Waste Land Documentary

As an introduction to our Hunger, Poverty, and War unit, our Gifted and Talented just finished watching the documentary titled, "Waste Land". I thought that this documentary was really touching, and enjoyable to watch. It guided you through the life of the pickers (workers that pick out the recyclable materials), and it focused on a handful of them. The "Waste Land", Jardim Gramacho, was pretty much, a waste land. It was landfill, so it was where all the trash and recylcables were taken to be picked and sorted, and the conditions of course, weren't very good. The pickers created a group called ACAMJG, the Association of Recycling Pickers of Jardim Gramacho. Vik Muniz was able to pick a handful of people to focus on and get closer too, and in the beginning, some of those people enjoyed picking, while others despised it and was ashamed to be called a picker. It was amazing to watch the process of taking the photos, then picking and organizing the waste, to seeing those pickers help and become a part of this huge project. In the end, the artworks became very well-known, and it had changed the lives of those pickers. Not only did they receive money, but when they asked the people that, at first, despised being at Jardim Gramacho, they were able to confidently say that they were proud to be a picker and a part of the ACAMJG.

Vik Muniz did not only help the pickers money wise. Vik was able to change the persectives of the pickers. An example would be Isis. Isis hated picking trash. She also felt ashamed to tell people that she was a picker. But after becoming involved with Vik and this huge project, she was able to in the end, say that she was proud to be where she was, proud to be a picker, and proud to have been a part of this project.

This film made me realize that my family and I probably dispose of a lot of things without thinking about who exactly has to deal with our waste. We do however recycle what should be recycled, and try to dispose less. We don't waste a lot of stuff, such as food, and other materials. We use them for as long as we can, and that sometimes causes less waste. I will probably start to be more careful with exactly how much I throw out. Maybe look for items with less packaging. But just because I want to do this, doesn't mean I necessarily will. Most of the time I end up forgetting, but hopefully this can be something that I continue to remember and carry out.

I think that another area of society that could be highlighted is, maybe juvenile "delinquents". In other words, students that act up or get into trouble inside and outside of school. I feel like they could be helped in the way the pickers were helped in Jardim Gramacho, because if they are juveniles that constantly get into trouble, or have issues at home, then this would be a chance for them to get a break from all of it. Although some if not many could reject this sort of thing, I feel that if you tried to show them something new, show them that they could have the potential to do things much more beneficial to them, then that could be something done to their advantage.