Not One Less - Documentation

While Not One Less isn’t strictly a documentary, it does record the natural reactions, emotions, and nuances of the child actors as they played fictionalized versions of themselves. By choosing to use amateur and first-time actors to play the children, Yimou Zhang is able to capture authentic performances and, in doing so, document childish behavior and perspective of the world.

Huike Zhang especially provides many true-to-life instances of boyish rough housing and talking back to adults. As I was watching him, I was reminded several times of similar behavior seen in To Be and To Have (2002)—the naughty grins especially. There is something about children that is unreproducible. It’s just like when you ask an adult to draw a child drawing or write like a child. No matter how good at imitating children they are, it never feels authentic. Because of Zhang’s use of hidden cameras and microphones, he was able to capture the authentic, childish behaviors and “non-acting” of his actors which provided the most true-to-life experience for his audience.

Not One Less engages in a child’s reality in conflict with the real world. At a certain level, it deals with Minzhi Wei and Huike’s disenchantment with the world as they face the harsh hunger and realities of being alone in the city. They must also learn that life means hard work and sacrifice as both of them are driven from their homes in order to earn a living, denying themselves (willfully or not) of their childhoods. But unlike some of the clips we watched in class, this narrative fights for their right to be children as they are both able to return to school and turn away from the harsh realities of adulthood in the end.

As for a documentarian recording of childhood, it shares many similarities to Zhang’s approach to fiction. The Lumiere actualities celebrate the small, seemingly mundane lives of these children, when they themselves (as small as they are) don’t find their world small or mundane. Each lunch is an adventure, each stolen possession a tragedy. Though it is our job as mentors and family members to broaden their worlds and eventually introduce them fully into the realities of the world, we must appreciate and nourish their own childish perspective of reality and celebrate and mourn with them.

I’ve had the pleasure of spending at least one night a week with my 3 month old nephew and seeing him slowly begin to recognize and explore the world around him. He learns through a gradual broadening of hi s circular understanding, as the basics (eat, poop, and sleep) build outwards into tasting, noise, dreams, facial recognition, and other sensory discoveries. Just as we saw in Secret of Roan Inish, he learns circularly, not linearly.  

This is a complete indulgence (per the example of our esteemed professor), but here is a documentation of my nephew discovering the wonder that is a tongue and hands.

 



The Princess and the Frog -- Morality

Stories are an often-used mode for teaching children morals and lessons—don’t trust strangers, don’t lie, don’t be greedy. The musical numbers in Disney’s The Princess and the Frog (2009) serve as thematic beats, summing up the flaws and developments of each character as they learn, and are especially memorable for children as the melodies and lyrics are memorized. The film uses story, in both the traditional and musical forms, to teach children that a full life balances both hard work and fun.

Although The Princess and the Frog uses traditional polarization of the villain to firmly confirm to young viewers that he is completely wrong and evil (though a degree of justification is available for adult viewers), it also uses a type of polarization between Tiana and Naveen. Tiana is obsessed with work and scoffs at wishes and hopeful thinking, while Naveen completely shirks any and all work in favor of a charmed, care-free life. Ironically, both are very concerned with money as a means to realize their dreams. The lesson is learned when Tiana and Naveen balance their polarities and find true joy in combining both work and fun.

The song “When We’re Human” uses polarization to first establish this theme of balancing work and freedom. Naveen sings of returning to his old life of riches and freedom, stating that “life is short, when you’re done, you’re done. We’re on this earth to have some fun and that’s the way things are.” On the other hand, Tiana sings, “I’ve worked hard for everything I’ve got and that’s the way it’s supposed to be…If you do your best each and every day good things are sure to come your way.” Both are presented positively to the audience, but their natural opposition to each other emphasizes their incompleteness.

While their overt goal is to become human, their true goal is to learn how to balance their lives and discover what they need, as Mama Odie sings in her song, “Dig a Little Deeper.” Before the song begins, Naveen says “what we want, want we need is all the same thing, yes?” This outlines the moral he learns—that want and need are separate, as one requires sacrifice but yields greater rewards. Naveen learns that “Money ain’t got no soul, money ain’t got no heart” and what he needs is hard work and self-control, found in the form of Tiana, to find true happiness. Tiana, though she doesn’t realize it until the Shadow Man tempts her into choosing her restaurant over those she loves, needs to learn that love and family, in the form of Naveen, is more important than being commercially successful.

