Born into brothels written and directed by Zana Briski is an eye opening participatory documentary displaying the life of prostitutes and the struggle their children go through. As I watched the distance between India and Australia evaporated. I was reminded through the searing honesty of the lens that being born a girl in some countries is a threat from the moment of birth. The atonal music and chaotic packed dark allies of Calcutta was enough to make me homesick. Born into Brothels is a brilliant portrayal of no text being neutral. Briski confronted the issues and brought much needed attention to the ethical issues faced by the children of the red light district of Calcutta. The documentary emphasises the children lives and positions the …show more content…
The atonal music is confronting to a westerner as many people have not heard music like this before. The opening scene was exquisitely crafted it had the audience enticed from the beginning. There were a couple parts during the documentary that I got somewhat bored but was lured back with deep emotions and the enthusiasm of the children. They are what made this documentary great, their passion to learn to use a camera sparked Briski’s idea. The children were easy to form connections with and formed a quick emotional connection to the audience. Some of the things that were said by the children had such a heavy meaning. As Avijit said “There is nothing called hope in my future.” These kids were talented and were articulated more so then many “privileged” westerners. While there is sadness and sorrow throughout the documentary there were also moments of joy. The way the kids’ faces lit up during their trip to the beach. Or how they were joyed to be at the zoo even if the animals weren’t really active or doing much. In privileged societies children complain or abuse the parents or animals if they aren’t doing …show more content…
Avijit is living in New York and is eager to work in photography and film. There was a lot of success from the documentary. There was also some failure all of Briskis hard to save these children paid off for some and others not too much. I will never be able to understand why the mothers didn’t allow their children this opportunity. There was a lot of pressure on the kids to go onto the line to make money. Also as a third or fourth generation prostitute it would be hard to break the
Barbara Amaya was sexually abused by members of her members at the age of ten. With a depressed state of mind, Barbara ran away from home at the age of twelve. It was then that she was taken off of the streets by a couple that had the desire to care for her. After a month of being cared for, the couple put her out on the streets for prostitution. Barbara was sold to another sex trafficker that transported her to New York where she experienced sex trafficking for eight years of her life. During this time Barbara was abused, shot, addicted to drugs, stabbed, raped, kidnapped, trafficked, beaten, and jailed. As a result of her addiction to methadone, Barbara was no longer a valuable asset to her trafficker. She was forced out on the streets of New York by herself. Today, Barbara is a sex traffic survivor, who occasionally has flashbacks of her past (Amaya).
The brothel boy is the main suspect when a local 12 year old girl is raped. The victim is found naked with a head wound being held by the brothel boy after a group of farmers hear a scream coming from the river. Since he was the only one there the villagers assumed he was the perpetrator. So they formed a mob and tried to get people’s justice by almost beating him to death. This small village is located in Burma before modern times. Many believe that the brothel boy committed this assault because he has worked in the brothel all his life, seeing the acts, and is very undereducated. The villagers are calling that the brothel boy be hanged for his crime because they fear he could do it again if he gets out. The brothel boy’s punishment all comes
Overall, though the series had some limitations it has showed us how people change, how education matters, and even for those who do not have education still have a chance to survive, have family and enjoy life as they intend it to be. One other aspect that makes the documentary remarkable is also it showed people that family background and environment by their own does not affect your outcome because people’s personhood is different and can evolve through time.
The overall theme of the documentary is women and girls oppression. However, in the specific story from Cambodia that was analyzed, the theme is the quote from Somaly Mam, “I help them but they help me.” There are two differences in similarities that are found. The first being prostitution and sex slavery; although they both involve the exchange of sex for money, prostitution is voluntary and sex slavery is not. The second is the differences in each girl’s story, even though they were all sold to brothels.
Social reproduction is the reproduction of cultural, human, and social capital in society. Therefore languages, traditions, cultural values, education, food security, and social circles are passed down from one generation to the next through Karl Mannheim’s concept of “fresh contact” and through society as a whole. Social reproduction is effective when social structures and equality within society are maintained. Inequality, poverty, and social changes that force society to adapt can impede the process of social reproduction causing what is known as a “crisis in social reproduction” (Wells, 2009). Born into Brothels demonstrates a crisis of social reproduction that negatively impacts the lives of children living in Sonagachi as a result of globalization, neoliberal policies, poverty, lack of adequate education and social structures to pass down capital, and the stigma of prostitution. Additionally, it shows the need for children to make economic contributions to their families that prevent them from leaving the brothel.
From Chapter 7 Question 1: Suppose you are going to participate in a class debate on decriminalizing prostitution. What arguments would you present in favor of decriminalization? What arguments would you present against decriminalization? In this day and age sex has become nothing more than another product that companies use to sell their products on the consumer market. Every product has been sexualized in some way, shape, or form; but when the topic of prostitution arises nobody want to talk about it. Prostitution is nothing more than another product that just happens to be sexual in nature; however there are laws prohibiting the engagement of sex for money or “gifts.” What people don’t realize is that every single sexually active adult engages
Recently, a horrendous gang rape and murder case in India has caused many people to speak out against sex crimes. A female medical student was beaten with metal rods, raped, and then thrown from a moving bus by four men. In response, many people have called for stricter laws dealing with sexual violence. This has also lead to some focus on the sex trafficking aspect of sexual violence. In an article by the Editorial Board of the New York Times, issues of enforcement were brought to light by explaining that sex trafficking is growing in India because of extreme poverty, “a gender imbalance resulting from sex-selective abortion practices,” and “India’s affluence.” The writers of “Sex Trafficking in India” adequately argue that in order to solve the issue of sex trafficking there needs to be stricter enforcement of existing laws that deal with sex crimes by appealing to their intended audience through statistics, expert testimonies, cause and effect, and descriptive language.
