Oprah later told her she was the first person she had interviewed who had ever walked out on her. Garbus followed Shanaes suggestion and was determined to include her in her film. At first, Shanae shows no remorse over killing another human being, but gradually she takes a hard look at what she did and is sorry. Unfortunately, this meant that she wasnt around to supervise Shanae. The film then narrows its focus to concentrate on the lives of two teenagers, Shanae Owens and Megan Jensen, both incarcerated for assault at the Waxter Juvenile Facility in Baltimore. Megan was shuffled through 11 different foster homes, running away from all except one. She was farmed out to live with a foster parent. She is briefly reunited with her mother but cannot forgive her for not being there when she needed her most. 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). Film Review by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat As she grows up, she realizes that she cannot rely on anyone and starts to take better care or herself. The documentary Girlhood offers an insight on the emotional, psychological, and social reasoning behind the girl's actions. This leads to her eventual rehabilitation from delinquency. Documentary chronicling America's justice system. The documentary, indeed, treats girlhood as its subject a phase of life distinct from womanhood, childhood or any other experience. In the documentary, we learn that she runs away from foster care eleven times, ten before Waxter and once more after leaving Waxter. ''Girlhood'' is the newest entry in Ms. Garbus's long list of socially concerned documentaries made for theaters and television. What was particularly sad was the uninspired rehabilitation measures tried by the staff at Waxter, as the girls received little help that was useful and seemed to be going buggy in an atmosphere where the staff might have been decent but were certainly clueless on how to treat the girls. By Kate Durbin 07/14/2021. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. In contrast to Shanaes successes, when out of Waxter, Megan soon runs away from her foster home with no consequences (despite the fact that staying in foster care is a requirement of her patrol), couch surfs for a while and eventually gets her own place with her cousin. When we meet Megan at Waxter it is clear that she is something of a troublemaker but probably more out of boredom than any malice (Garbus in her DVD commentary says that Megan is actually a very respectful young woman and that one of her main criticism of the Waxter Facility is that there is not really much structured activities for the inmates.). Interviews. Gender Roles In The Film Girlhood. Shanae even overcomes the death of her mom three months later from a heart attack and goes on to graduate from a public high school and enroll in a community college. Megan is 16 and is in Waxter for Assault with a deadly weapon. 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. She had many problems communicating with her foster parents, and she ran away ten times before she had even been arrested for aggravated assault. From there she enrolls in high school, where she places fourth in her class, and plans to attend a community college. 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. At the Quad Cinema, 34 West 13th Street, Greenwich Village. "I just lost all respect for myself," she says. This documentary really touched me and made me so much more grateful for my environment and support. Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. Garbus rigidity in framing the girls experiences does not allow for the expansiveness and complexity allowed by new theories of girlhood. At Waxter, Megans need for attention and affection, her vulnerablity, are on display for everyone to see. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. She perseveres through challenges in life. In the documentary Girlhood, Liz Garbus follows two young women who have encountered numerous misfortunes in the past that led them to implement their violent offences. This paradoxical relationship with her parent is evident (Brody & Dwyer, 2016). Additionally, the film has also been criticized for ignoring the workers at Waxter. Both girls are likable, smart young women struggling to overcome traumatic backgrounds. See production, box office & company info. She gets her place to live. Find help here.]. Over the years, Megan has run away from most of her foster homes in a desperate attempt to reunite with her mother. http://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-nov-14-et-girlhood14-story.html recently followed up with Megan to see what had happened after the show. Your email address will not be published. [Write my essay for me? Get help here.]. Excerpt from Essay : Girlhood juvenile delinquents, Shanae Megan, Waxter Juvenile Facility Maryland. Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations. Third, Shanae becomes emotionally expressive. Megan, a pretty girl with a devilish gleam in her eye, tries to get by on charm, but she doesn't have Shanae's focus. Megan admits that when she leaves Waxter she will only be going back to another foster home. Press ESC to cancel. airs Sundays at 9 p.m. Her future appears shaky. Early in the film it is apparent that Shanae doesn't really feel remorseful for the murder of her friend. Question: In the documentary "Girlhood, " the two main characters Shanae and Megan had two very different reintegration experiences after being placed in a detention center. These girls are the subjects of Liz Garbus' documentary, Girlhood. Shanaes development has been disrupted. The title of the film is overly simple and, to an extent, revealing in its simplicity. Before starting the film girlhood, she actually meant to do a film about young men in juvenile detention centres because from her work on the film Angola, she was intrigued and disturbed by how many of the inmates there said they had learned the tricks of their trade from their experiences in juvenile detention. That Ms. Garbus was able to get so close to her likable subjects and allow us to see that they are not quite the monsters we might perceive from reading the newspapers about such bad girls, is what makes this film so special. Megan Jensen is doing very well in life. 