To hear the words "It's a Girl!", is a memory that is greatly significant to someone's life. But in some countries, this everlasting moment is not valued in the same way. In the documentary, It's a Girl!, directed by Evan Grae Davis and released in 2012, the gendercide ways of countries such as India and China, is deeply examined. This documentary does a terrific job at revealing the sickening and dreadful manner at which countries like India and China, manage a newborn baby girl. It also persuades the universal society, to be more aware of the cruelty occurring to young female infants and their mothers in these countries. This ultimately leaves a message to the viewers, to help solve and change these awful actions, by spreading their awareness …show more content…
of this condition to others. In It's a Girl!, the viewers spectate the operation of how two countries, India and China, approach newborn girls.
Females in these countries are either killed, aborted or abandoned solely because of their gender. Girls who survive this procedure, generally grow up to face severe brutality and even death committed by their own husbands or other family members (Davis, It's a Girl!). This documentary shows that this philosophy is deeply ingrained into Chinese and Indian families, and also in government policies (Davis, It's a Girl!). These cultures favour sons to daughters as a result of the son's destined wealth, being able to possess a valuable job, and having the privilege to carry on the family name (Davis, It's a Girl!). This devastating factuality is displayed to the audience throughout the documentary, by interviews with the women and men who have killed these blameless girls. It also interviews the women, who have been pressured to have an abortion to their unborn daughters. It's a Girl! shows the cold-hearted truth that transpire in India and China, and tempt viewers to have knowledge of what is happening in these …show more content…
countries. In the opening section of the documentary, the viewer's attention is directed towards the people of India. It starts off by documenting a women admitting to killing all eight of her babies, because they were girls (Davis, It's a Girl!). This opening gives the audience a sense of empathy, for these babies. Therefore, this documentary uses the Pathos method, and targets the viewers emotion by displaying this horrific act. It's a Girl! does a wonderful job of getting the viewer's awareness to gendercide, by showing this powerful opening segment. As the documentary goes further, the use of the Logos persuasive technique is also shown. "In 1986, Dr. Amartya Sen used census data to estimate that 37 million women were “missing” from the Indian population. Today the number is closer to 50 million" (Davis, It's a Girl!). This method gives the viewer a sense of shock, of how much women are missing from the Indian community. It also provides alarming evidence to the viewer. These persuasive methods give much material and understanding of the situations appearing in these countries. It offers authenticity to the story, and raises attention to the audience about gendercide. The strategy of involving persuasive statistics and emotional responses, is very essential to viewers. As soon as this documentary finishes talking about gendercide problems in India, it switches its production style and mainly focuses to the problems of China. Instead of just having one side of the story regarding gendercide, It's a Girl! successfully displays the stories and traditions of both India and China. The shift from analyzing India's gendercide ways to China's, is very effective because it shows two different perspectives between China and India. It shows the audience, that India and China's women have dealt with gendercide in different ways, compared to another. This helps the audience fully understand more of the details that occurs in these seperate countries. Additionally, It's a Girl! is also shot on location in India and China, which gives the audience an interesting outlook by seeing the real men and women who were involved in the obscene ways of gendercide. Viewers get to hear legitimate stories of gendercide first hand from the people affected by gendercide. The audience watching, fully understands more of the material of each country, as a result of personal stories from the community of both India and China. This documentary does a tremendous job at this, therefore makes the observer's awareness of gendercide in both China and India, reasonably balanced. Although It's a Girl does a wonderful job of showing the audience the crooked ways of gendercide in India and China, it does not fully show the side of the government involved with these countries. The government does not take dowry related deaths seriously (Davis, It's a Girl!). Davis says this quote, when talking about gendercide in India involving not giving enough dowry to their husband. But, Davis fails to show why the government does not care about these deaths seriously. The documentary never shows the audience an interview or involvement with any of the government in India or China. Viewers are left with questions, about why the government is not handling gendercide properly. This shows that this documentary is bias, due to the fact we never see the government involved. However, the details presented in It's a Girl! is well ordered, clear to follow, and captivating to viewers overall. The argument against gendercide is convincing and valid.
