The film then changes focus on Megan and her deteriorating relationship with her mother. Wake up to the day's most important news. Before starting the film girlhood, she actually meant to do a film about young men in juvenile detention centres because from her work on the film Angola, she was intrigued and disturbed by how many of the inmates there said they had learned the tricks of their trade from their experiences in juvenile detention. The protagonists are Shanae Owens and Megan Jensen. In the film Girlhood by Liz Garbus we are introduced to two young girl's named Megan and Shanae, who committed a crime and are getting help through a facility that helps young girls reflect on their actions. However, the film ignores their concerns regarding the young girls and regarding the system. The system essentially gives up on trying to control her and turns her loose to fend for herself. When she grows older, it is clear that she is still affected by the feeling of neglect and she believes nobody is looking out for her interest (Garbus, 2003). In the film's most compelling scenes Megan confronts Vernessa, who has been released from prison and who professes her love and determination to be an anchor for her daughter. That roster includes ''The Farm: Angola, U.S.A,'' an acclaimed film about the largest maximum-security prison in the United States, and ''The Execution of Wanda Jean,'' a sympathetic portrait of the first black woman executed in America in the last 50 years. Megan Jensen is doing very well in life. The girls have traumatic experiences that affect their relationship with others. Is the Megan inside Waxter the same Megan outside Waxter? The film leaves us with a final mystery about human development. The first example is how wary she is of strangers (Eysenck, 2015). I dont think its a right-wing conclusion to say that everyone needs family and that strong families raise strong, healthy, happy children who can grow up to be adults who can contribute positively to our society. She tries to reach out to her mother multiple times despite being disappointed numerous times. Make sure to answer each of the questions as thoroughly as possible. Well, its also said to be on the increase here in Canada. April 24, 2023. Even though there is an intense argument, after she tells her mother never to talk to her again, she has a nervous breakdown (Garbus, 2003). An alternate perspective of Girl Hood is that it is a film that tries too hard to achieve an ending on a positive note. Is it maternal nurturing that makes the difference? I think this is key to Shanaes eventual success. Girlhood gives us a glimpse into the lives of two troubled young women who desperately try to forge a new life for themselves against formidable odds. Megan grew up without the love and support of her mother who was in prison for drugs and prostitution. This paradoxical relationship with her parent is evident (Brody & Dwyer, 2016). This documentary really touched me and made me so much more grateful for my environment and support. That Ms. Garbus was able to get so close to her likable subjects and allow us to see that they are not quite the monsters we might perceive from reading the newspapers about such bad girls, is what makes this film so special. In the second segment, she runs away from foster homes to try to live with her mother. Follows two female inmates - victims of horrific violence and tragedy - who are serving time in a Maryland juvenile detention center. Just last week Waxter made headline news in Maryland after having been labeled by one childrens rights advocate as a house of horrors. At Waxter, girls like Shanae who have been sentenced for crimes, girls who would make mincemeat of the fillies in Thirteen, are placed alongside those who, as one news story put it, have not been found guilty of anything yet. Except, perhaps, being born poor and grievously disadvantaged. But the reality is that Shanae, because of the support of her family, is able to overcome the trauma of her childhood and the impact of her crime and graduate from high school and go on to community college whereas Megan, without really any family support, is only able to struggle, her greatest achievement being that she doesnt return to crime or become a hardcore drug addict. Miriam has proven to have an incredibly strong voice when it comes to tackling tough, timely and complex stories that often take place in urban settings but resonate far and wide, Fawcett said. Megan flounders around for a while and is eventually sent to another foster home, which doesn't work out. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/girlhood All rights reserved. . Shanae moves into a lower security halfway house because her mother does not feel ready to take her back home. Megan, the other young offender continues to practise delinquent . I remember being struck at the end of the film that one of the staff at Waxter came to Shanaes home to congratulate her on graduating and see her off to the prom. However, Garbus suggests that this is due to the lack of adequate recreational activities in Waxter (Garbus, 2003). Garbus rigidity in framing the girls experiences does not allow for the expansiveness and complexity allowed by new theories of girlhood. As much of my work is with teenage girls in high school, this issue is both personally and professionally relevant to me, however, I often wonder if girls are really becoming more violent or if our society is just admitting something that has always gone on but we didnt know how to label because