I watched twelve movies on poverty and I felt that each one gave its own side of poverty.
The people in the movies struggled a lot to just get by, to pay rent, to get food, to pay important bills. It is very sad to watch, especially when they cannot seem to get help from anyone. When I saw the movies I wanted to help each person because I saw their lives, their families, friends, and trials. It reminded me that everyone needs love. Just because you do not know someone you should still help them, they have family and friends and a life. Most of the movies ended happily or on a happy note, which makes sense because many people watch movies for entertainment. However, they do not want to see movies who are just depressing. All of the movies had hope, except for one, The Bicycle Thief. While The Grapes of Wrath did not have a happy ending, it ended on a happy note, there was promise for the family. A lot of the things that I saw in the movies like Slumdog Millionaire and Dirty Pretty Things I did not know were going on. Watching Hoop Dreams put real faces with the stories of poor people in the city who deal with drugs and violence every day. I wanted so much sometimes for someone to help a person or family in the movie that I realized that I should and do want that outside of the movies to. One man comments in The Grapes of Wrath that the family could not possibly be human because “a human couldn’t stand to be so miserable.” There should always be help for people who have nothing. I loved the line in A Raisin in the Sun, “There is always something left to love.”
Hoop Dreams
***Spoilers***
Hoop Dreams is a documentary, in the 1980s, about two boys, their families, and their dreams of becoming pro basketball players. They get recruited to go to St. Joseph’s High School. The two boys are William and Arthur. They both have long rides to get to school and get up at 5:30 am to ride to school. They are impressed with the rugs and the clean hallways, things that they say are not in ordinary schools. Arthur starts as starting point guard for the freshman team and William starts on the varsity team. Both have entered high school with on a 4th or 5th grade level and have to work extra hard to catch up. The school is full of mostly white people and Arthur says that it was a little hard at first to deal with. Their sophomore year the tuition increases and William has to get extra help to pay for the schooling, which he gets. William can now go to school until he graduates without having to pay. Arthur is not so lucky and is paying half of his tuition; his family cannot pay it and is forced out of school. Half way through the school year he transfers to a public high school and stays there until he graduates. Mid-season Arthur gets onto the basketball team. At the public high school is a goal just to graduate from high school and some do not; at St. Josephs the goal is usually to graduate from college. Arthur’s mom ends up losing her job because of back pain and his dad leaves. Arthur’s mom says that the children have nothing constructive to do in the neighborhood and it is no wonder that they join gangs. William had a good year at St. Joseph’s and gets a job with the person who is helping pay for his education. Arthur is playing basketball and his dad shows up. He says hello to Arthur and then walks straight to the other side of the area and buy drugs, right in front of Arthur and the cameras. I cannot imagine what that would be like. By junior year William is getting offers from almost every college, but then he injures his knee. Arthur makes the varsity team at his high school, but his family is now on welfare and do not have enough money to make ends meet. The family’s lights and gas have been cut off because she could not pay the bills. William has to have surgery on his knee, but he might be able to play in the tournament. Arthur’s family now has two new additions, his sister had a baby and his friend Shannon has come to live with them. Arthur’s dad starts beating his mom and continues to abuse drugs. Arthur’s dad has to leave the family alone. William has been in rehabilitation and is now a father. While William was not playing basketball he grades sunk. Arthur is doing just enough to pass, but he can do better. One year after leaving their family Arthur’s dad comes back after 7 months in jail and is no longer doing drugs. Arthur and Shannon have to go to summer school to keep passing, but Shannon does not always show up. Arthur says that drug dealers give them money and tell them to buy stuff with it and this is what keeps them in style. The drug dealers realize that they play basketball and give them money to try to keep their basketball careers going. Arthur and Shannon also work at Pizza Hut to make some money. William goes to a basketball camp to show recruiters that he can still play even though he had an injury. Senior year Arthur is dropped from the aid he was getting with his family and his parents separate. William, after trying for forever, finally gets the grades to get into Marquette. Shannon, Arthur’s friends, starts selling drugs and gets caught so Arthur has to go to summer school by himself. It was hard to watch things that I heard and read about were going on actually happen. One week before graduating Arthur is robbed at gunpoint and Arthur’s sister had a gun pointed at her close to the house. He says, “After this I’m ready to leave cuz everybody up here is goin to jail, or in drugs...or dead.” Each boy gets through college, but neither of them has gotten into the NBA. In 2001, William’s brother who we see in the film was murdered and in 2005, Arthur’s dad is murdered. However, the documentary does not include this because it was made in 1994 and ends on a hopeful not as the boys each go off to college.
