By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. Issues such as child neglect, failure of the foster care system, alcoholism and drug abuse. The film leaves us with a final mystery about human development. Garbus rigidity in framing the girls experiences does not allow for the expansiveness and complexity allowed by new theories of girlhood. Then, everything changed when Megan got pregnant. airs Sundays at 9 p.m. Megan was shuffled through 11 different foster homes, running away from all except one. Documentaries are also excellent tools for presenting complex The main character joins a girls' gang and is soon stealing, extorting money from classmates, and beating up . The film opens with the title card, In the United States, during the last decade, the number of young girls committing violent crimes has more than doubled. "I was really, really, really confused at the time," Megan says. But it also made me wonder, why was Megan not looked after in essence like Shanae was? *Not Affiliated, Sponsored or Endorsed by any University. Even more disturbing is Megan's real acknowledgement of this abandonment. 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. Her mother was largely able to chart Shanae's problem for the duration of the movie, because she cared about her and wanted to see her do better. Im excited and honored that Atlantic Screen Productions embraced this extraordinary true tale and understands the urgency of making this film now. 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. Megan's mother was a drug-addled prostitute, and after being placed in, and escaping from, nearly a dozen foster homes, Megan committed a violent crime. One of the biggest criticisms that Garbus, It is typically more difficult for adults to change their patterns of behavior than it is for younger people. 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). The film is intense and very blunt but it also does a great job of showing the human side of these two young people over a three year span of time. Paperdue.com uses cookies to offer you the best service. associated with girlhood. "I decided to change some of my ways because I didn't want the system raising my child," she says. Its no wonder. 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. 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. 2 Working within the filmic fairy tale adaptation cycle that emerged between 2005 and 2015, this thesis investigates how girlhood is cinematically constructed through the lens of 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. Just check our reviews! Megan gets out earlier, but never stays in one place very long. Brody, R., & Dwyer, D. (2016). . This paradoxical relationship with her parent is evident (Brody & Dwyer, 2016). New York: Psychology Press. Humanizing those who have committed crimes especially children is a good thing to do, and certainly expands the viewers capacity to embrace complicated narratives and emotions. 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 . Follows two female inmates - victims of horrific violence and tragedy - who are serving time in a Maryland juvenile detention center. At 14, she was hit by a stray bullet during a gunfight. Unfortunately, juvenile crime is becoming more and more of an issue here. By continuing, you are agreeing to receive cookies. Girlhood was shown at the 2003 Tribeca Film Festival and at the South by Southwest Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award. But in her 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. The film then changes focus on Megan and her deteriorating relationship with her mother. His first civics lesson? 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. The subject of their research lies in the standards of juvenile detention centers and facilities. Eysenck, M. (2015). ''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. 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. Chineye died from her wounds, and Shanae was sent to a juvenile detention center that housed some of the most violent young offenders . 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. You could hear the emotions and felt the anger, the sadness. Running time: 88 minutes. 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. In the beginning, Shanae is not remorseful for committing murder (Garbus, 2003). The documentary Girlhood offers an insight on the emotional, psychological, and social reasoning behind the girl's actions. Shanae Owens is incarcerated after murdering a friend at age eleven and Megan Jensen for assault with a deadly weapon on a foster sibling. 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. Privacy Policy. Anyone can read what you share. "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. Shanae was raped by five teenagers when she was eleven and then was arrested and convicted for stabbing a friend to death with a knife when she was twelve. In Garbus film, Shanae and Megans girlhood set up a dichotomy: girlhood is good, everything else threatening, extraneous and intrusive, instead of part of the story of girlhood itself. Megan, 16, was also involved in a fight and was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon. We wont be able to verify your ticket today, but its great to know for the future. Against all odds, they have become responsible citizens who give back to their communities.. The film was shown at 30 festivals around the world and won over a dozen prizes. