In the debate of Nature vs. Nurture, I tend to to lean into the side of Nurture knowing that the milieus in which we are raised affect us greatly. This film peered brilliantly and honestly into 4 individual stories from 4 unique countries, giving the audience that long-coveted fly-on-the-wall feeling. 4 BABIES come into their own worlds, interact with parents, eat, sleep, poop, throw fits and coo. The coo's become intelligible words just as crawls work up to dance. We climb. We conquer. In these are everyman and yet none of these represented groups that I feel I will ever truly understand. I was horrified by the cultural lack of hygiene and equally mortified by one family's constant absence as the baby sat tied to the bedpost all day. I delighted in the culture of community in one story, but sat stupefied by the over-the-top American example. At least the American example reminded me of the very important truth one family does not represent every - that the one African family is not every African family, that the Mongolian family does not represent all of Mongolia, and so forth. This, one of my first documentary film viewings, led me through fascinating journeys of thought into the probability that we are not only affected by our surroundings but that at whatever age, we also work to impact the environments in which we are placed. I also realized that I am so very Western. I know it's not wrong to appreciate baby wipes, or to be more grateful suddenly for undergarments like bras, but this film stretches worldview. It gives a Truman-esque perspective. What will these little lives turn out like? What will they choose to do and become? How are they formed and forming in thier surroundings? How are they the same? How do they differ? How would they be different if they grew up elsewhere? All excellent studies, but perhaps this film taught me more about motherhood...like the fact that I'm okay without that responsibility for now. I walked out of the theater more grieved than enchanted.
Well written! And I, too, came away feeling appreciative of "undergarments" although they can be so constricting at times, I now understand the importance of them! You did a great job with your assessment, although I didn't leave feeling grieved, but definitely more introspective and appreciating all the modern amenities we are so priveleged to.
When I was a little girl, my grandmother would call me her "mon petit chou chou" or her little cabbage. It was a term of endearment that she gave to me when I would sit on the coffee can and laugh just so everyone would join in. An entertainer to the core, I decided to write this blog about a favorite form of entertainment - specifically film. I love film. Film is art. I am drawn to it, changed by it, and forced to appreciate it for its details. So, this is it. This is to be an unsubtle, biased perspective on films as I see them.
My soul yearns for and must speak truth. And since I believe with my whole heart that Jesus is the Truth, that core of my heart will permeate my writing.
I hope that you will be entertained as you read! It's an ecclectic smattering so far, but isn't life just as unique?
Love and Joi de vivre to all who read on!
In the debate of Nature vs. Nurture, I tend to to lean into the side of Nurture knowing that the milieus in which we are raised affect us greatly. This film peered brilliantly and honestly into 4 individual stories from 4 unique countries, giving the audience that long-coveted fly-on-the-wall feeling. 4 BABIES come into their own worlds, interact with parents, eat, sleep, poop, throw fits and coo. The coo's become intelligible words just as crawls work up to dance. We climb. We conquer. In these are everyman and yet none of these represented groups that I feel I will ever truly understand. I was horrified by the cultural lack of hygiene and equally mortified by one family's constant absence as the baby sat tied to the bedpost all day. I delighted in the culture of community in one story, but sat stupefied by the over-the-top American example. At least the American example reminded me of the very important truth one family does not represent every - that the one African family is not every African family, that the Mongolian family does not represent all of Mongolia, and so forth. This, one of my first documentary film viewings, led me through fascinating journeys of thought into the probability that we are not only affected by our surroundings but that at whatever age, we also work to impact the environments in which we are placed. I also realized that I am so very Western. I know it's not wrong to appreciate baby wipes, or to be more grateful suddenly for undergarments like bras, but this film stretches worldview. It gives a Truman-esque perspective. What will these little lives turn out like? What will they choose to do and become? How are they formed and forming in thier surroundings? How are they the same? How do they differ? How would they be different if they grew up elsewhere? All excellent studies, but perhaps this film taught me more about motherhood...like the fact that I'm okay without that responsibility for now. I walked out of the theater more grieved than enchanted.
Well written! And I, too, came away feeling appreciative of "undergarments" although they can be so constricting at times, I now understand the importance of them!
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job with your assessment, although I didn't leave feeling grieved, but definitely more introspective and appreciating all the modern amenities we are so priveleged to.