Hoop Dreams is a documentary, in the 1980s, about two boys, their families, and their dreams of becoming pro basketball players. They get recruited to go to St. Joseph’s High School. The two boys are William and Arthur. They both have long rides to get to school and get up at 5:30 am to ride to school. They are impressed with the rugs and the clean hallways, things that they say are not in ordinary schools. Arthur starts as starting point guard for the freshman team and William starts on the varsity team. Both have entered high school with on a 4th or 5th grade level and have to work extra hard to catch up. The school is full of mostly white people and Arthur says that it was a little hard at first to deal with. Their sophomore year the tuition increases and William has to get extra help to pay for the schooling, which he gets. William can now go to school until he graduates without having to pay. Arthur is not so lucky and is paying half of his tuition; his family cannot pay it and is forced out of school. Half way through the school year he transfers to a public high school and stays there until he graduates. Mid-season Arthur gets onto the basketball team. At the public high school is a goal just to graduate from high school and some do not; at St. Josephs the goal is usually to graduate from college. Arthur’s mom ends up losing her job because of back pain and his dad leaves. Arthur’s mom says that the children have nothing constructive to do in the neighborhood and it is no wonder that they join gangs. William had a good year at St. Joseph’s and gets a job with the person who is helping pay for his education. Arthur is playing basketball and his dad shows up. He says hello to Arthur and then walks straight to the other side of the area and buy drugs, right in front of Arthur and the cameras. I cannot imagine what that would be like. By junior year William is getting offers from almost every college, but then he injures his knee. Arthur makes the varsity team at his high school, but his family is now on welfare and do not have enough money to make ends meet. The family’s lights and gas have been cut off because she could not pay the bills. William has to have surgery on his knee, but he might be able to play in the tournament. Arthur’s family now has two new additions, his sister had a baby and his friend Shannon has come to live with them. Arthur’s dad starts beating his mom and continues to abuse drugs. Arthur’s dad has to leave the family alone. William has been in rehabilitation and is now a father. While William was not playing basketball he grades sunk. Arthur is doing just enough to pass, but he can do better. One year after leaving their family Arthur’s dad comes back after 7 months in jail and is no longer doing drugs. Arthur and Shannon have to go to summer school to keep passing, but Shannon does not always show up. Arthur says that drug dealers give them money and tell them to buy stuff with it and this is what keeps them in style. The drug dealers realize that they play basketball and give them money to try to keep their basketball careers going. Arthur and Shannon also work at Pizza Hut to make some money. William goes to a basketball camp to show recruiters that he can still play even though he had an injury. Senior year Arthur is dropped from the aid he was getting with his family and his parents separate. William, after trying for forever, finally gets the grades to get into Marquette. Shannon, Arthur’s friends, starts selling drugs and gets caught so Arthur has to go to summer school by himself. It was hard to watch things that I heard and read about were going on actually happen. One week before graduating Arthur is robbed at gunpoint and Arthur’s sister had a gun pointed at her close to the house. He says, “After this I’m ready to leave cuz everybody up here is goin to jail, or in drugs...or dead.” Each boy gets through college, but neither of them has gotten into the NBA. In 2001, William’s brother who we see in the film was murdered and in 2005, Arthur’s dad is murdered. However, the documentary does not include this because it was made in 1994 and ends on a hopeful not as the boys each go off to college.
