Born Into Brothels Essay

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

audience to feel empathy for the children. By using point of view shots the viewer is immersed in the life of the kids. Briski contrasts the vast differences between the life of a prostitute’s child and a westerner. Briski began in Calcutta documenting the prostitutes lives she quickly befriended the children and when the children took interest in photography, Briski saw the opportunity to get more knowledge into the life of a prostitute.

The documentary starts very chaotically, the diegetic music and dim colours sets the atmosphere that invites the viewer into a foreign land.

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

anything.

The purpose of Zana Briski’s documentary demonstrates that no text is mutual by exhibiting, the suffering and despair that the kids go through each day in their lives. Briski feel a portion of the frustration of the extensive waiting lines and the denied rights of the children just because they are of prostitutes. There is no way to feel how these kids felt, the men with their mothers abused and belittled them ''I want to put across the behaviour of men." – Gour. Sonargachi is illegal, so the women in the film have no rights, if anything goes wrong, the women are unprotected, with no back up from law enforcement and there are no laws to protect them if they are brutally treated. This was usually the case, Avijit’s mother was burnt to death and while no details were spoken about it had a great impact of Avijit. He is the most gifted of Briski's students who nonetheless nearly gave up on photography after his mother was murdered. Briski had no rights here either if she was murdered there would not be an investigation like Avijits mother. She knew this but continued anyway. When Briski was questioned about this she said "Why do I do this?" "Because I feel very connected to these women." Briski has such a strong connection to the woman, children and the film that she would openly risk her life filming.
Born into the brothels used simply but effective camera shots. Still shots of the children are used when introducing the children. Briski uses a choice of cinematographic techniques in the film. The techniques while basic have a great depth of thought. The shots are taken at eye level to the children these shots create a sense of normalcy and realism. The first person shots with the children in control of the cameras create a deep sense of connection to the children as the viewer journeys with the children. The children don’t have the steadiest of hands so the camera shots can be blurry or not completely still, this increases to the feel of realism in the documentary.

This documentary was so successful people are still looking up on these children to see how their lives are going most websites only tell the success of Avijit, graduated from NYU Tisch School of the Arts and has completed summer school.

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

cycle.

This participatory documentary conveyed that no text is mutual, Briski achieved her purpose and save multiple children from being prostitutes and gave them a better life. From the atonal music and close up shots of the children, instantly the audience was invited to be a part of the children’s lives and see what they go through on a day to day basic. Connections can be easily formed with the children and for that reason the documentary was a success.