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. Second, she is distressed when her mother leaves. 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. Shanae had to go to a lower security facility before her mother was convinced that she was rehabilitated. "I am halfway through my Associates in Arts degree. 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. The juvenile justice system serves her well, because she's deeply involved in forging her own path. Megan, after a failed escape attempt from Waxter, goes into another foster home. 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, 16, was also involved in a fight and was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon. This problem has been solved! Megan is not malicious, and her mischief is probably a cry for attention. Megan Jensen had a difficult childhood. So the question is to what degree do we all have to support children whose families cant? http://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-nov-14-et-girlhood14-story.html, http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/29/movies/film-review-documentary-illuminates-young-lives-crossroads-redemption.html, http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/girlhood-subjects-get-narrative-feature-829762, http://sites.google.com/view/ehdwjwbxfu/linkedlist-member-modification-c, this dissertation provides a compelling argument. By what name was Girlhood (2003) officially released in Canada in English? For example, once the girls are out of Waxter, we see Shanae is doing well in school and even goes to her prom. 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.. A lot of this seems due in part to her mother Antoinettes support. Antoinette does her best in extremely difficult circumstances. As a child, her mother was absent. 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 . Shanae was ten years old when she was gang-raped by five boys. The film then changes focus on Megan and her deteriorating relationship with her mother. On Not Rejecting Girlhood: A Conversation with Megan Milks and Marisa Crawford. Of the two only Shanae receives that nurturing, and it seems to make all the difference. Part of HuffPost News. 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. 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 . Both Megan and Shanae share similar viewpoints for example, they mention that their role model is . The film is also said to be informative regarding the significance of the relationship between mothers and daughters. Everything is "for the children"; however, this is powerful evidence to the contrary. Make sure to answer each of the questions as thoroughly as possible. Finally, she becomes distraught when her relationship with her mother ends. Impact of Trauma ET on OWN. The disrupted attachment led to a paradoxical relationship with the caregivers in Waxter (Shaffer & Kipp, 2010). Shanaes ability to feel remorse for her actions is seen as a key benchmark that needs to be achieved before she can leave Waxter. Shanae, after much perseverance, overcoming her appalling behaviours and graduate from high school. 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. 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. 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. 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. Our company is proud to host more than 80 of North Americas best essay writers. 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. Girlhood misses some of the nuance of the girlhoods that it seeks to document in a few ways. 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. However, the film ignores their concerns regarding the young girls and regarding the system. Girlhood was shown at the 2003 Tribeca Film Festival and at the South by Southwest Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award. 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. Well, its also said to be on the increase here in Canada. 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). She tries to reach out to her mother multiple times despite being disappointed numerous times. ''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. Your email address will not be published. Spirituality & Practice. ''GIRLHOOD,'' a new documentary, is a poignant and often distressing look at the lives of two teenage girls, inmates at the Thomas J. S. Waxter Children's Center for juvenile detention near Baltimore. Shanae and Megan both experienced similar circumstances that yielded different outcomes. a. Shanae is in the juvenile facility for stabbing a friend to death in a fight. The 16-year-old Shanae was placed in the Florence Crittenton Group home and the slightly older Megan was rewarded for trying to run away by gaining her official freedom. I wasn't alone. Additionally, the film has been criticized for having the drama move the film along. 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! As the documentary end, it is clear that Megan is afraid to trust others. The popular phrase "Out of sight, out of mind" expresses the indifference of most Americans toward young offenders serving time in juvenile facilities. After watching the documentary, it is easy to see that Megans environment has contributed greatly to her childhood and ultimately her adult life. The documentary follows the plight of Megan and Shanae (Garbus, 2003). 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.
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