It's a Girl! does a great job of adressing the absurd traditions and rules, that India and China use regarding women. This documentary shows the gendercide ways in India, by indicating that "Dowry and dowry-related deaths are the major factor in India’s gendercide, whereas dowry is not practiced in China" (Davis, It's A Girl!). This film clearly provides intriguing information to help stronger their argument. The message that is shown, provides a sound argument, that gendercide needs to change. What's more appealing about It's a Girl!'s argument, is that they also provide possible solutions to the argument they are examining. They distinctly show how ridiculous dowry deaths need to be acknowledged by the people of India and around the world by saying "The Indian government, police and medical community must be pressured to enforce these existing laws, both from within India and from the international community" (Davis, It's a Girl!). These solutions alert viewers, of ways they can help innocent women and their babies that live in India. Once these solutions are learned by the viewer, they can be exchanged to others who are unfamiliar with gendercide. Furthermore, leading to a potential change in dowry deaths and more attention towards gendercide. It's a Girl! also uses the same method towards China gendercide. It strengthens their argument against gendercide, by showing the viewers China's government’s ridiculous one
child policy. "Forced abortion and coerced abortion are a major part of China’s gendercide, and both practices result primarily from the Chinese government’s One Child Policy" (Davis, It's a Girl!). This rule also results in 35,000 abortions performed each day in China under the One-Child Policy (Ling, 2015). It's a Girl! also gives a way to fix this, by saying "One of the first steps that many people cite as pivotal in ending gendercide in China is the elimination of the One Child Policy. There is evidence that clearly shows a correlation between the implementation of the One Child Policy and more severe distortion of sex ratios" (Davis, It's a Girl!). By saying this, It's a Girl! provides great proof to their argument and viewers against gendercide. The audience will view It's a Girl!'s solutions, as a legitimate and reliable source for helping change gendercide in these countries. Viewers are inspired, to help change these worthless traditions set by these countries by seeing how unfair and pointless they are. It's a Girl! argument, is effective on the viewers. The information that the documentary provides, helps give the general population great insight into the horrible setting, that these girls live in. It influences the observer, to be more familiar of with this mistreatment of women and someday help benefit these girls, by spreading awareness to others. In conclusion, Davis was truly brilliant at applying Pathos and Logos techniques in It's a Girl!, with the use of unpleasant stories of brutally murdered young girls, and shameful statistics being shown as well. Although, It's a Girl! did not communicate much with the government involved with gendercide, their ability to focus on both India and China problems equally, made the documentary's production style superb and easy to follow. It's a Girl! does a great job of supporting their argument, with information that is displayed. Davis also used strong solutions to adjust these poor rules that are currently used by India and China. This made their argument to change gendercide, believable and effective to the audience. It's a Girl! will likewise persuade the viewers reflection on gendercide, causing the viewer to think differently about gendercide. The documentary was successful on showing the audience, the gendercide that occurs in India and China. It gave the recognition of gendercide, to viewers who were not aware about it. It's a Girl will certainly make the viewers spread their knowledge of gendercide, to others they know. It will also have a continual impact, on the viewers who watched this film. Lastly, it will help society to never forget the outrageous things that happen to women in India and China.
Ever since the beginning of time a man and a woman have always been there to bring the beginning of civilization. Society has evolutionized from what it was back in the beginning, but there are some things that have still remained the same. The way women are viewed in society has been looked down upon and are also considered to be there to care and raise for the children. They have been mistreated because of their gender, not being treated equally, or be given an image of trying to be something they’re not just to be accepted.
