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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.
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.