Most of these reasons were actually some of the primary themes in Liz Garbus' documentary Girlhood, which followes the lives of these young women for three years from the Waxter Juvenile Detention Center to the streets of Baltimore. This age difference is crucial because there is a mutability associated with 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. She gave birth to a daughter and moved to North Carolina in an effort to start anew. NPR's Karen Grigsby Bates talks with documentary filmmaker Liz Garbus about her new film Girlhood, a chronicle of the lives of two troubled adolescent girls involved in the juvenile justice system . Because the film does not incorporate the juvenile system that fails Megan and others like her, the focus of the film becomes on the distinction between mothers who neglect their children and mothers who do not. You could hear the emotions and felt the anger, the sadness. 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. . 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. "Excuse me," she said. The mystery of the young woman's disappearance haunts her single, middle-aged, working-class mother, Mari Gilbert (Amy Ryan), for the duration of Lost Girls intentionally bleak, downbeat, if. With discussions of girls in Virginia Woolf, Simone de Beauvoir, Alice Walker, and Sapphire, I show how these influential feminist authors demonstrate an intense yet anxious preoccupation specifically with girlhood subjectivity as its own identity category, and with girlhood sexuality as a site for devising textuality. The article by Livers & Kehoe (2012) is quite contemporary and that is one of the main themes of the article. And at 12, she had become a killer. Follows two female inmates - victims of horrific violence and tragedy - who are serving time in a Maryland juvenile detention center. Shanae and Megans story has reached a large audience and even caught the attention of talk show host Oprah Winfrey, however, many are critical of its overambitious attempts and lack of direction. Like Us On Facebook | Follow Us On Twitter. Our company is proud to host more than 80 of North Americas best essay writers. Editor Mary Manhardt. New York: Psychology Press. ''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. Both of the girls have been in the system for years, Megan has been in and out of juvenile detention centers and foster homes for years and is . Even though her mother has a problem with drugs and prostitution, she is distressed when she does not receive visits or calls from her. Is it maternal nurturing that makes the difference? The project, titled Hood Girls, will be written and directed by Miriam Kruishoop (Greencard Warriors) and produced by Atlantic Screen Productions. She tries to reach out to her mother multiple times despite being disappointed numerous times. The lack of a proper support system is evident because she does not achieve as much as Shanae who does not falter when her mother dies. Issues such as child neglect, failure of the foster care system, alcoholism and drug abuse. Open Document. Abandoned by her mother, a heroin addict turned prostitute, Megan ran away from then different foster homes before being arrested on assault charges. Open Document. The impulse to end on an up note, to turn complex and contradictory lives into palatable narratives, is one of the least-examined pitfalls in nonfiction filmmaking. Girlhood isnt about an abstraction like the wrongs of the state penal system -- indeed there is very little about how Waxter works (or doesnt) day to day -- its about two very real and complicated kids, each of whom could fill up hours of screen time. Parents need to know that the French movie Girlhood is a bleak but affecting look at life in the housing projects outside Paris, where young people have few options and little chance to improve their lives. ET on OWN. Or do some simply have the psychological equipment to move on while others don't? Girls like Shanae and the films other principal subject, Megan, a disarmingly appealing teenager who, bounced from one foster home to another (11 total), landed in Waxter after slicing open another girl with a box cutter. All the same, Marieme (Karidja Tour) goes through nearly as many shifts in appearance and identity as Boyhood's Mason. 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 4 Pages. She specializes in academic writing, copywriting, business plans and resumes. Required fields are marked *. Footage of the two girls is then followed along with more title cards that give insight into the crimes they have committed. The Girlhood documentary highlights the plight of girls in juvenile centers with some psychological disorders. As the documentary end, it is clear that Megan is afraid to trust others. Waxter Childrens Center in Laurel, Md., some 20 miles from Baltimore. Garbus explains that she encountered the contradictions of Shanae and Megans girlhoods early on; she mentions that she was struck by [Shanaes] little girl-ness, her innocence, but this was complicated by what she learned about the violence of her crime. That is to say, Garbus sees crime and girlhood as opposite experiences. Aired on 07/20/2014 | CC tv-pg In 2003, Oprah spoke to Megan, a teenage girl who had spent time in a juvenile detention facility for some of the country's most violent youths. Finally, she becomes distraught when her relationship with her mother ends. The title of the film is overly simple and, to an extent, revealing in its simplicity. Finally, budgeting and staff elements are examined, with a need to create measures for evaluation to later test facility efficiency. After watching the documentary, it is easy to see that Megans environment has contributed greatly to her childhood and ultimately her adult life. They both received open-ended sentences and their release depends on their current jail behavior. Girl Hood was released in 2003 and since then has won many awards. Shanae's family -- and her mother in particular -- repeatedly demonstrated that they loved her and wanted her to make a change for the better. "Oprah: Where Are They Now?" Harrowing moment medics rush to save Jeremy Renner's life after he was crushed by 14,000lb snow plow - as actor is seen sprawled on the ground in a pool of his own blood and with 35 broken bones The most salient factor in Megan's reversal of fortune however was the tireless work that her mother did to ensure that her daughter became an upstanding individual. 