Today’s guest post comes to us from Andy Richardson.
I count myself among the minority of viewers who walked away more troubled than inspired by Half the Sky. This may sound strange coming from someone who not only considers himself an ally to vulnerable women and girls, but who is also affiliated with one of the organizations mentioned in the film. It was not the message itself that bothered me, but rather how it was presented.
For the uninitiated, Half the Sky is a documentary based on the best-selling book by the same name co-authored by the journalist couple Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. It follows six celebrities down some of the roughest streets in the global village in order to shed light on the day-to-day struggles of women living in the developing world. Most of the cases focus on extreme forms of abuse such as sex trafficking and female genital mutilation, and how the women and girls featured overcome these struggles. It was difficult, however, to fully hear and understand these stories of survival over the steady hum of Western egotism.
From the time George Clooney appears on the screen in the opening scene of the first episode, it’s made perfectly clear that Half the Sky is not about the rights of women and girls nearly as much as it is about engaging individuals from rich, industrialized countries. Put simply, it’s not about “them,” it’s about “you.”
There could be some wisdom in this, if, for example, the goal were to raise money for a specific cause. The use of so-called “poverty porn” to drum up capital for international aid programs is, after all, tried and true marketing tactic. But donating cash is not what Half the Sky is encouraging people to do. Instead, it is asking for vague commitments to get involved in order to turn the tide on women’s oppression. It’s less a call for financial capital than it is for social capital for what’s been dubbed the “Half the Sky Movement.”
It seems fair to assume that the type of actions your typical viewer will engage in after seeing such a film will be loosely based on what they saw. That’s all good and well except for the tiny detail that watching Half the Sky does not magically bestow upon those who watch it the ability to provide the life-saving services needed by the women and girls featured in the film. This is precisely my problem with Half the Sky. It sends a strong message that one is completely justified in abandoning their critical faculties when speaking about or participating in acts of service on behalf of the poor. More specifically, skills don’t matter nearly as much as pluck and determination.
Not one of the celebrities featured in the film is a social worker, a medical professional, a psychologist, or other specialist who could actually be of practical use in the places they visit. Despite this, their thoughts and feelings about their experiences in these far off places are given about the same amount of attention as the individuals possessing these skills working on the front lines. Their ignorance of the complexity of the problems is revealed repeatedly in many of these women’s tendency to project their own past life experiences on the individuals they meet. Clearly, reading Half the Sky is not enough if one wants to understand why, for example, men tend to get away with rape in Sierra Leone. And yet, this film appears to be endorsing any and all forms of uninformed “help” that is intended to accomplish – what, exactly?
I did not hate the film, but I think it could have done a better job had it made a stronger case for supporting, rather than supplanting existing local, grassroots initiatives in the developing world. Beyond that, it would not have hurt to look at the respective roles of governments and markets to bring about the development that would get at the root of many of the intractable problems discussed in the film. My only hope is that those who see Half the Sky will see it as a starting point, rather than a destination, for educating themselves on the important role that gender plays in fomenting lasting, positive change in every part of the world.
I agree. I liked the book much better. I felt it presented the information without the celebrity stuff added on. I hope that it begins the education process, and that the whole world becomes aware of the issues that women and humanity face.
Andy, I love your informed commentary. I’ve struggled for years with figuring out how to actually do something helpful and useful in the world when it comes to problems of poverty, oppression, and violence. Watching ‘Half the Sky’ reminded me of the quote from ‘Hotel Rwanda’:
“I think if people see this footage, they’ll say Oh, my God, that’s horrible. And then they’ll go on eating their dinners.”
Real and workable solutions are what we need to talk about. However, we need to be careful in not getting caught up in thinking that small and sometime simple acts actually do not make a difference. But education, education, education is what everyone needs. Making decisions on how to help those who do not live in a westernized country starts with us cultural understanding so that we know and understanding people’s motivations and can then find workable solutions that work specifically for this or that group of people.
You’ve given me a lot to think about. Thanks for that.
Agree totally about the celbrity thing. I thought that was dumb and pointless. I hated that part. I also wanted to see Susan out and about in the countries.
I agree with Jessica F. that the book is a lot better. Their facebook page itself is a lot better. In my News Feed, I’ve been notified–and have clicked the link and plunked down the cash–for necklaces made by former sex slaves, or art work made in the “women only” village. The request for money is there, for many causes. You can get involved, but you have to actually visit those sites and explore it more on your own.
I also think that part of the reason they don’t beg and beg for money in the movie is that they want to reiterate that the best way to help women all over the world is to help the women who are where you are: The film expressly urges you to first support the women in your family, your neighborhood, your church, your place of employment, and your government. The documentary said to support female leaders in your office. It urged you to vote for female candidates. Those are the actions the film called for. And I actually like that. Seems that we should fix our problems in our own lives before going overseas and medling with the problems of others we don’t understand. I think Half the Sky does a good job of saying that local solutions are often the best solutions, rather than being dolled out from foreigners from abroad. That’s why their calls to action were to change the way you support women on a day-to-day basis, wherever you are.
I have not read the book completely yet. I loved the movie. I felt like I could make a difference and that things are changing a little at a time and that supporting education is the answer. I was very very inspired by all the women who had been abused in various ways and their outlook on life. They are inspiring for even myself who has suffered little abuse in my life. I felt like it gave enough names of organizations to get one started in participating in the goal of freeing the women slaves of all over the world one act at a time.
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