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. What both girls crave is the stabilizing force of a caring and responsible mother. It isnt just difficult to do justice to Shanae and Megan in an average of 44 minutes apiece; as it turns out, its impossible. From there she enrolls in high school, where she places fourth in her class, and plans to attend a community college. By what name was Girlhood (2003) officially released in Canada in English? Her future appears shaky. An alternate perspective of Girl Hood is that it is a film that tries too hard to achieve an ending on a positive note. Our company is proud to host more than 80 of North Americas best essay writers. Copyright 2023 . At 14, she was hit by a stray bullet during a gunfight. Both Megan and Shenae's interactions with their 2 Gender Roles In The Film Girlhood. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Press ESC to cancel. For example, the filmmaker emphasizes Shanaes growth since leaving Waxter. Our managing editor an award-winning journalist has spent the past 7 years refining our roster. Unlike Megan, who ends up bitter, Shanae has a positive outlook that things will become better. The film follows them from 1999 through the year 2002. 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. Garbus encountered the girls at the Waxter Juvenile Facility in Baltimore while making a television documentary about the boys incarcerated there. Shanae, however, simply had to acknowledge her culpability in the murder of a friend before being able to effect a significant change in the direction of her life. This leads to her eventual rehabilitation from delinquency. As she grows up, she realizes that she cannot rely on anyone and starts to take better care or herself. Abruptly, she halted the conversation. The effects of detention have been researched and discovered to be detrimental to the safety and mental health of the juvenile, as well as increase the chance of recidivism. 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. Subsequently, she was always looking for that support and without it had less incentive and means to create a change in her life. While Shanae told her own story -- murdering another girl after the two got into an argument -- and shared remorse for her violent actions, Megan seemed much more guarded. Genre:. 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Not surprisingly, by the end of the documentary she is living alone in Baltimore while Shanae was living with her family and doing well in high school while preparing to attend a junior college. Filled with a new sense of hope and ambition, Megan got her life together, pursuing an education and focusing on her family. Electronic Inspiration LLC. The first example is how wary she is of strangers (Eysenck, 2015). At the beginning of the documentary, Shanae and Megan are 14 and 16, serving time for murder and assault, respectively. She is often well behaved, but she still shows bouts of mischief. Megan also leaves Waxter. In Garbus version of their lives, these experiences do not bring them down. They emerge triumphant; their girlhood, we end up hoping, will be salvaged. LA Times reviewer Manohla Dargis notes, Garbus obsession with levity ultimately triumphs, leaving us with an unfinished picture: [T]o turn complex and contradictory lives into palatable narratives, is one of the least-examined pitfalls in nonfiction filmmaking. 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. By age 10, she had been committed to two psychiatric hospitals and diagnosed as manic-depressive. Abandoned by her mother, a heroin addict turned prostitute, Megan ran away from then different foster homes before being arrested on assault charges. Girlhood juvenile delinquents, Shanae Megan, Waxter Juvenile Facility Maryland. 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 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. Garbus most recently directed What Happened, Miss Simone?, a Netflix doc about the life and music of Nina Simone. Shanae was only 11 at the time and had tumbled into a numbed existence of drinking and drugs after being gang-raped by five boys. Girlhoodshows day-to-day scenes in the girls' lives at Waxter, allowing you to really familiarize yourself with them. Required fields are marked *. 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. "Oprah: Where Are They Now?" She angrily lashes out at the girl, but shows no remorse when she finds out that she died. 1103 Words. At twelve years old Shanae was involved in a fight that ended with Shanae stabbing and killing a young girl. In the second segment, she runs away from foster homes to try to live with her mother. Then, she got up and walked off set. Ecological Framework Finally, budgeting and staff elements are examined, with a need to create measures for evaluation to later test facility efficiency. Shanae has been at Waxter longer than any other inmate and after two years shes itching to get out. She Alba Sotorra is an independent filmmaker and producer based in Barcelona. Copyright 2022 Women and Hollywood. In the film Girlhood by Liz Garbus we are introduced to two young girl's named Megan and Shanae, who committed a crime and are getting help through a facility that helps young girls reflect on their actions. Essay Sample Check Writing Quality. 5 Pages. The system essentially gives up on trying to control her and turns her loose to fend for herself. 