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, thesis statements about the xname sequence. Garbus most recently directed What Happened, Miss Simone?, a Netflix doc about the life and music of Nina Simone. After Megan and her mother have falling out and are no longer speaking, the film again shifts focus to Shanae, who has now just lost her mother to heart failure. At paperdue.com, we provide students the tools they need to streamline their studying, researching, and writing tasks. In the movie, we were able to watch two female offenders in the juvenile justice system. Megan Jensen had a difficult childhood. After her release, 19-year-old Megan appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" alongside another troubled teen, Shanae. Girlhood made its U.S. premiere at SXSW 2003, where it won the Audience Award for Documentary Feature. 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. Liz Garbus's hard-headed documentary film ''Girlhood'' is prefaced with an unsettling statistic: in the last decade the number of violent assaults by under-age girls in this country has doubled. One perspective on the film Girl Hood is that it is a highly informative documentary film in which the director does a spectacular job revealing to the world the issues young women such as Megan and Shanae face on a daily basis. Genre:. 5 Pages. data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAKAAAAB4CAYAAAB1ovlvAAAAAXNSR0IArs4c6QAAAw5JREFUeF7t181pWwEUhNFnF+MK1IjXrsJtWVu7HbsNa6VAICGb/EwYPCCOtrrci8774KG76 . Megan gets out earlier, but never stays in one place very long. In the end, it seems the title Girlhood is both revealing and a misnomer: this film is about the liminal space of girlhoods colored by destabilizing events in their lives (and the larger systems and circumstances dictated by a society that easily discards the humanity of girls, people of color, queer people, differently abled people and poor people). 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. This leads to her eventual rehabilitation from delinquency. Summary: The documentary filmGirlhoodfollows two girls whose actions result in their incarceration in the Waxter Juvenile Facility in Baltimore, Maryland. Exclusively at Laemmles Music Hall, 9036 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills (310) 274-6869. (Watkins stabbed a girl to death in a street fight.) Assignment #2 In class we viewed documentary titled Girlhood, the film surrounded two teenage girls named Megan and Shanae. The film follows them from 1999 through the year 2002. Running time: 1 hour, 28 minutes. Megan grew up without the love and support of her mother who was in prison for drugs and prostitution. The system essentially gives up on trying to control her and turns her loose to fend for herself. The main character joins a girls' gang and is soon stealing, extorting money from classmates, and beating up . Sitting in the back of her mother and fathers car, Shanae -- one of the two teenage girls at the center of Liz Garbus arresting nonfiction film about young offenders -- declares that the schoolmate she stabbed to death a few years earlier has it easier. Impact of Trauma Identification But Garbus sidesteps this queasy unpleasantness either because it pains her or because it doesnt fit with the triumphant survivor story shes trying to tell. Girlhood tells the story of two young girls locked up in The Waxter Juvenile Facility in Baltimore because they committed violent crimes. When Girlhood opens, Shanae (we never learn her last name) is serving time in the all-girls unit at the Thomas J.S. She's the sweetheart of the Waxter facility, even if. Copyright 2022 Women and Hollywood. The film will center on two prisoners serving time at Waxter, a Maryland juvenile detention center, after committing violent crimes. We also met Megan, who, unlike Shanae, was not at the . ''Girlhood'' is the newest entry in Ms. Garbus's long list of socially concerned documentaries made for theaters and television. Web.18 April. While Shanae sublimates her anger and hurt and moves on with life, for Megan everything is right on the surface. Producers Liz Garbus, Rory Kennedy. At 14, she was hit by a stray bullet during a gunfight. Having been abandoned by her mother, with whom she has a very complicated relationship, Megan is desperate for attention and affection. Decent Essays. The hard cases penned up here are girls whose youth, bright smiles and flashes of irritation at being kept under lock and key belie their grim, violent histories. Our managing editor an award-winning journalist has spent the past 7 years refining our roster. Follows two female inmates - victims of horrific violence and tragedy - who are serving time in a Maryland juvenile detention center. Baltimore teens Shanae, left, and Megan are the subjects of Liz Garbus's documentary "Girlhood," now at the AFI Silver Theatre in Silver Spring."Girlhood," a documentary by Liz Garbus, right . Often it's not enough. Megan, however, was virtually abandoned by her mother and received little support from the rest of the family. 