Life on the streets in a community where drugs are readily available offers her plenty of opportunities to repeat the same mistakes. Revise AS Level Psychology. But in [Garbus] attempt to give their lives a shape that the girls themselves seem to resist, this talented filmmaker has done both herself and them a disservice.. And now I'm doing this film about a little girl, and in many ways she's a precursor to Megan. Documentary chronicling America's justice system. She gets her place to live. For example, once the girls are out of Waxter, we see Shanae is doing well in school and even goes to her prom. Is the Megan inside Waxter the same Megan outside Waxter? I think this movie proves this country gives children nothing but lip service. So what will be the fate of Shanae and Megan when they leave Waxter? Liz Garbus has made other films about life in prison, such as the Academy Award Winning The Farm: Angola. What factors do you think played a part in . Her emotional responses are not well adjusted. Megan, the other young offender continues to practise delinquent . We wont be able to verify your ticket today, but its great to know for the future. She was farmed out to live with a foster parent. Garbus in her commentary points out that Shanae does not believe that the gang rape should be seen as some sort of excuse for her murdering her friend. 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. In the second segment, she runs away from foster homes to try to live with her mother. A wild, tough-talking girl of mixed race who has run away from 10 foster homes, she was incarcerated for attacking another foster child with a box cutter. girlhood tells the story of Shanae Owensand Megan Jensen. 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. 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. Often it's not enough. 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. 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 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, Garbus suggests that this is due to the lack of adequate recreational activities in Waxter (Garbus, 2003). 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. Today, the Baltimore native is living in North Carolina and acknowledges that she wasn't in a good place during her "Oprah Show" appearance. Over the years, Megan has run away from most of her foster homes in a desperate attempt to reunite with her mother. With the girls going nowhere at Waxter, they were given a new lease on life by changing facilities. Girlhood Movie Analysis. murdering another girl after the two got into an argument. Megan Jensen had a difficult childhood. Copyright 2022 My Essay Writer. 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. Megan admits to having a special relationship with a fellow inmate which seems to be of a romantic nature. But Garbus way of humanizing, in some instances, obfuscates the complexity of struggle, survival and the bad from the girls girlhood. Garbus remarks that the structure within Waxter allows the girls to actually be girls. The film is told from the girls subjective viewpoint and plays as a coming of age story. 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. EDPY 303.005 Dr. Armstrong 08 May 2018 Girlhood (2003) Documentary Introduction: The topics presented in this paper include the effects of trauma on two young girls and their incarceration after committing violent assaults. AMCTheatres.com or AMC App New. What both girls crave is the stabilizing force of a caring and responsible mother. Shot on digital video and Super 8 film over the course of three years, "Girlhood" provides a partial account of what happened to Shanae and Megan under the state's alternately guarded and. she has come a long way from this documentry i love and am so proud of my sistrr. 4 Pages. At 14, she was hit by a stray bullet during a gunfight. This paradoxical relationship with her parent is evident (Brody & Dwyer, 2016). Begin typing your search term above and press enter to search. recently followed up with Megan to see what had happened after the show. "Oprah: Where Are They Now?" Megan on the other hand, has a more difficult time staying out of trouble and maintaining good grades. Megan admits that when she leaves Waxter she will only be going back to another foster home. At the beginning of the documentary, Shanae and Megan are 14 and 16, serving time for murder and assault, respectively. Shanae had to go to a lower security facility before her mother was convinced that she was rehabilitated. See production, box office & company info. She angrily lashes out at the girl, but shows no remorse when she finds out that she died. Why is Shanae in the juvenile facility? She gave birth to a daughter and moved to North Carolina in an effort to start anew. 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. 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. Eysenck, M. (2015). Essay Sample Check Writing Quality. Girlhood Directed by Liz Garbus Documentary, Crime Not Rated 1h 22m By Stephen Holden Oct. 29, 2003 Liz Garbus's hard-headed documentary film ''Girlhood'' is prefaced with an unsettling. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. A child of the 1990s, I was a voracious reader of The Baby-Sitters Club book series by Ann M. Martin, which detailed the friendships of a group of young babysitters in Connecticut. Garbus follows Shanae and Megan over a three-year period as they move through the juvenile system, struggle with mixed feelings toward their mothers, comment on the efforts of the staff to set them on the straight and narrow, and try to cope with the changes in their lives. Her anger keeps her going. In the documentary, she is always trying to contact either the mother or the grandmother. The third is her reluctance to become close with others. Everything is "for the children"; however, this is powerful evidence to the contrary. 