Having been abandoned by her mother, with whom she has a very complicated relationship, Megan is desperate for attention and affection. Shanae is 14 and has served two years at Waxter for the murder of her friend, a crime she committed when she as only 12 years old. 'Girlhood' Subjects to Get Narrative Feature Remake (Exclusive) Inside, she is desperately frightened of becoming just like her. Abruptly, she halted the conversation. The second part of Garbus film follows Shanae and Megans lives after leaving Waxter. On the other hand, Girl Hood creates an uncomfortable comparison between Shanae and Megan and their relationship with their mothers. However, the film ignores their concerns regarding the young girls and regarding the system. 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. Megan, the more unruly of the two is a little older than Shanae. This time around, she focuses her attention on two young women in Waxter Juvenile Facility near Baltimore, Maryland. Film Review by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat 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. The project, titled "Hood Girls," will be written and directed by Miriam Kruishoop ("Greencard Warriors") and produced by Atlantic Screen Productions. The film pivots from the girls to their relationships with their moms, as Garbus follows their development from girls into young ladies. Our managing editor an award-winning journalist has spent the past 7 years refining our roster. This documentary really touched me and made me so much more grateful for my environment and support. 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. Confronted with her crime, Shanae is strangely detached and has little memory of the incident. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for fair use for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research.This Documentary/Film \"Girlhood\" is not for any personal financial profit or gain to TheeSymphony'sCulture Channel, but instead only for educational purposes and cultural research. Shot on digital video and Super 8 film over the course of three years, "Girlhood" provides a partial account of what happened to Shanae and Megan under the state's alternately guarded and. Girlhood | Film Review | Spirituality & Practice 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. As a left-wing filmmaker, she worried that this appeared to be some sort of right-wing Family Values advocate conclusion. Girlhood (2003) - Plot - IMDb What was particularly sad was the uninspired rehabilitation measures tried by the staff at Waxter, as the girls received little help that was useful and seemed to be going buggy in an atmosphere where the staff might have been decent but were certainly clueless on how to treat the girls. Issues such as child neglect, failure of the foster care system, alcoholism and drug abuse. Ecological Framework Does 'Girlhood' do justice to its subject? - Los Angeles Times This confused young girl ran away from ten foster homes and wound up attacking another . By age 10, she had been committed to two psychiatric hospitals and diagnosed as manic-depressive. Why is Shanae in the juvenile facility? My Essay Writerwas started by an award-winning journalist who saw the need from students to have someone take care of their annoying assignments for them. As a child, her mother was absent. An Ijaw Story: JOURNEY TO THE PRESENCE OF WOYINGI, Africas 100 Best Books of the 20th Century, African Regional Links: Central/Middle Africa, Literature from the Black African Diaspora, Documentary Review: girlhood by Liz Garbus, Countries: Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Black Canadians of Afro-Caribbean Descent. Even though she does not get the chance to further her education, she avoids returning to a life of crime (Garbus, 2003). 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. That Ms. Garbus was able to get so close to her likable subjects and allow us to see that they are not quite the monsters we might perceive from reading the newspapers about such bad girls, is what makes this film so special. http://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-nov-14-et-girlhood14-story.html As Oprah questioned Megan about her current situation and plans for the future, the teen grew visibly agitated. I dont think its a right-wing conclusion to say that everyone needs family and that strong families raise strong, healthy, happy children who can grow up to be adults who can contribute positively to our society. ''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. She gets her place to live. Megan is 16 and is in Waxter for Assault with a deadly weapon. One of the most educational parts of the film I felt was the example set by Antoinette. Early in the film it is apparent that Shanae doesnt really feel remorseful for the murder of her friend. A riveting documentary about two young offenders serving time in a Baltimore juvenile facility and their struggles over a three-year period to forge a new life for themselves against formidable odds. Megan admits that when she leaves Waxter she will only be going back to another foster home. Megan also leaves Waxter. Megan had given up, and even ended up back in jail. I have three lovely kids," she says. Then, everything changed when Megan got pregnant. . How A Violent Teen Who Had Given Up On Life Turned It All Around Gender Roles In The Film Girlhood. That was 11 years ago. This problem has been solved! Strength-Based Approaches 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. Follows two female inmates - victims of horrific violence and tragedy - who are serving time in a Maryland juvenile detention center. In one of the scenes, she even says that no one loves her. Your email address will not be published. Today, the Baltimore native is living in North Carolina and acknowledges that she wasn't in a good place during her "Oprah Show" appearance. I think this movie proves this country gives children nothing but lip service. Girlhood[Motion Picture]. At 14, she was hit by a stray bullet during a gunfight. She was farmed out to live with a foster parent. Shanae and Megan both experienced similar circumstances that yielded different outcomes. This may be a psychological scar due to her relationship with her