Finding truth in the documentary - an analysis of the form and ethics of born into brothels

Type :

Term papers

Pages :

4 pages

Format :

.doc

Published date :

07/15/2009

Category :

Arts & media

Sub category :

Film studies

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Summary :

Introduction
Exploration of the lives of eight Indian children
Formal interviews with the children
The role of community resources
The red-light district
The humanitarian effort by Briski
Criticisms of the film
Conclusion
Bibliography

Abstract

born into brothels explores the lives of several children raised in India's notorious red-light district. Directed by photojournalist Zana Briski, the film chronicles the filmmaker's attempts to enroll the children into various boarding schools, all the while depicting their efforts at photography, as they are turned loose in their homes with point-and-shoot 35mm cameras. This paper will examine a number of critiques of the film centering on its individualistic and Westernized structure, in narrative, ideological, and stylistic terms. The representations of people (children, parents, filmmaker), as well as institutions and activities (school, prostitution, art) depicted in the film, are important to these critiques. Further, this paper will contextualize that the role of art in the film, as well as Briski's actions outside the film that undermine many of these critiques.

The film begins as an exploration of the lives of eight Indian children living in the brothels of Sonagachi and transforms into a more narrative account of the role of the filmmaker in the children's lives. According to Briski, the film came about while she was living among the sex workers of the district and attempting to photograph their lives.