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. The documentary follows the plight of Megan and Shanae (Garbus, 2003). Theres no denying the seduction and importance of a lot of this work, but sometimes it isnt enough to turn a camera on other peoples catastrophes. Her cousin has to console her. Once Shanae begins to face the reality of what she did, she is transferred to a group home and begins to flourish. The primary objective of the film is an exploration into the social implications for the increase of crime committed by young women such as Shanae and Megan. I was just doing anything to kill myself, honestly," she says. New York: Cengage Learning. After her release, 19-year-old Megan appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" alongside another troubled teen, Shanae. 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. However, after the collective effort from her mother and rehabilitation officers, she becomes emotionally expressive. The film is also said to be informative regarding the significance of the relationship between mothers and daughters. Megan Jensen had a difficult childhood. Now hes confronting it head-on, The Super Mario Bros. is now highest-grossing video game adaptation with $500 million, Angela Bassett understood Austin Butlers Oscars moment. That is not to say that traumatic experience, crime or drug abuse are good, but that in these stories they exist and persist, even when the girls triumph and go to prom or spend time with family. "I just lost all respect for myself," she says. Documentary chronicling America's justice system. Megan, however, never received such support from her mother, or from the rest of her family. ''Girlhood, which was shot in 16 millimeter, is a bare-bones affair, as spare as the juvenile institution in which much of it was filmed. The documentary "Girlhood" follows the lives of two girls, Shanae and Megan, from 1999-2002, during and shortly after their release from Waxter Juvenile Facility in Maryland. In the documentary, she is always trying to contact either the mother or the grandmother. Megan is not malicious, and her mischief is probably a cry for attention. ET on OWN. It seemed like there was more of an effort to know where Shanae was and more help was provided for her then for Megan. Megan, the other young offender continues to practise delinquent . This fact, combined with the lack of familial support that Megan got, certainly contributed to her continuing to run away from foster homes. Having been abandoned by her mother, with whom she has a very complicated relationship, Megan is desperate for attention and affection. In an interview with NPR, the films director, Liz Garbus, admits that Girlhood was originally a documentary about incarcerated boys, but the girls stories were more interesting to her. 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. What Parents Need to Know. It is typically more difficult for adults to change their patterns of behavior than it is for younger people. "I'm happy now.". The new documentary "Girlhood" isn't a horror movie, but there isn't another movie this year that chills the blood as quickly as the brief exchange caught on camera between a 15-year-old girl. Megan grew up without the love and support of her mother who was in prison for drugs and prostitution. Both girls ended up in the Waxter Juvenile Facility, home to Maryland's most violent offenders.Academy Award nominated director Liz Garbus follows Shanae and Megan for the next three years, as they try to make a life for themselves both inside and outside of Baltimore's juvenile justice system. The domain that best explains Megans attachment issues is the ambivalent/resistant attachment. This film is not rated. Impact of Trauma She tries to reach out to her mother multiple times despite being disappointed numerous times. That was 11 years ago. See production, box office & company info. A narrative feature based on the two subjects of Liz Garbus 2003 documentary Girlhood, young female inmates Shanae Watkins and Megan Stahl, is in the works. Shanae and Megans girlhoods contain all that which other parts of life contain, and to think of Garbus idea of girlhood as winning at the end of the film is short-sighted and perhaps fails to move forward with Girlhood Studies attention to complexity and fullness (including pain) of this part of life for her subjects. The history of American documentary cinema is rife with well-intentioned filmmakers like Garbus who have trained their cameras on the abject, the neglected and the powerless. They both received open-ended sentences and their release depends on their current jail behavior. Copyright 2022 My Essay Writer. . 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. Other aspects reveal themselves when she grows older. Challenging Attachment Some boys are bailed out by their parents and in other cases they are released by the judge. 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Multiple times despite being disappointed numerous times agreeing to our Terms of service and Privacy.. For murder and assault, respectively is the stabilizing force of a caring and responsible mother 7 years our! Reach out to her mother multiple times despite being disappointed numerous times '' another... Was also involved in a fight that ended with Shanae stabbing and a. Megan got her life twelve years old Shanae was sent to a juvenile detention centers and facilities to live her. Festivals around the world and won over a dozen prizes has been Waxter... Only 11 at the time, '' she says become better did n't want system... Responsible citizens who give back to their communities an award-winning journalist has spent the past 7 years our. Shows no remorse when she finds out that she died she angrily lashes out at the South by Southwest Festival! Standards of juvenile detention center that housed some of my ways because I did n't the! 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