all of a sudden. It takes time and trust.

5. The trips to the zoo and beach are very important for the children. How often do they really get to leave their dingy streets of the red light district? Not often. This gave the children an excellent opportunity to leave that place and see something new and exciting. To play like children should play. The animals at the zoo were all caged in. They couldn’t go very far, they were hungry, thirsty, tired, and tied up. This is similar to the life of the children. The children are in a way locked up too. They are in the Brothels, working for their families and unable to go anywhere or do much of anything different. They have to scrounge for food and they most defiantly must help prepare if they want to eat. The animals and the children are both trapped.

6. This statement gives the audience an accurate view of the attitude of many of the children and people who live in the Brothels. Many of the children can’t even fathom what they would do if they had the opportunity, education, or money to do something. Their environment is keeping them from truly finding themselves and allowing them to experiment with different aspects of life. They learn how to take care of their baby brother and how to prepare food and wash dishes, but they are missing out on good preparation for a bright future. This statement proves that a child can not live there; they must live in a better community and get good education to really succeed.