of our stereotypical image of girls and women as somehow less aggressive than men. Required fields are marked *, College Essay Examples | October 19, 2018. The documentary follows the plight of Megan and Shanae (Garbus, 2003). In contrast to Shanaes successes, when out of Waxter, Megan soon runs away from her foster home with no consequences (despite the fact that staying in foster care is a requirement of her patrol), couch surfs for a while and eventually gets her own place with her cousin. Second, she is distressed when her mother leaves. The girls the film follows for three years are Shanae and Megan, as the film begins in 1999. Both girls are likable, smart young women struggling to overcome traumatic backgrounds. After watching the documentary, it is easy to see that Megans environment has contributed greatly to her childhood and ultimately her adult life. The girls tragic relationships with their mothers, their struggles with sexuality, their experiences with rape and sexual assault, drug use and poverty have shaped their lives in and out of jail. I wasn't alone. [ClickEssay Writerto order your essay]. Her mother is a heroin addict and is herself often in and out of jail on prostitution charges. murdering another girl after the two got into an argument. T he 'Girlhood' documentary highlights the plight of girls in juvenile centers with some psychological disorders. We wont be able to verify your ticket today, but its great to know for the future. These girls are the subjects of Liz Garbus' documentary, Girlhood. Assignment #2 In class we viewed documentary titled Girlhood, the film surrounded two teenage girls named Megan and Shanae. In contrast to Shanae, who has a great deal of family love and support, Megan only receives letters from her mother sporadically, and in one scene in the film desperately wants to call her grandmother to see if she is going to visit her. Garbus remarks during her DVD commentarythat she was torn while making this film because her ultimate conclusion during her experience following these girls lives was that Family Matters. Megan grew up without the love and support of her mother who was in prison for drugs and prostitution. Megan Terry, an Obie Award winner, a founding member of the Open Theater group and a prolific feminist playwright who wrote and directed a rock musical on the New York stage that . A story of mothers and daughters, crimes and consequences, and strength in the face of unimaginable adversity, girlhood is a testament to the faith and struggles of two girls just trying to grow up. By age 10, she had been committed to two psychiatric hospitals and diagnosed as manic-depressive. The field of Girlhood Studies continues to grow and perhaps offers guidance in understanding where Garbus erred. Megan's mother was a drug-addled prostitute, and after being placed in, and escaping from, nearly a dozen foster homes, Megan committed a violent crime. But Vernessa quickly reverts to her old ways, and the scenes of Megan viciously berating her mother for her failures are painful to watch. Megan also leaves Waxter. How is Megan Jensen from Girlhood doing I just saw the film and was really. Girlhood Directed by Liz Garbus A riveting documentary about two young offenders serving time in a Baltimore juvenile facility and their struggles over a three-year period to forge a new life for themselves against formidable odds. In my own opinion, considering that Megan has to do all this on her own, hers is the greater achievement. Additionally, she still struggles after growing up, but she ensures that she never becomes an addict (Garbus, 2003). Shanae and Megan both experienced similar circumstances that yielded different outcomes. Her divorced mom moved to the suburbs to get her out of harms way but Shanae, though never arrested, still managed to find again the wrong friends and display bad conduct at home. ''Girlhood'' is the newest entry in Ms. Garbus's long list of socially concerned documentaries made for theaters and television. Garbus remarks that the structure within Waxter allows the girls to actually be girls. The disrupted attachment led to a paradoxical relationship with the caregivers in Waxter (Shaffer & Kipp, 2010). Even though her mother has a problem with drugs and prostitution, she is distressed when she does not receive visits or calls from her. The DVD has an interesting commentary by Liz Barbus, whose filmogarphy is also provided. Shanae even overcomes the death of her mom three months later from a heart attack and goes on to graduate from a public high school and enroll in a community college. After her release, 19-year-old Megan appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" alongside another troubled teen, Shanae. The 16-year-old Shanae was placed in the Florence Crittenton Group home and the slightly older Megan was rewarded for trying to run away by gaining her official freedom. Even though she does not get the chance to further her education, she avoids returning to a life of crime (Garbus, 2003). she has come a long way from this documentry i love and am so proud of my sistrr. Part of HuffPost News. She is a very smart girl who rejoices when given a chance to move on to another facility and then return home to her father and mother. Shanae, on the other hand, received strong support and had to follow strict rules her 32-year-old diabetic mom insisted upon, so that when she was released to her home she had someone to lean on for support. The film left me with mixed feelings about the girls who crave love