mother. There was nothing in this film that led me to believe that society has a handle on the current youth crime situation, and that made me sadder than the plight of these two confused girls who were trying to grow up too fast and came up short. Girlhood misses some of the nuance of the girlhoods that it seeks to document in a few ways. "I decided to change some of my ways because I didn't want the system raising my child," she says. She responded by drinking and drugging, and then at age 12, graduated to murder. Other aspects reveal themselves when she grows older. In the movie, we were able to watch two female offenders in the juvenile justice system. Girlhood focuses on the life of two young juveniles, Shanae Owens and Megan Jensen both incarcerated for violent crimes. It is a sign of her resiliency that she manages to handle a tragedy that would have unsettled more wobbly teenagers. The disrupted attachment led to a paradoxical relationship with the caregivers in Waxter (Shaffer & Kipp, 2010). You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. FILM; A Filmmaker Who Chooses to Live Behind Bars Documentary Review: girlhood by Liz Garbus | The Woyingi Blog When she originally returned to Baltimore, Megan's life went downhill. [Write my essay for me? Get help here.]. As much of my work is with teenage girls in high school, this issue is both personally and professionally relevant to me, however, I often wonder if girls are really becoming more violent or if our society is just admitting something that has always gone on but we didnt know how to label because of our stereotypical image of girls and women as somehow less aggressive than men. airs Sundays at 9 p.m. Decent Essays. Shanae was reintegrated well by her . The popular phrase "Out of sight, out of mind" expresses the indifference of most Americans toward young offenders serving time in juvenile facilities. Their stories are depicted in the 2003 documentary Girlhood. girlhood documentary - Next Step Online Wake up to the day's most important news. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/girlhood-subjects-get-narrative-feature-829762 http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/girlhood 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. Follows two female inmates - victims of horrific violence and tragedy - who are serving time in a Maryland juvenile detention center. 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. After her release, 19-year-old Megan appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" alongside another troubled teen, Shanae. The number of girls incarcerated for violent crimes is on the rise. ~ (Source: Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide). She has a total of two children and she has graduated from college. Both Megan and Shanae share similar viewpoints for example, they mention that their role model is . 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. Thankfully, her parents point out that being dead is definitely WORSE than being in detention! She was there as a member of the community and Shanae was a child of the community and therefore her child. The film then changes focus on Megan and her deteriorating relationship with her mother. Girlhood gives us a glimpse into the lives of two troubled young women who desperately try to forge a new life for themselves against formidable odds. In contrast to Shanaes successes, when out of Waxter, Megan soon runs away from her foster home with no consequences (despite the fact that staying in foster care is a requirement of her patrol), couch surfs for a while and eventually gets her own place with her cousin. We now have the best team of essay writers in the world. Hanna has won numerous writing awards. Required fields are marked *. 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). She is also silly and childish which is what you expect for a girl her age. ''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. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Girlhood (Dir: Liz Garbus, 2003) | Feminist Films in the Swarthmore Girl Hood is a documentary film directed and produced by Liz Garbus that follows two teenage girls, Shanae and Megan, over the span of three years, from the time they are in the all-girls juvenile detention center at Thomas J.S Waxter Childrens Center in Laurel, Maryland, to when they are out in the real world. Shanae, on the other hand, received strong support and had to follow strict rules her 32-year-old diabetic mom insisted upon, so that when she was released to her home she had someone to lean on for support. 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. Early in the film it is apparent that Shanae doesn't really feel remorseful for the murder of her friend. Make sure to answer each of the questions as thoroughly as possible. Both girls are likable, smart young women struggling to overcome traumatic backgrounds. She is briefly reunited with her mother but cannot forgive her for not being there when she needed her most. 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. She had lived in an environment that was full of disruption. "Excuse me," she said. Copyright 2022 My Essay Writer. ''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. An alternate perspective of Girl Hood is that it is a film that tries too hard to achieve an ending on a positive note. Shanae 1. I was just doing anything to kill myself, honestly," she says. Garbus, L. (Director). 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. girlhood tells the story of Shanae Owensand Megan Jensen. This presumption is damaging because ultimately Garbus makes uncomplicated subjects of the girls. 