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. 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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Megan is doing great for herself Thankfully, her parents point out that being dead is definitely WORSE than being in detention! MPAA rating: Unrated. 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. As the film progresses we see Shanae go from feeling very little remorse or even understanding of the consequences of her violent actions, to feeling real remorse and a sense of responsiblity. In one of the scenes, she even says that no one loves her. The popular phrase "Out of sight, out of mind" expresses the indifference of most Americans toward young offenders serving time in juvenile facilities. FILM REVIEW; A Documentary Illuminates Young Lives at the Crossroads of Redemption and Devastation, https://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/29/movies/film-review-documentary-illuminates-young-lives-crossroads-redemption.html. In class we watched the video Girlhood. We now have the best team of essay writers in the world. Her crime was that at 14 she cut up another girl with a box cutter in a dispute, and since shes been at the facility has gotten into some kind of trouble every day. I didnt see any reason to be as guardedly optimistic as Ms. Garbus seemed to be about stemming this problem through good parenting and realizing that teens are smarter than we think, and sometimes they have no choice but to figure things out by themselves. The girls have traumatic experiences that affect their relationship with others. Her future appears shaky. Megan, 16, was also involved in a fight and was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon. Hanna has won numerous writing awards. (2003). "I just lost all respect for myself," she says. 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. But its staff emerges as a caring if overstressed group of people who do what they can to steer the girls in their charge toward a productive life. Your email address will not be published. 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. A lot of this seems due in part to her mother Antoinettes support. 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. Humanizing those who have committed crimes especially children is a good thing to do, and certainly expands the viewers capacity to embrace complicated narratives and emotions. The majority of her life, her mother was either on the streets giving into her drug addiction or incarcerated for prostitution charges. 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. airs Sundays at 9 p.m. Their stories are depicted in the 2003 documentary Girlhood. http://sites.google.com/view/ehdwjwbxfu/linkedlist-member-modification-c, Your email address will not be published. At one point, Megan states that she feels that she is an old woman trapped in a young womans body because she has so much to regret. 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. Girlhood focuses on the life of two young juveniles, Shanae Owens and Megan Jensen both incarcerated for violent crimes. How A Violent Teen Who Had Given Up On Life Turned It All Around. Both girls are likable, smart young women struggling to overcome traumatic backgrounds. Running time: 88 minutes. Early in the film it is apparent that Shanae doesn't really feel remorseful for the murder of her friend. The disrupted attachment led to a paradoxical relationship with the caregivers in Waxter (Shaffer & Kipp, 2010). 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). Shanae was raped by five teenagers when she was eleven and then was arrested and convicted for stabbing a friend to death with a knife when she was twelve. Developmental Psychology: Childhood & Adolescence: Childhood and Adolescence. 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. Shanae is 14 and has served two years at Waxter for the murder of her friend, a crime she committed when she as only 12 years old. Other aspects reveal themselves when she grows older. The first example is how wary she is of strangers (Eysenck, 2015). Unlike Megan, who ends up bitter, Shanae has a positive outlook that things will become better. She is often well behaved, but she still shows bouts of mischief. Open Document. In the beginning, Shanae is not remorseful for committing murder (Garbus, 2003). Abandoned by her mother, a heroin addict turned prostitute, Megan ran away from then different foster homes before being arrested on assault charges. She stays briefly at another foster home before running away to live with friends and eventually by herself in the treacherous East Baltimore neighborhood where she got into trouble. The documentary follows the plight of Megan and Shanae (Garbus, 2003). 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. By age 10, she had been committed to two psychiatric hospitals and diagnosed as manic-depressive. The documentary follows the plight of Megan and Shanae (Garbus, 2003). One may wonder how Antoinette could be a good parent considering all the trouble Shanae got into at such a young age. Miriam Kruishoop (Greencard Warriors) has signed on to write and direct Hood Girls, a narrative feature based on the life stories of the two subjects of Liz Garbus 2003 documentary Girlhood. By what name was Girlhood (2003) officially released in Canada in English? Footage of the two girls is then followed along with more title cards that give insight into the crimes they have committed. The structure of Waxter allowed Megan to be a child, the streets provide no structure and force her to be more of an adult than most adults ever have to be. Decent Essays. 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. Even though she does not get the chance to further her education, she avoids returning to a life of crime (Garbus, 2003). "I'm happy now.". Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations. She receives more family support than Megan is, but she does not seem to reciprocate it at the beginning of the film. Anyone can read what you share. When Megans mom got released from jail, she even lived there for awhile. 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. Shanae was reintegrated well by her . The title of the film is overly simple and, to an extent, revealing in its simplicity. We are introduced to them while they are incarcerated in Waxter Juvenile Detention Center, just outside of Baltimore, Maryland. The documentary "Girlhood" follows the lives of two girls, Shanae and Megan, from 1999-2002, during and shortly after their release from Waxter Juvenile Facility in Maryland. That was 11 years ago. Ecological Framework I dont think girls are really less aggressive than boys, nor do I think we should somehow pathologize aggressive and violent behaviour by girls but see it as a given among boys. By end fil There are a number of reasons for why Shanae was able to turn her life around whereas Megan was not. In her commentary on the film, available on the DVD, Garbus admits to being struck by Shanaes intelligence and cutesiness (she was wearing pigtails at the time) and then shocked to discover that Shanae was locked up for murder! She has a total of two children and she has graduated from college. Megan was shuffled through 11 different foster homes, running away from all except one. Girlhood Worksheet Please complete this worksheet based on the film Girlhood. 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. However, after the collective effort from her mother and rehabilitation officers, she becomes emotionally expressive. 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. Dennis Schwartz: Ozus World Movie Reviews, Copyright 2023 - Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews. Directed by Liz Garbus; director of photography, Tony Hardmon; edited by Mary Manhardt; music by Theodore Shapiro; produced by Ms. Garbus and Rory Kennedy; released by Wellspring. I think this is key to Shanaes eventual success. Garbus, director of the acclaimed prison documentary, The Farm: Angola, USA, examines the disparate fates of these girls and their very different treatment at the hands of the juvenile justice system. Inside, she is desperately frightened of becoming just like her. Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. "I didn't know how to love anybody or to depend on people because I never had anyone stable enough in my life to actually show me that kind of love and compassion.". Megan is 16 and is in Waxter for Assault with a deadly weapon. Unfortunately, this meant that she wasnt around to supervise Shanae. 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. Megan grew up without the love and support of her mother who was in prison for drugs and prostitution. ''Girlhood,'' which follows Shanae and Megan over three years beginning in 1999, doesn't pretend that a place like Waxter can hope to do the job by itself. This problem has been solved! AQA Psychology: AS and A-level Year 1. 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. Shanae is a plump black girl who mentions she lost her virginity in the Baltimore projects when she was 10, was raped by 5 boys at 11, and did drugs in her adolescent years as she hung out with the wrong friends. I believe that you cant examine this increasing youth crime problem among girls without studying how the capitalist system effects social conditions. Third, Shanae becomes emotionally expressive. Garbus rigidity in framing the girls experiences does not allow for the expansiveness and complexity allowed by new theories of girlhood. These girls are the subjects of Liz Garbus' documentary, Girlhood. We were introduced to Shanae, a young girl, convicted of murder. No matter how optimistic I am, when I am reaching out to young women, I need to understand different backgrounds. T he 'Girlhood' documentary highlights the plight of girls in juvenile centers with some psychological disorders. The difference between one girl supposedly climbing out of her bad situation and the other continuing in her dead-end path, is seen as a matter of good parenting and a child willing to change her bad ways. 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. Shanae also does well in school finishing fourth in her class. Gender Roles In The Film Girlhood. From there she enrolls in high school, where she places fourth in her class, and plans to attend a community college. A wild, tough-talking girl of mixed race who has run away from 10 foster homes, she was incarcerated for attacking another foster child with a box cutter. Megan professes a love for her absentee and irresponsible mother, but does not receive the same support that Shanae gets from her more caring mom. ET on OWN. Shanae was arrested for murder at the age of 12, after stabbing a friend to death. Your email address will not be published. Lock 'em up and keep them off the streets is the familiar cry. Of the two only Shanae receives that nurturing, and it seems to make all the difference. Liz Garbus made The Farm: Angola, USA in 1998, a riveting documentary about six men in a Louisiana penitentiary; it was nominated for an Academy Award. This is the latest feature-length non-fiction film from documentarian Liz Garbus, who has spotlighted imprisonment in 2002's "The Execution of Wanda June" and the 1998 Oscar-nominee "The Farm: Angola USA." As with those two films, "Girlhood" looks at the incarceration of violent-crime offenders. April 24, 2023. What Shows Have Been Renewed or Canceled. Megan, we are told, has been in 11 foster houses by the age of 16. 