In tandem, the film also emphasizes that happiness doesn’t come from money. As stated before, both Tiana and Naveen were convinced that their happiness could be achieved by obtaining money—a thought shared by the film’s villain, Dr. Facilier and his accomplice, Lawrence. The two models of happiness in the film, Tiana’s father and Ray, both have love and little else yet are very happy with their lives. Conversley, it was Facilier’s greed for the power money brings that was his downfall, and it was Tiana and Naveen’s abandonment of money (and all human commodities) that led to their happiness.

The Princess and the Frog is a moral story that conveys its lessons very effectively through its music and characters, the two most prominent aspects of film that children focus on the most. It teaches that true happiness in life is found in the balance between work and fun, responsibility and freedom, and not in the commodities money brings.

 

The Hobbit -- Adventure

As adequate as formal learning may be, there is a natural curiosity in children that drives them to pursue the unknown, the unexperienced—the grand adventure. Media, specifically adventure stories, is a way to satisfy this curiosity for the strange and the epic and curate the inquisitive minds of children. In J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, Bilbo represents this childish, adventurous spirit as his Tookish blood and overcomes his sensible Baggins nature as he participates in a dwarvish adventure. Tolkien’s writing style and story structure reflect the childish desire for adventure and the learning process which venturing into the unfamiliar brings.

Tolkien writes The Hobbit as if he were telling the tale to a listening audience. He engages the reader by asking direct questions like, “And what would you do, if an uninvited dwarf came and hung his things up in your hall without a word of explanation?” (20) and directly addresses the reader with “but of course, as you have guessed, he did rescue his friends in the end, and this is how it happened” (171). This style of prose engages the reader and encourages them to reflect upon the story rather than merely consume it. These points, especially the direct questions, provide active learning opportunities for the young reader as they consider, what would I do if a dwarf showed up uninvited? How should I act? What would be polite and what would be rude? Tolkien, writing specifically for children, tailors his writing to inspire and satisfy their adventuresome curiosity.  

As an extension of his writing style, Tolkien’s story structure also encourages learning and curiosity, especially in the learning and exploration of the inner self. Central to the adventure genre is a leaving behind of what is familiar and journeying into the unknown. In the beginning of The Hobbit, adventures are “nasty disturbing uncomfortable things” and with “no use” (18). But after Bilbo hears the dwarves sing of their old, lost home and gold, “something Tookish woke up inside him, and he wished to go and see the great mountains, and hear the pine-trees and the waterfalls, and explore the caves, and wear a sword instead of a walking-stick” (28). Bilbo’s adventure nature is awakened, and despite his fears of danger, pursues his curiosity.

In his book Walden, Henry David Thoreau speaks of how we move away from nature and its experiences as we grow older until “at last, we know not what it is to live in the open air. From the hearth the field is a great distance,” which is just the dilemma Bilbo is faced with. He must leave the comfort of his domesticity and venture back out into nature in order to connect with his true origins, just as children must pursue their adventurous curiosities.. The defamiliarization of the familiar encourages the discovery of one’s true self and identity. Leaving the comfortable dullness of home is essential to a child’s growth, whether it is a literal separation or an empathetic one through media.

Just as crucial as leaving the familiar is the return to it. On his adventure, Bilbo learns many things about the world and himself. He learns that even elf- and wizard-laid plans can go awry, that the reality of danger spoils the initial fun of leaving home, and of the strength self-reliance brings. It’s the moments when Bilbo is unsupervised that he learns the most. For example, “somehow the killing of the giant spider, all alone by himself in the dark without the help of the wizard or the dwarves or of anyone else make a great difference to Mr. Baggins. He felt a different person, and much fiercer and bolder” (154). But the use of these lessons only comes into being when he returns to Bag-End. Bilbo finds more joy in food and cheer and song, as Thorin puts it, because of his separation from them, and is now free from the social conformities that had plagued him before because of his newfound identity.

As instructive as supervised learning is, it’s important for children to escape the watchful eye of society and learn for themselves. Bilbo comes back from his adventure a different hobbit, and is more assured of his identity and place in the world because of it.

