First up today on this wonderful Monday morning is A Walk to Beautiful, which is already a bit of a downer. It is about women who have still birth in Ethiopia and have complications which require surgery. One of the women just asked how you are brought back to life after the surgeon cuts you open, and the other woman answered “They just know how”. Imagine how scary that would be if you are unaware of the basics of surgery. I understand the medicines, and why and how surgery is done, and it still freaks me out. I can’t imagine what it would be like if I believed that I would be dead and then brought back to life. This is amazing, these poor women get fistulas because of a lack of medical care during child birth, and then are shunned by their families. They have to walk hours to get to a bus to go to this hospital where they are “repaired” and then allowed to go back to living in the house. Some of the women who can’t go back to their villages go to work at an orphanage taking care of children whose parents have died from HIV.
From that, we got to Disney Parks: Undiscovered Disney Park in which a 43 minute advertisement is pretending to be a documentary. It’s a tough juxtaposition between the sadness and overwhelming poverty of the first movie and the completely insane gratuitous use of money that defines the United States.
Third movie of the day goes back to the downer category. Body of War is following a young solider who comes back from Iraq paralyzed from the chest down. It is so sad, and watching clips of George W Bush making fun of not finding weapons makes me sick to my stomach. This young man came back, and was in the hospital for less than a year, after being paralyzed. Seems like perhaps we should pay more to take care of the soldiers who go to fight for the United States. I also think the solider, Thomas, looks like Seth Green. Best line of the movie (which was made during W’s presidency) “I apologize if I stammer and stumble a lot over my words; I apologize for being so presidential.” HA!
Now, we move on to 911: In Plane Sight. You know a movie will be good when there is a play on words in the title, and it starts with tons of horrifying camera footage of 9-11. Now there is a guy sitting on a desk talking. Why do people think this is interesting? It is not, find a way to make your story entertaining without lecture. Thank you. Ok, so I have to say that the conspiracy about the Pentagon on 9/11 I can get behind. The NYC theories I am still hesitant about. The problem I have with these movies is watching the attacks over and over again. Also, I don’t believe in the government really being on our side, but I hate the idea that they killed so many people for what? I will just keep on thinking it was terrorism of the non-governmental variety.
Unforgotten: Twenty-five Years After Willowbrook. This movie is about a topic that I have special feelings for. The care and feeding of people who have intellectual disabilities. Willowbrook was an institution for the mentally retarded that was operating in New York for many years. Geraldo did an investigative report about it, and it was sad and disgusting. This movie is going back and talking to some of the people who had family members there, or who themselves were there. One man, who had CP and no intellectual disabilities, was there for 18 years because he was misdiagnosed. Most often, I can give people who work in nursing homes and other residential facilities with people who are not in control of their actions a bit of a pass. Until you have done that job, it is not one that you can judge people who do it. Willowbrook was a place that the people who allowed that to go on should have been punished.
No comments:
Post a Comment