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. She portrays this by her apprehensive response that she gives to her parent. Filled with a new sense of hope and ambition, Megan got her life together, pursuing an education and focusing on her family. Megan also leaves Waxter. In my own opinion, considering that Megan has to do all this on her own, hers is the greater achievement. At the opening of the film girlhood by Liz Garbus, viewers are informed that the rates of young girls being charged with violent crimes is on the increase in the United States. Required fields are marked *. The film, however, makes Shanae and Megans girlhoods into victory stories when, instead, they are something much more complex. We also met Megan, who, unlike Shanae, was not at the . 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. An Ijaw Story: JOURNEY TO THE PRESENCE OF WOYINGI, Africas 100 Best Books of the 20th Century, African Regional Links: Central/Middle Africa, Literature from the Black African Diaspora, Documentary Review: girlhood by Liz Garbus, Countries: Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Black Canadians of Afro-Caribbean Descent. She had lived in an environment that was full of disruption. As the documentary end, it is clear that Megan is afraid to trust others. Confronted with her crime, Shanae is strangely detached and has little memory of the incident. It is during Shanaes interview to get into the lower security facility that we learn that she was also gang raped by five men. On Not Rejecting Girlhood: A Conversation with Megan Milks and Marisa Crawford. 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. Shanaes ability to feel remorse for her actions is seen as a key benchmark that needs to be achieved before she can leave Waxter. The protagonists are Shanae Owens and Megan Jensen. 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. This comment is echoed by Mr. Godsey, a staff at the facility, who states in the film that although the girls dont like structure they need it because they havent had it at home. The film will center on two prisoners serving. Additionally, she still struggles after growing up, but she ensures that she never becomes an addict (Garbus, 2003). Girl Hood is a documentary film directed and produced by Liz Garbus that follows two teenage girls, Shanae and Megan, over the span of three years, from the time they are in the all-girls juvenile detention center at Thomas J.S Waxter Childrens Center in Laurel, Maryland, to when they are out in the real world. 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 . Shanae started drinking with her cousin. Feb 26th, 2022 Published. 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). Even though her parent is giving her support, she was still scared of Shanae. Shanae moves into a lower security halfway house because her mother does not feel ready to take her back home. Additionally, the film has also been criticized for ignoring the workers at Waxter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/girlhood-subjects-get-narrative-feature-829762 This film is not rated. [Need anessay writing service? Finally, she becomes distraught when her relationship with her mother ends. Treating the girls girlhoods as linear stories of overcoming erases the fullness, pain and challenge of all that comprises their girlhoods. Garbus followed Shanaes suggestion and was determined to include her in her film. But while researching junvenile detention centres she met Shanae who suggested that she make a film about girls. Find help here.]. This leads to her eventual rehabilitation from delinquency. Director Liz Garbus See production, box office & company info Search on Amazon search for Blu-ray and DVD Add to Watchlist Added by 1.8K users 8 User reviews At the Quad Cinema, 34 West 13th Street, Greenwich Village. Wake up to the day's most important news. 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. The system essentially gives up on trying to control her and turns her loose to fend for herself. ESSAY WRITING SERVICE SAMPLE: LANGUAGE ACQUISITION, ESSAY WRITING SAMPLE: CORNING INC. COMPANY PROFILE CASE STUDY, RESEARCH PAPER ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY: THE ISRAEL-PALESTINE CONFLICT, How realism, a theory of International Relations, can apply to Foreign Policy, SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY: GIRLHOOD MOVIE REVIEW. Once Shanae begins to face the reality of what she did, she is transferred to a group home and begins to flourish. She responded by drinking and drugging, and then at age 12, graduated to murder. Shanae is 14 and has served two years at Waxter for the murder of her friend, a crime she committed when she as only 12 years old. The title Girlhood splits in two on the opening credits, with "girl" and "hood" on separate lines. By Kate Durbin 07/14/2021. Your email address will not be published. Furthermore, at the end of the documentary, she enrolls in a community college nearby. Her father's locked up. Shanae and Megans girlhoods contain all that which other parts of life contain, and to think of Garbus idea of girlhood as winning at the end of the film is short-sighted and perhaps fails to move forward with Girlhood Studies attention to complexity and fullness (including pain) of this part of life for her subjects. Megan, the more unruly of the two is a little older than Shanae. After watching the documentary, it is easy to see that Megans environment has contributed greatly to her childhood and ultimately her adult life. Just check our reviews! On the other hand, Girl Hood creates an uncomfortable comparison between Shanae and Megan and their relationship with their mothers. The film leaves us with a final mystery about human development. At twelve years old Shanae was involved in a fight that ended with Shanae stabbing and killing a young girl.

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