“Born into Brothels” Documentary Analysis

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Table of Contents

Pre-Viewing
Viewing
Post-viewing

Pre-Viewing

Title of the film: Born into Brothels: Calcutta Red Light Kids

Date released: January 17, 2004

Producers: Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman

I selected this movie due to the controversies that surround it. It involves an American movie maker, Zana Briski, who went to Calcutta with the purpose of covering a story about prostitutes. However, she befriended the prostitutes’ children and made a movie about them. She took the children to school using the proceeds from the film. Many people have reacted differently to this decision. Some people have accused her of taking advantage of the prostitutes and their children to make money, while others have praised her for using art to change people’s lives. This controversy is what made me select Born into Brothels for this analysis.

Concepts I Expected to Witness in this Movie

The struggles of children who grow up in brothels.
Extreme prostitution among women in Calcutta
I also anticipated a movie with a happy ending.

Viewing

This movie is advocacy for social concerns. It addresses an issue that affects contemporary society. Precisely, the film looks at the plight of children whose mothers are prostitutes. The children lack basic needs and assume major roles in their families at very tender ages due to their mothers’ absence.

John McDowell fuses music from India and the Western world, making it complement the actions in the film. He carefully chooses the soundtracks that leave a great emotional impact on viewers. Krishna Das and Steve Gorn are very vivid in their bass whispers and bamboo flute, respectively.

Briski is the main narrator in the film, and she appropriately describes the intelligence that the children exhibit while handling their cameras. She explains how the children’s faces promise great things ahead and use vivid descriptions to clarify every part of the film.

Interviews are very dominant in the movie. The most dominant interviews involve the kids narrating their story. Therefore, the audience has the privilege of getting first-hand information regarding the attitudes of those kids towards their lives and their mothers’ jobs. The children initially seem contented with their lives, but later, their attitudes change, and they become optimistic towards changing their lifestyles.

The shakiness of the film reveals that Briski shot the film with a camera on her shoulder. This style of shooting makes viewers imagine the situation at the brothels. Viewers get the real feeling of life in a brothel. Her decision to use natural light and the inclusion of all the noise in the background further reinforces this feeling. Furthermore, she does not sharpen the images; she opts to leave them the way she shot them to depict the gravity the occurrences at the brothel.

The poor living standards and Briski’s tone while describing the lives of the kids can make anyone sympathize with them. Her narration creates a sad mood in most parts of the film. She describes the desperation of the kids and their readiness to join their mothers’ trade as soon as they come of age.

Post-viewing

The main aim that Briski had while making this film was to encourage hopeless children. She helps the children of prostitutes discover that they can earn a living from photography. In addition, when she takes them to school, she helps them know that they do not have to be prostitutes in order to survive. The producer of the movie used both the narrator’s and the kids’ points of view to emphasize her message. The two perspectives bring objectivity in the film.

The film is effective in communicating its message due to its ability to convince viewers. Viewers hear from the children and also witness all the activities that happen in Calcutta. However, it does not involve their parents so much. Involving them could have helped the audience understand why they chose to be prostitutes.

I think Briski wanted her audience to sympathize with the children and contribute both financially and morally towards eradicating poverty and suffering. She covers the initial situation and the new situation of the children with the aim of convincing viewers to support them. She succeeds in appealing to the viewers’ reason and emotions by describing and letting the kids talk about their situation. When I watched the film, I also felt sympathetic to the kids, and I wished I could do something to help them come out of their suffering.

Question to the filmmaker

What are your long-term plans for solving the problems that such children face?