but seem so self-absorbed that they show so little concern for anyone else not in their radar, as I questioned what kind of punishment should there be for girls who commit violent crimes. Girlhood Movie Analysis. It indicates that she is wary of strangers (Garbus, 2003). The film pivots from the girls to their relationships with their moms, as Garbus follows their development from girls into young ladies. This documentary does look at the intersections of various identities and even struggles, but it fails to count them as essential facets of girlhood for Shanae and Megan. The third is her reluctance to become close with others. This is where politics comes in and things get ugly. What is more important is that both boys and girls develop a sense of agency in relation to their aggressive behaviour, and take responsiblity for the consequences of their violent actions. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Megan is doing great for herself Additionally, the film has been criticized for having the drama move the film along. The domain that best explains Megans attachment issues is the ambivalent/resistant attachment. The other protagonist is Megan, a troublesome mixed race teen who has a tattoo going up her right arm and is always giggly thinking everything is not serious. Interviews. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for fair use for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research.This Documentary/Film \"Girlhood\" is not for any personal financial profit or gain to TheeSymphony'sCulture Channel, but instead only for educational purposes and cultural research. 1103 Words. Shanae's reentry into society was easy, and she does not seem to be struggling in any way. At one point she tells her parents that the girl she murdered actually has it easy because shes just dead whereas Shanae is suffering because she is in detention. Excerpt from Essay : Girlhood juvenile delinquents, Shanae Megan, Waxter Juvenile Facility Maryland. It is also quite clear that the staff at Waxter have a special affection for her despite her antics. In the documentary, she is always trying to contact either the mother or the grandmother. Inside, she is desperately frightened of becoming just like her. Required fields are marked *. Then, she got up and walked off set. With the help of her mother, Shanae can graduate from high school. We can see for ourselves how much love they need and how dangerous it is to think that institutions alone can solve these societal problems. http://sites.google.com/view/ehdwjwbxfu/linkedlist-member-modification-c, Your email address will not be published. Third, Shanae becomes emotionally expressive. She is also silly and childish which is what you expect for a girl her age. Having been abandoned by her mother, with whom she has a very complicated relationship, Megan is desperate for attention and affection. The staff never followed up Megans progress as they should have and she was unsupervised when she suddenly left the foster home and lived with friends, thereby returning to drugs and her former East Baltimore street life. At 14, she was hit by a stray bullet during a gunfight. The primary objective of the film is an exploration into the social implications for the increase of crime committed by young women such as Shanae and Megan. One characteristic of resilience that Megan portrays is her perseverance. In the beginning, Shanae is not remorseful for committing murder (Garbus, 2003). Garbus interest in and empathy for her subjects and, more importantly, the way in which she relays their girlhood, makes for an entertaining and emotional documentary, but perhaps an incomplete one. The girls as well as their moms were open and seemed to not hold back their emotions for the camera, with Megan a virtual basket case of excitability and the childish Shanae changing for the better as she matures. Required fields are marked *. To think that one out of two might have straightened out her life, is not saying that the system works. After Megan and her mother have falling out and are no longer speaking, the film again shifts focus to Shanae, who has now just lost her mother to heart failure. "I decided to change some of my ways because I didn't want the system raising my child," she says. As a left-wing filmmaker, she worried that this appeared to be some sort of right-wing Family Values advocate conclusion. Your email address will not be published. The lack of a proper support system is evident because she does not achieve as much as Shanae who does not falter when her mother dies. Be sure to answer all parts to each question. The relationship between staff and the young women at Waxter is for the most part warm and friendly. Abruptly, she halted the conversation. He also states that although many of the girls leave Waxter and go on to live lives free of crime, others lives deteriorate when they get back home because of the dangers and tempations of life in their often crime-filled neighbourhoods (remember most of the inmates at Waxler are coming from Baltimore!). A lot of this seems due in part to her mother Antoinettes support. [Need anessay writing service? In the movie, we were able to watch two female offenders in the juvenile justice system. Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations. Dennis Schwartz: Ozus World Movie Reviews, Copyright 2023 - Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, t.

Evergreen Funeral Home Dallas, Texas, Mic'd Up Microphone For Sports, Farm Houses For Rent In Springfield, Mo, Articles G