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). 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. With its drab green walls and sparse furnishings, Waxter is no country club. Begin typing your search term above and press enter to search. It indicates that she is wary of strangers (Garbus, 2003). At the beginning of the documentary, Shanae and Megan are 14 and 16, serving time for murder and assault, respectively. The film, however, makes Shanae and Megans girlhoods into victory stories when, instead, they are something much more complex. 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. 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 her parent is giving her support, she was still scared of Shanae. Oprah later told her she was the first person she had interviewed who had ever walked out on her. Electronic Inspiration LLC. At 14, she was hit by a stray bullet during a gunfight. It first examines the main purpose, and location of the facility, and then turns to how the facility would deal with resident problems with socialization, education, and correctional components. Innumerable advancements and innovations have profoundly contributed to the betterment of the lives of the human race in the twenty first century. 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.. This documentary follows these two bright but troubled young girls at the Waxter Juvenile Facility in Baltimore as they struggle their way toward redemption and understanding. As Oprah questioned Megan about her current situation and plans for the future, the teen grew visibly agitated. AQA Psychology: AS and A-level Year 1. Despite the locked doors and garish green paint daubing the hallways, the Waxter center doesnt look all that forbidding. Im excited and honored that Atlantic Screen Productions embraced this extraordinary true tale and understands the urgency of making this film now. The subject of their research lies in the standards of juvenile detention centers and facilities. These girls are the subjects of Liz Garbus' documentary, Girlhood. She angrily lashes out at the girl, but shows no remorse when she finds out that she died. Age discrimination, How to have the best Sunday in L.A., according to Rainn Wilson, Review: Thoughtful whimsy animates Haruki Murakami adaptation Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman, An earthquake made Makoto Shinkai a disaster artist. . Similarly, she seems to suffer from ambivalent attachment because she is always distressed when she is unable to receive affirmations from her mother. Girlhood Movie Analysis. She portrays this by her apprehensive response that she gives to her parent. . In the documentary, she is always trying to contact either the mother or the grandmother. Megan, however, was virtually abandoned by her mother and received little support from the rest of the family. Her cousin has to console her. She had many problems communicating with her foster parents, and she ran away ten times before she had even been arrested for aggravated assault. Girl Hood Winner of the audience award for documentary at 2003 SXSW Film Festival, Liz Garbus' "Girl Hood" is a grim but engrossing look at lives of two troubled teens who must convince . The third is her reluctance to become close with others. Megan also leaves Waxter. 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. All rights reserved. This documentary does look at the intersections of various identities and even struggles, but it fails to count them as essential facets of girlhood for Shanae and Megan. "Girlhood Juvenile Delinquents Shanae Megan Waxter Juvenile" (2013, November 14) Retrieved April 18, 2023, from https://www.paperdue.com/essay/girlhood-juvenile-delinquents-shanae-megan-127185, "Girlhood Juvenile Delinquents Shanae Megan Waxter Juvenile" 14 November 2013. airs Sundays at 9 p.m. We were introduced to Shanae, a young girl, convicted of murder. associated with girlhood. For example, the filmmaker emphasizes Shanaes growth since leaving Waxter. She receives more family support than Megan is, but she does not seem to reciprocate it at the beginning of the film. But Garbus way of humanizing, in some instances, obfuscates the complexity of struggle, survival and the bad from the girls girlhood. 794 Words. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, t. 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. Strength-Based Approaches It is typically more difficult for adults to change their patterns of behavior than it is for younger people. 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 . All Rights Reserved. By what name was Girlhood (2003) officially released in Canada in English? As for the staff of the Waxter, they were awesome. 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. [Write my essay for me? Get help here.]. Follows two female inmates - victims of horrific violence and tragedy - who are serving time in a Maryland juvenile detention center. 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. An alternate perspective of Girl Hood is that it is a film that tries too hard to achieve an ending on a positive note. Educates, Advocates, and Agitates for Gender Diversity and Inclusion in Hollywood and the Global Film Industry, In Her Voice: Women Directors Talk Directing, List of Databases for Women in the Film Industry, Celebrating 15 Years of Women and Hollywood, A Message to the Women and Hollywood Community, AFI DOCS and Provincetown Fests Will Open and Close with Women-Directed Pics, Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Laura Bari Primas, Hot Docs 2018 Women Directors: Meet Alba Sotorra Commander Arian. 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