Similarly, the issue of gendercide is seen in the film “It’s a Girl”. Gendercide is not only executed through feticide, but is also present in older, usually married women through dowry and other forms of gender based violence. The film takes place in patriarchally structured India and China, and opens by disclosing the ratio of boys to girls in the world, 105:100, and then specifies that ratio in nations that value male lives, which is 140:100 (0:05). Parents in these nations often kill their young female children, justifying the act by noting that the children will die in one minute (usually via asphyxiation), rather than suffer day by day existing as a woman in a male-privileged society (0:08). When women in India get married, their families
On September 5, 1995, Hillary Clinton delivered an influential speech at The Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. Clinton expresses general concern over escalating violence toward women, in other word’s gendercide. “Gendercide refers to the systematic elimination of a specific gender group, normally female. It’s most common in India, China, and other regions in Southeast Asia” (GirlsKind Foundation). Crimes, such as bride trafficking, infanticide, abandonment, and dowry related murder; often take place within private households, going unnoticed and not even acknowledged. “Tragically, women are most often the ones whose human rights are violated. Even now, in the late 20th century, the rape of women continues to be used as an instrument of armed conflict Women and children make up a large majority of the world’s refugees” (Clinton 3). By addressing her speech in Beijing, where gendercide is prevalent, Hillary expressed her objective effectively not just the United Nations, but to audiences across the world. Clinton effectively delivered her speech by portraying her purpose for women to achieve equality and better opportunities, with ethical appeals, emotional appeals, and logical appeals.
Jeanne Wakatuski is a young girl who had to endure a rough childhood. She thought herself American, with a Japanese descent. However, with WWII and the internment camps, Jeanne struggled to in understanding who she really was. It started with Manzanar, at first she knew herself as a Japanese American. Living in Manzanar gave her a new perspective, “It (Manzanar) gradually filled me with shame for being a person, guilty of something enormous enough to deserve that kind of treatment” (Houston and Houston 161). Jeanne faced the problem of being someone who was not wanted or liked in the American society. A good section that shows the discrimination at the time was when Jeanne tried to join the Girl Scouts, which is on page 144. She was turned
In the documentary, “What Stands in the Way of Women Being Equal to Men,” gender inequality is analyzed within four different countries through the narratives of four young girls. Each of these countries, Iceland, Jordan, the United Kingdom, and Lesotho vary in their level of gender inequality, yet all maintain unjust social constructs. While Iceland does demonstrate less social tendencies towards gender inequality, feminism is not accepted and women are burdened with social expectations that men are exempt from. In Jordan, girls are assigned certain activities and restricted from participating in others that boys are free to do whenever they please. Girls and women in the United Kingdom are oversexualized through pornography and are expected
A traditional extended family living in Northern India can become acquainted through the viewing of Dadi’s family. Dadi, meaning grandmother in Hindu, lets us explore her family up close and personal as we follow the trials and tribulations the family encounters through a daily basis. The family deals with the span of three generations and their conflicting interpretations of the ideal family life. Dadi lets us look at the family as a whole, but the film opens our eyes particularly on the women and the problems they face. The film inspects the women’s battle to secure their status in their family through dealing with a patriarchal mentality. The women also are seen attempting to exert their power, and through it all we are familiarized to
The mother cautions her daughter endlessly, emphasising on how much she wants her to realize her role in the society by acting like a woman in order to be respected by the community and the world at large. Thus, Jamaica Kincaid’s work argues that traditional gender roles are learned because at a young age children are taught how to act masculine and feminine. According to Carol Baileys article on Performance and the Gendered Body in Jamaica Kincaid’s ‘Girl’ “The poem is a fictional representation of the double-edged tendencies which involve child-rearing practices in many Caribbean societies: as the mother provides guidelines for living, the moments of care are constantly weakened by the severity evident in what the mother is actually saying and the fact that her daughter is lectured with little room for discussion” (Carol Bailey 106). The instructions in the poem “Girl” reveal an effective performance of gender roles assigned to women in the Caribbean societies, which shows significant acts in domestic, social, and other spheres.
