Poverty in Movies

In my previous post, I embedded a video about a young boy describing a day in his life of poverty. In the following scene from the movie the Pursuit of Happiness, based on a true story, a father, played by Will Smith, and his son, played by Jaden Smith, find themselves without a place to spend the night. 

Parents do a lot as it is to protect their children and keep them safe, but imagine trying to provide for your child, but having no means of doing so. People living like this feel helpless, they feel like they have no one and nowhere to turn to. If a parent is worried about when their next meal will be, the child is most certainly not going to get as much attention as a typical child would like to have from its parents. A child may get the impression that the parent is purposefully neglecting them. Even in this emotional movie clip one can see how distraught the father is and how snappy he gets when his son asks where they are going. However, the father thinks of a creative way to distract his son from the harsh reality that they are going through. It is so incredible to see how these characters manage to make it through the night. It is so moving to see the father's desperate attempts at keeping anyone from finding him and his son spending the night in a public bathroom. It is a sad sight to see, but this sort of thing happens everyday and we don't even know it. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

A Day in Poverty

What do you think of when you hear the word 'poverty?

When I think of poverty, I think of people suffering, not necessarily physically, but also spiritually. I think of people in tattered clothes, asking for charity. I think of people living life day by day not knowing what will come next. 

But that's just me being stereotypical.

The last thing I would think of is a well-dressed little boy with a big imagination. In the following video, you hear a young German boy recounting the wonderful day he had last week.

After watching this video, I was truly in touched by the way that the little boy described his day with such a positive attitude. He is actually living a life of poverty and makes it seem like such an extravagant lifestyle. I just really think that it is interesting to see poverty from a more innocent and child-like perspective.  Of course, he probably felt the pressure to exaggerate in order to prove himself to the rest of his classmates. Maybe he really wishes to live a life like the one that the describes. It was a bit sad to hear the girl at the end of the video call him a liar because "it is not possible to have such a nice day." The way that she says it makes the girl sound so spiteful, but at the end it almost sounds like she's jealous of his "nice day." This comment visibly upsets the little boy, not only because it makes him feel guilty, but also because it makes him feel like an outcast in his own classroom.

In a much broader perspective, the little boy telling the story symbolizes all the people in this world living in poverty. His classmates are the rest of society and how they are so quick to judge. The fact that this video is from a powerful European country shows the universality of poverty. It comes in many shapes and sizes. In all sorts of different situations.

How did you react to this video? Did your image of poverty change?

Poverty and the 2012 Presidential Election

With the upcoming presidential election, a variety of social and economic issues have been put in the spotlight. Recently, Christian leaders of "The Circle of Protection" asked the two candidates for presidency, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, about their plans to reduced poverty in the U.S.. Poverty is such a serious issue that it is influencing the future outcome of the 2012 presidential election. In the following article, Jim Wallis, a Christian leader, writes about this ever-present moral issue that is playing a part in America's future.

We Asked, They Answered: Obama, Romney on Poverty

First of all, I think that it is great that Obama and Romney are addressing the problem and discussing their ideas to end poverty. After reading the article, I found it interesting how Christian leaders from different groups and associations are brought together by their common concern about poverty. They all responded to the recent statistics from the United States Census Bureau that 15% of people in the U.S. are currently living at or under the poverty line. To put this in monetary terms, the typical income for a family of four living at the poverty line is $23,021, while the annual income of an average American household is $50,054. Can you imagine living on less than half the average income? Can you imagine having to choose between those shoes you've been planning to buy and a week's worth of food for your family? Can you imagine relentlessly searching for work while keeping up with the two other jobs you have so you can take care of your family's needs?

Can you imagine the courage and humility it takes to ask a stranger for food?

That is the cruel reality of 46 million people in our country.

Poverty

Poverty is the state of having little or no money to support oneself. I decided to choose this topic for my research because it is a worldwide issue that I really want to address. Poverty is everywhere. When I was little growing up in Ecuador, I would always see small children selling candy on the streets so that they could afford a meal that would last them the entire day. Even though I saw that sort of thing every day, the real reason for my interest in poverty began when I started volunteering at my church's food pantry. That experience really opened my eyes and made me wonder how difficult their day-to-day lives must be. Therefore, I would like to learn more about it and its effects on society as a whole.