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. Megan grew up without the love and support of her mother who was in prison for drugs and prostitution. Shanae even overcomes the death of her mom three months later from a heart attack and goes on to graduate from a public high school and enroll in a community college. Female Teenage BFF Inmates From Liz Garbus' Doc 'Girlhood' to Get Movie A story of mothers and daughters, crimes and consequences, and strength in the face of unimaginable adversity, girlhood is a testament to the faith and struggles of two girls just trying to grow up. The girls as well as their moms were open and seemed to not hold back their emotions for the camera, with Megan a virtual basket case of excitability and the childish Shanae changing for the better as she matures. Shanae moves into a lower security halfway house because her mother does not feel ready to take her back home. Megan was shuffled through 11 different foster homes, running away from all except one. We can see for ourselves how much love they need and how dangerous it is to think that institutions alone can solve these societal problems. I believe that you cant examine this increasing youth crime problem among girls without studying how the capitalist system effects social conditions. New York: Cengage Learning. Everything is "for the children"; however, this is powerful evidence to the contrary. (2003). When she grows older, it is clear that she is still affected by the feeling of neglect and she believes nobody is looking out for her interest (Garbus, 2003). A child of the 1990s, I was a voracious reader of The Baby-Sitters Club book series by Ann M. Martin, which detailed the friendships of a group of young babysitters in Connecticut. The difference between one girl supposedly climbing out of her bad situation and the other continuing in her dead-end path, is seen as a matter of good parenting and a child willing to change her bad ways. We follow them over a period of about three years. Anyone can read what you share. I dont think girls are really less aggressive than boys, nor do I think we should somehow pathologize aggressive and violent behaviour by girls but see it as a given among boys. The extent of Garbus access to the girls while in detention is remarkable (she states that she eventually had keys to the inside of the Waxter facility because the staff got tired of her and her crews constant requests to get into different rooms). Furthermore, at the end of the documentary, she enrolls in a community college nearby. Solved In the documentary "Girlhood, " the two | Chegg.com Megan, after a failed escape attempt from Waxter, goes into another foster home. Second, she is unable to regulate her emotions (Garbus, 2003). 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. Megan was shuffled through 11 different foster homes, running away from all except one. Megan admits to having a special relationship with a fellow inmate which seems to be of a romantic nature. All rights reserved. "I was really, really, really confused at the time," Megan says. Girlhood was shown at the 2003 Tribeca Film Festival and at the South by Southwest Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award. 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. But the reality is that Shanae, because of the support of her family, is able to overcome the trauma of her childhood and the impact of her crime and graduate from high school and go on to community college whereas Megan, without really any family support, is only able to struggle, her greatest achievement being that she doesnt return to crime or become a hardcore drug addict. Documentary chronicling America's justice system. At the beginning of the documentary, Shanae and Megan are 14 and 16, serving time for murder and assault, respectively. It is also quite clear that the staff at Waxter have a special affection for her despite her antics. Megan flounders around for a while and is eventually sent to another foster home, which doesn't work out. But while researching junvenile detention centres she met Shanae who suggested that she make a film about girls. Excerpt from Essay : Girlhood juvenile delinquents, Shanae Megan, Waxter Juvenile Facility Maryland. So what will be the fate of Shanae and Megan when they leave Waxter? The documentary follows the plight of Megan and Shanae (Garbus, 2003). In the second segment, she runs away from foster homes to try to live with her mother. The films protagonists, Megan Jensen and Shanae Watkins. Shanae Owens and Megan Jensen in girlhood. What is more important is that both boys and girls develop a sense of agency in relation to their aggressive behaviour, and take responsiblity for the consequences of their violent actions. http://sites.google.com/view/ehdwjwbxfu/linkedlist-member-modification-c, Your email address will not be published. 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. A lot of this seems due in part to her mother Antoinettes support. During this scene Megan whines that nobody loves her, she seems to be half joking but one has to wonder. Megan Terry, Feminist Playwright and Rock Musical Innovator, Dies at 90 ET on OWN. 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. murdering another girl after the two got into an argument. 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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Megan is doing great for herself Unlike Megan, who ends up bitter, Shanae has a positive outlook that things will become better. In the lower security facility interview, Shanae reveals that five men gang-raped her when she was young. Feb 26th, 2022 Published. When we meet Megan at Waxter it is clear that she is something of a troublemaker but probably more out of boredom than any malice (Garbus in her DVD commentary says that Megan is actually a very respectful young woman and that one of her main criticism of the Waxter Facility is that there is not really much structured activities for the inmates.). The film then narrows its focus to concentrate on the lives of two teenagers, Shanae Owens and Megan Jensen, both incarcerated for assault at the Waxter Juvenile Facility in Baltimore. Required fields are marked *. She tries to reach out to her mother multiple times despite being disappointed numerous times. 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. Abandoned by her mother, a heroin addict turned prostitute, Megan ran away from then different foster homes before being arrested on assault charges. Before starting the film girlhood, she actually meant to do a film about young men in juvenile detention centres because from her work on the film Angola, she was intrigued and disturbed by how many of the inmates there said they had learned the tricks of their trade from their experiences in juvenile detention. She's Got Moxie: Liz Garbus on "Girlhood" and Lives - IndieWire