To Be and To Have -- Inquiry

As a child myself, I was always glued to Animal Planet and the Food Chanel, and not just because puppies are cute and food is delicious. I was fascinated by the nature shows and even programs like Dogs/Cats 101 and the Eukanuba dog shows, where facts about different breeds of animals were numbered off, and informational cooking shows like Unwrapped (a show about how different foods are made) Alton Brown’s Good Eats. Books like the Magic Treehouse series were little more than digestible historical facts strung together by story, and yet I devoured them eagerly. Children are, as John Locke put it, blank slates that are eager to be written on and, for good or bad, molded by society.

Children’s learning is dominated by two modes—media and adult example. Picture books and films about animals, science, history, cultures, etc. are essential to exposing children to different subjects. And when they fail to capture their attention, museums, aquariums, and zoos physically immerse them in the learning environment, such as Jean Painleve’s The Seahorse and the Bean Museum. Both used types of media immersion to teach children about the world they live in.

Our viewing for the week, To Be and To Have (2002), demonstrated the other important mode of learning—adult example. While much of informational children’s media covers scientific, artistic, and historical fact, it is the guidance of adults that teaches a child’s inquiring mind about society and how they fit into it. Although the main setting is a classroom, the focus is less on the curriculum the students are learning and more on their nature curiosities and interactions with one another. During a self-motivated project to fit together various erasers, one is stolen, two fiver-year-olds experiment (and almost succeed!) with a copier and a coloring book, and two boys figure out what makes them fight with each other every now and again. The ever-patient teacher teaches them more than how to pass exams, he teaches them how to read, write, cook, and get along with one another even after disputes.

One of my favorite scenes is when Jojo comes back from washing his hands of paint, and tells his teacher that there is a wasp in the hall. Rather than brushing him off, the teacher pushes his observation further and asks Jojo what he thinks the wasp was doing there—he encourages inquiry and continues to prod his students to ask questions and not just accept one answer.

Media has such a potential for capturing a child’s imagination and the possibilities for turning their attention toward a positive learning experience that prods them into inquiring about the world really is exciting to me as a future creator of media.

The Jungle Book -- Morality

Often in children’s media, morality is polarized in characters—bad characters are irredeemably bad and good characters always make the right decisions. The moral lessons are created when the protagonist (initially labeled neither bad nor good) interacts with these characters and experiences consequences.

The characters in The Jungle Book (1967) can easily be categorized into either “good” or “bad.” This polarization helps children understand the story and the morals more clearly, even if it isn’t an accurate representation of how good and bad operate in the real world. For adults, truth in cinema is found in the complexities of representation because it can then act as a mirror for the complexities of reality, but for children media must act as a key for them to refer to in order to understand the complexities of the world, which is why characters are often polarized. When they’re being naughty or rambunctious, they have the apes to identify with, and when they see the good concern of a parent, they have the reference of Bagheera.

Mowgli learns several different lessons from different characters on the way to the man village. With Bagheera, he learns (and rejects) his identity as a man and the responsibilities that go with it; with Baloo, he learns how to relax and enjoy life; with Kaa he learns that not everyone is trustworthy; with the elephants he learns how to follow orders; with the apes he learns that man is envied and about greed; with the vultures, he learns that friends are for picking you up when you’re feeling down; with Shere Khan he learns about the power of fear; and finally with the girl from the village he learns about the attraction of being among other humans (and puppy love for cute girls).

Ultimately, The Jungle Book is a coming-of-age story, which is really a specific brand of morality tale. As he travels through the jungle, Mowgli learns the things he’ll need to know to be a man—friendship, relaxation, responsibility, caution, greed, discipline, and even his own identity as a human. Mowgli, morally neutral (well…generally good) at the beginning navigates his way between naughty and good, partying with the apes and standing up to Shere Khan. Even Baloo and Bagheera learn lessons from each other, Bagheera learning how to unwind and take things less seriously, and Baloo learning responsibility and when to take a firm hand. Mowgli’s arrival at the man-village, including his attraction to the girl he finds there, marks his arrival at manhood.

 

Son of Rambow -- What is Children's Media?