Over the last twenty years the Guerrilla Girls have established a strong following due to the fact that they challenged and consistently exhibited a strong supportive subject matter that defies societal expectations. In an interview “We reclaimed the word girl because it was so often used to belittle grown women. We also wanted to make older feminists sit up and n...
Sexism is very real, even in the least patriarchal societies of the world. From a western hemisphere point of view, the lives of women and young girls that are described in Nawal el Saadawi’s “In Camera” and Hanan al-Shaykh’s “The Women’s Swimming Pool” is almost unbelievable. Although these stories do not tell the whole story of women’s lives in these areas, it gives readers a general idea of how politics, social opportunities, and male privilege is overbearing in their way of life. While “In Camera” is has a more dark, and mature theme than “The Women’s Swimming Pool,” it is obvious that both relate in the way that their protagonists both suffer from the unnecessary and unexpected burden of being born a female.
Parrot is an expert in cultural practices and the risks encountered in attempting to change them. She is currently writing a book on the topic with Nina Cummings, health educator and victim advocate at Gannett University Health Services at Cornell. Forsaken Figures: The Global Brutalization, Oppression, and Violence against Women catalogues, describes, and analyzes all manner of violence, subjugation, and gendercide against women from a global perspective. Many practices and cultural norms around the world, such as female genital mutilation, sexual slavery, and feticide/infanticide of female babies, are perceived as wrong by outside cultures, Parrot says. She is interested in determining how outside policymakers might begin to address what they see as problems when their own cultural language is vastly different from that of the communities and countries in which the practices are tolerated or even supported.
Globally, approximately 5 girls are mutilated every minute." If we do the math, we discover that equates to 300 per hour, or 7,200 per day, or 50,400 per week, or 2,620,800 per year. Considering that women make up 49% of the world, form 35% of its paid labor force, head 33% of its households, make up 95% of its nurses, perform 62% of its work hours, yet receive 10% of the world's income, own 1% of its property, make up 70% of its poor, 66% of the illiterate, 80% of the refugees, 75% of the sick, it seems to me that women--in these country’s live in a male dominated world and are there for convenience not happiness.
The practice of female infanticide shows how desirable having a male child is that parents would take the lives of a female baby. The dowry system in India is the main cause of female infanticide in India. Gender inequalities in the rural part of northern India exhibit female infanticide occurs here the most despite laws to abolish these acts. Men hold a higher value in this society because a system they adapted many years ago. Men are seen as an asset or of value because at one point his future wife and her family will “pay” for him. Daughters are opposite and viewed as a burden to the family because she will have to marry one day and that will cost her parents. So women are not viewed equally here even as infants, they don’t even stand a chance. Officials have tried to make laws to assist in reducing female infanticide but people have continued to follow traditions of the dowry systems putting the population at risk as well
Two of the girls are not physically in the film because what is said could get them killed in their countries actresses are put in their place. Girl Rising is an empowering documentary about some of the many struggles girls face in other countries that people all over the world would never know if not for this film. A quote from Mr. Robbins himself reveals why he started Girl Rising “My job, the job of the film, is to change minds–not just to make people understand that girls’ education is important, but to make them believe that the change we need is possible. That these girls are just like our girls. Like girls everywhere. Smart, powerful, and eager to make the world better.” Mr. Robbins has worked on other documentaries and movies such as Operation Homecoming, and The Century. Mr. Robbins has a wife, son and daughter who may have played a part in the reason this film was
Also, the film revealed women empowerment and how superior they can be compared to men. While demonstrating sexual objectification, empowerment, there was also sexual exploitation of the women, shown through the film. Throughout this essay, gender based issues that were associated with the film character will be demonstrated while connecting to the real world and popular culture.
In the opening scene, the story appears to be a normal story located in India where the birth of a girl is still looked upon as a curse. People visit temples, offer prayers and perform rituals and beg for a male child. The Hindus