Should we decriminalize prostitution? Decriminalize means the removal of criminal penalties or the restrictions against something. In the article “How we should handle prostitution” by Simon Hedlin, Birgitta Ohlsson states that we should decriminalize prostitution. Decriminalizing prostitution means to remove the criminal penalties and the restrictions against prostitution. The thesis of the article is to decriminalize prostitution. Critics think by decriminalizing prostitution there would be an increase in human trafficking. In order to not decriminalize prostitution, the author says to decriminalize the selling of sex, but not the buying of sex. David Grosso is Washington Councilman. He wants to enter a legislation that decriminalize prostitution in the nation 's capital. Grosso says that America needs new laws for prostitution. The new laws that have to be made for prostitution have to “respect the fact that sex workers are human beings too." Critics think that by decriminalizing prostitution is going to get worse and increase human trafficking.
Over 2 million children are sold into sex trafficking each year (Global). Sold gives the eye-opening narrative of just one of them. I followed Lakshmi through her journey as she learned about life outside her small hometown in Nepal. She loved her mother and baby brother and worked hard to keep up with her repulsive step-father’s gambling habit. When given the opportunity to take a job that could provide for her family, Lakshmi accepted the offer. Unknowingly, she walked into the hands of horrible people who led her blindly on the path of prostitution. Discovering her fate, Lakshmi latched onto hope when all seemed bleak. After months of endless abuse, some Americans gave her the opportunity to escape her situation, and, thankfully, she took
In order to understand how sex trafficking affects its victims, one must first know the severity of sex trafficking and what it is. The issue of sex trafficking affects 2.5 million people at any given time (Abas et al., 2013). The form of sex slavery affects many women and children across the world. Even though both males and females are sexually trafficked and exploited, there is a deep emphasis on the sexual exploitation of women and children. This is due to gender discrimination (Miller, 2006). This is because women and children are more vulnerable and appeal to the larger populations of brothels and the so-called “clients” since the majority are men. Ecclestone (2013) stated that children as young as age three are trafficked. Sex trafficking has changed over time; “Today, the business of human sex trafficking is much more organized and violent. These women and young girls are sold to traffickers, locked up in rooms or brothels for weeks or months, drugged, terrorized, and raped repeatedly” (Walker-Rodriguez & Hill, 2011). It is found that many of the victims of sex trafficking are abducted, recruited, transported and forced into involuntary “sex work”. These sexual acts include prostitution, exotic dancing, pornography, and sexual escort services (McClain & Garrity, 2011). What happens to these sex trafficking victims is extremely traumatizing.
In sociology, the term deviance refers to all violations of social rules, regardless of their seriousness (Essentials of Sociology 136). Deviance is an individual or organizational behavior that violates societal norms and is usually accompanied by negative reactions from others. According to a sociologist S. Becker, he stated that it is not the act itself that makes an action deviant, but rather how society reacts to it.
Sex trafficking is a form of contemporary slavery that induces and forces people into a commercial sex trade against their will. Many factors contribute to the sex trade and the exploitation occurs mostly to women and children. Through the age, gender, class, and race many are trapped in a never-ending cycle of coercion and abuse in order to survive in the corrupt society around them.
An article released by the BBC entitled “Horrors of India’s Brothels Documented” brought this shocking global issue to my attention. The article provides information about a young Indian girl who was only 11 when she was sold into sex slavery by her neighbor (who had persuaded her family to let her go with him to Mumbai); she was taken from her impoverished village in West Bangel. Brutally raped the first night she arrived in a brothel, Guddi is only one of 20,000 sex workers in that specific area [Kamathipura] (2013). The article elaborates on the history of sex slavery in India. It points out that laws have recently been put into place against human trafficking. However, the laws are not being strongly enforced due to the sheer number of the cases. Human trafficking is like a plague that is spread throughout the world, and India is one of the hardest hit places. This paper will elaborate on the reasons this condition exists in India, and explain the connections that India has with the rest of the world that stem from this issue.
Little do most know, but on “[a]verage [prostitution] arrest[s], court and incarceration costs amount to nearly $2,000 per arrest. Cities spend an average of 7.5 million dollars on prostitution control every year, ranging from 1 million dollars to 23 million dollars.” Prostitution is the oldest known profession. Currently in 49 countries and counting prostitution is legal. Here in America there is a stigma following the label prostitute. We would rather resort to underground markets of sex labor. Endangering health, rights, and economics. Legalizing prostitution can reduce health hazards by giving heath care, also by giving rights to those that choose prostitution as their profession. In the long term this
Legalized Prostitution: A Compromise Between Amnesty International and Task Force on Human Trafficking and Prostitution