The Son of Rambow is a nice, complex answer to the question, what is children’s media? It is a film about children and their family and friendship problems, yet it has a PG-13 rating and deeper themes that suggest an older audience. Although it is a film about children, some of its content, especially that involving the family situations of Lee Carter and Will, move it away from the “children’s movie” label. However despite its rating, I believe it is a children’s film and it’s more mature themes of parental neglect, religious conformity, and fickle social status make it a valuable film for both children and those who have claimed to move beyond childhood.

The depiction of Will’s imagination by overlaying his drawings onto real life appeals to children and to the memories of being a child in adults. Will and Lee’s adventures in skipping school and chores in order to shoot an action movie of their own is a form of wish fulfilment for young viewers, a realization of freedom and fantasy that they’re unable to experience. It reminded me of the make-believe games my sisters and I would play when we were young, acting out the worlds of our favorite books because it was the closest we would ever come to living in them. Although Will and Lee are childish, the lessons and experiences they have relate to children but aren’t inherently childish, making the story accessible to people of all ages. For example, the neglect and bullying Lee receives from his absent mother and exploitive brother resonate with children’s experiences with bullying, sibling rivalry, and lack of attention from a parent. But for adults viewing the film, it allows them to not only reflect on their childhood experiences but analyze their own behavior toward children, as well as translate the “childish” experiences into adult situations. The same idea applies for Will’s conflict with his extreme religion—a form of authoritative oppression for him and children viewers, and a larger issue of conformist and moral but narrow-minded education of children and people for adults.

Just like the child he is, Will completely inhabits the character and life of Rambo, which brings up the power of children’s media. Children, unlike any other audience, will take what they see at face value and believe the storyteller and his/her opinions. If a kid walks off a bus looking like the latest European pop rock star, then he has to be popular, someone to aspire to. But as we came to realize at the end of the film, Didier was the uncool kid, the bullied rather than the popular icon he was seen as by the English students. Likewise, the moment when Will actually becomes Rambo, when he is sitting in the hospital after the crash, getting the mud and blood washed off and being stitched up, is the moment that the dream of Rambo crashes for him. The closest he gets to being Rambo is the farthest he is from wanting to be him.  

Though I believe Son of Rambow is a children’s film, it’s scenes, characters, and themes are crafted in such a way that it loses all the diminutive, constraining connotations of that label.

 

 

Fireside Chat

My Video:

(just for fun)

Artist's Statement:

I chose to do my fireside chat on my belief that it’s absolutely essential that children grow up reading, watching, and listening to fairytales. Although my performance did not go as well as my rehearsals, I think I was able to execute the presentation aspect of my project fairly well. I chose this belief because of my own childhood experience and love for stories, make believe, and fairy tales. As a kids, my sisters and I were always imagining new creatures, alphabets, and, most importantly, stories. Those hundreds upon thousands of hours reading books, playing make believe, and discussing stories had a huge impact on my personality and world view. I believe I can attribute my open-mindedness, empathy, and creativity almost completely to the fact that I enjoyed fairy tales.

I chose some popular and not-so-popular cinematic moments for my presentation in order to shed light on the important life lessons or skills they teach to the children who watch them. If I had more than 4 minutes, I would’ve included lessons from children’s and young adult novels as well. I think often children’s films, books, and music is side lined and not given the importance or attention it deserves.

For my outside source, I drew upon two videos—one, linked here, is a simple compilation of Disney clips. This video has such a powerful emotional effect on me, not only because it’s my childhood, but because these films continue to be so dear to me because of the lessons they taught me. The other is any TED video in general—I love the presentation style of these talks and tried to capture that. From the reading, I loved the line “Beautifying is one classic operation of the camera, and it tends to bleach out a moral response to what is shown,” from “Regarding the Pain of Others.” Strangely, this perfectly applies to my belief. Fairy tales have the ability to “beautify” hard situations and lessons—like expressing grief and dealing with loss, sacrifice, etc.—without losing the integrity of the moral being expressed. Children latch on to behavior extremely quickly, so fairy tales (which I realize I’m using a very broad definition) and essential to shaping and rounding out a child’s emotional and empathetic experience.

I believe in this so strongly, that I felt like closing my presentations like a religious testimony. Fiction has such a powerful effect on everyone, but especially children, that robbing your child of fairy tales because “escapism is dangerous” is a crime.