''Girlhood, which was shot in 16 millimeter, is a bare-bones affair, as spare as the juvenile institution in which much of it was filmed. At Waxter, Megans need for attention and affection, her vulnerablity, are on display for everyone to see. Megan, the more unruly of the two is a little older than Shanae. Shanae Owens and Megan Jensen in girlhood. When she originally returned to Baltimore, Megan's life went downhill. "Oprah: Where Are They Now?" Thankfully, her parents point out that being dead is definitely WORSE than being in detention! Like Us On Facebook | Follow Us On Twitter. What both girls crave is the stabilizing force of a caring and responsible mother. As the documentary end, it is clear that Megan is afraid to trust others. Shanae was reintegrated well by her . Garbus followed Shanaes suggestion and was determined to include her in her film. girlhood documentary - Next Step Online Her anger keeps her going. The films protagonists, Megan Jensen and Shanae Watkins. Additionally, the film has also been criticized for ignoring the workers at Waxter. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/29/movies/film-review-documentary-illuminates-young-lives-crossroads-redemption.html 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. Profile of Liz Garbus by the Center for Social Media, Movie Fire Craker Website (Liz Garbus Film Website), Your email address will not be published. In Garbus film, Shanae and Megans girlhood set up a dichotomy: girlhood is good, everything else threatening, extraneous and intrusive, instead of part of the story of girlhood itself. 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. 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? She is briefly reunited with her mother but cannot forgive her for not being there when she needed her most. We have already learned that starting at the age of 10, Shanae began drinking alcohol heavily, was running away from home and having unprotected sex. Most of these reasons were actually some of the primary themes in Liz Garbus' documentary Girlhood, which followes the lives of these young women for three years from the . In Garbus version of their lives, these experiences do not bring them down. They emerge triumphant; their girlhood, we end up hoping, will be salvaged. LA Times reviewer Manohla Dargis notes, Garbus obsession with levity ultimately triumphs, leaving us with an unfinished picture: [T]o turn complex and contradictory lives into palatable narratives, is one of the least-examined pitfalls in nonfiction filmmaking. Filled with a new sense of hope and ambition, Megan got her life together, pursuing an education and focusing on her family. The Girlhood documentary highlights the plight of girls in juvenile centers with some psychological disorders. Girlhood | Film Review | Spirituality & Practice GIRLHOOD - Dennis Schwartz Reviews I believe that you cant examine this increasing youth crime problem among girls without studying how the capitalist system effects social conditions. She has a total of two children and she has graduated from college. Because the film does not incorporate the juvenile system that fails Megan and others like her, the focus of the film becomes on the distinction between mothers who neglect their children and mothers who do not. There was nothing in this film that led me to believe that society has a handle on the current youth crime situation, and that made me sadder than the plight of these two confused girls who were trying to grow up too fast and came up short. Liz Garbus, who was nominated for an Academy Award in 1999 for The Farm: Angola, USA, shoots in her latest an unflinching cinema verite documentary about two teenager girls who committed violent crimes and are now incarcerated at Marylands Waxter Juvenile Facility. 794 Words. 1103 Words. FILM REVIEW; A Documentary Illuminates Young Lives at the Crossroads of 'Girlhood' compelling and frustrating, too - Baltimore Sun 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. The girls crimes obviously color their experiences of girlhood, but they are humanized by Garbus editorial choices through camera angles, the stories we hear, the presentation of various sympathetic or irresponsible adults that accessorize and control the girls lives. In an interview with NPR, the films director, Liz Garbus, admits that Girlhood was originally a documentary about incarcerated boys, but the girls stories were more interesting to her. Megan had given up, and even ended up back in jail. 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. Documentary Review: girlhood by Liz Garbus | The Woyingi Blog Excerpt from Essay : Girlhood juvenile delinquents, Shanae Megan, Waxter Juvenile Facility Maryland. Garbus, L. (Director). 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. Megan also leaves Waxter. This led to a pregnancy at the age of 11 which her mother arranged for her to have terminated because it was feared that because of Shanaes heavy-drinking the baby would have fetal alcohol syndrome. Your email address will not be published. By age 10, she had been committed to two psychiatric hospitals and diagnosed as manic-depressive. Shanae moves into a lower security halfway house because her mother does not feel ready to take her back home. Too often, I have seen parents make excuses for their children and this I feelhas actually stunted their childrens moral growth and led to them continuing to commit violent acts. Shanae was only 11 at the time and had tumbled into a numbed existence of drinking and drugs after being gang-raped by five boys. By end fil There are a number of reasons for why Shanae was able to turn her life around whereas Megan was not. We follow them over a period of about three years. Mary Celeste Kearney writes that in approaching girlhood, sociological research, interestingly, often focused on female juvenile delinquency. In recent years, however, Girlhood Studies has grown to include and account for multiple narratives of girlhood, and actively attempts not to make girlhood inferior to womanhood, or take it less seriously. "I started using cocaine, I was strung out on drugs -- bad. Or do some simply have the psychological equipment to move on while others don't? As she grows up, she realizes that she cannot rely on anyone and starts to take better care or herself. Volatile, articulate and desperately needy, Megan seethes with bitterness at having been abandoned by her mother, Vernessa, a heroin addict and prostitute, who has spent many years in prison. That was 11 years ago. If the movie suggests that a strong mother-daughter bond is the key to a successful rehabilitation, it is too intelligent to belabor that notion. April 24, 2023. Girlhood (2003) - Plot - IMDb While Shanae, the victim of a horrendous violent crime herself as a child, has difficulty coming to grips with the murder she's committed, she's clearly an intelligent, charismatic, and, most importantly, motivated girl. In the documentary "Girlhood, " the two main characters Shanae Hanna has won numerous writing awards. She gets her place to live. ~ (Source: Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide). She was farmed out to live with a foster parent. Her emotional responses are not well adjusted. Gender Roles In The Film Girlhood. 4 Pages. What Shows Have Been Renewed or Canceled. And now I'm doing this film about a little girl, and in many ways she's a precursor to Megan. So what will be the fate of Shanae and Megan when they leave Waxter? Garbus encountered the girls at the Waxter Juvenile Facility in Baltimore while making a television documentary about the boys incarcerated there. Girlhood (Dir: Liz Garbus, 2003) | Feminist Films in the Swarthmore These girls are the subjects of Liz Garbus' documentary, Girlhood. The first example is how wary she is of strangers (Eysenck, 2015). 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. She demonstrates that you can support and love your child while not making excuses for them. Follows two female inmates - victims of horrific violence and tragedy - who are serving time in a Maryland juvenile detention center.Documentary chronicling America's justice system. No matter how optimistic I am, when I am reaching out to young women, I need to understand different backgrounds. Is the Megan inside Waxter the same Megan outside Waxter? 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. Megan also shows that she has self-efficacy. Shanae also does well in school finishing fourth in her class. The documentary follows the plight of Megan and Shanae (Garbus, 2003). Last night I watched a documentary called, GIRLHOOD based on two young girls in the Baltimore juvenile detention center, Waxter. Copyright 2006 - 2023 by CIStems, Inc., d.b.a. Shanae, an African-American who has been at Waxter for two years when the film begins, was sent there after stabbing a girl to death in a knife fight. Because of the serious nature of her crime Shanae has been locked up for over two years and is anxious to go home when the film begins, but showing no remorse for her crime and acting like an obnoxious brat. Documentary chronicling America's justice system. She angrily lashes out at the girl, but shows no remorse when she finds out that she died. Megan grew up without the love and support of her mother who was in prison for drugs and prostitution.
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