I liked the approach taken in the film; bringing father's into the picture. Because you wonder, like, where are these dads? Selling drugs & doing them, in jail, with another woman, etc. and yeah, that's what most of them are doing. But why? I think the film did a good job answering this by following Thigpen's life. I think father's play a major role in a person's life; if you're a girl you may tend to look for that lost love in another guy/other guys and if you're a boy you'll turn to "the streets" like Thigpen said. It's true that some people who aren't in poverty grow up without dad's or have very distant relationships with their dad's but I don't think it's the same as growing up without a dad in poverty. Everything is just that much different when you're in poverty, because your outlets around your environment aren't good schools, or good jobs, or good people. They are the streets, the drugs, the crime and the people who are in the same living conditions as them.
Another interesting thing in the film was Angela Jobe's response to putting work aside for a little bit to further her education to get a better job. She was so against it and it made me wonder why wouldn't you want to do that? The woman that came to her house was in poverty just like her and got out of it because of furthering education. Does Angela really think that her work is worth that much even when her family still struggles? This made me wonder how many other working people in poverty have this same attitude and if they'd still have this attitude after meeting someone who could be an inspiration to them-someone who could identify with them and have been in their shoes.
I don't think that working women in poverty are an inspiration like Bill Clinton said. At the end of the day if the work that they're doing doesn't progressively help them out of poverty how will they ever become an inspiration?
How well do you think poverty is being addressed?
I think after this session poverty is being addressed as much as we hear about it, however I did learn that there is more to poverty than just the food stamps and other government aid such as Clinton's pledge to "end welfare as we know it"
I to feel that growing up in poverty without a father figure in the home is drastically different than when you remove poverty from the equation. I knew a handful of people that I went to school that didn't have a father figure in the home yet most if them have done quite well for themselves. Conversely I did know of some classmates from single parent households that did get involved in drug use, what causes this type of behavior is not always linked to poverty but I'm sure it exacerbates any underlying issues that may exist in any home.
ReplyDeleteI feel that education will play a key role in any substantive change in poverty in the U.S. The opportunity cost involved in someone who is living at or below the poverty line going to school full-time and putting work aside to concentrate on schooling is probably negligible. The caveat being whether or not their circumstances pertaining to their financial obligations will allow this.
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