The Grapes of Wrath
***Spoilers***
The Grapes of Wrath was the movie about poverty that got to me the most. I was crying throughout a lot of the movie. Tom has been in the penitentiary for four years and when he gets out and goes to see his family he finds out that they have lost their farm and have gone to his uncle’s. The uncle is about to lose his farm too, so the whole family has decided to go to California because they believe that there is a lot of work there. It was so sad to see the families lose their homes when they cannot even feed their children. The owners of the land kicked off about 100 people and left them to the streets. Before they leave Tom’s mom goes through all of her things and has to get rid of the things she doesn’t absolutely need. That morning Grandpa decides that he is not going, this is his land and he is not leaving. They have to force him into the truck, but on the way there he has a stroke and dies. They bury him with a note that says that he was buried by his family because they have no money to pay for funerals. They write this note to make sure that no one thinks that he was murdered so that the police do not have to open an investigation. “The government is more interested in the dead then the living.” This statement is true through most of the movie. They stay at a camp for 50 cents and a man there says that he is coming back from California because there are no jobs left there and says that he is going home to die. They continue on anyway just to see if it is true. There is a scene where they have to buy some food because Grandmother is hungry; they have to buy bread because she cannot chew. The lady brings out a loaf and says that it is 15 cents, but they only have 10. So, they offer the ten cents and say to just cut them off ten cents worth, but the owner of the store says to give it all to them. The two kids have come into the store and see the candy. When they are checking out they ask if the candies are a penny candies and the lady tells them that they are 2 for a penny and the kids are happy. However, after they leave we find out that the candies are 5 cents each from truckers who have stopped there and who witness the kindness. When they leave they give extra money to pay for what was owed by the Joad family. This was probably my favorite scene because there is so much kindness here. One person sees someone else showing kindness and so they show kindness. On the way Grandma starts getting really sick and the family is stopped for a check to make sure that they do not have agricultural items. As they leave the man who is checking cars says, “They can’t be human because a human couldn’t stand to be s miserable.” When they get stopped again later the checkers let them go on without being checked because Grandma looks so sick. We find out that Grandma was actually dead. When they get to California there is no work for them and they have to go to a camp. There are so many people in the camp and the kids in the camp have not eaten all day, at least. So they cook what is left of their food and the kids get what is left over. Everyone leaves the camp because there is word that a bunch of people are going to set fire to it and they can still find to work. They get a flat tire and a man stops by and tells them that there is work picking peaches up the road and they are very happy. When they get there there is trouble and cops are everywhere. People are lined up on the roads. Their first day they only make a dollar and this is barely enough for food, but it is better than nothing. Tom walks outside of the camp to find out what is wrong and it is a strike because they used to work there and they start workers at 5 cents per barrel and then drop them to two and a half cents per barrel. The owners exploit the poor people’s situation to make it better for themselves. Police come upon them and attack the head, who is Connie, who came with the Joad family to California and kill him. Tom gets mad and hits a police man who he accidentally kills, but another police man hits Tom across the face and leaves a bad mark. The family has to leave the work at night and when they do another family comes in and instead of 5 cents they are offered two and a half. Tom wants to leave by himself, but the mom is trying so hard to keep the family together. When they drive down the road they find a camp down the road that is run by the Department of Agriculture and it is a good place to stay. They stay at the camp ground until they can find work during cotton season. Police end up finding Tom and he has to run away and leave his family behind. He decides that he is going to fight for protestors and help out people whenever he can. They stay in the camp a little longer, without Tom, and then go on to pick cotton. The family says that they took a beating, but that’s what made them strong.
The Grapes of Wrath was the movie about poverty that got to me the most. I was crying throughout a lot of the movie. Tom has been in the penitentiary for four years and when he gets out and goes to see his family he finds out that they have lost their farm and have gone to his uncle’s. The uncle is about to lose his farm too, so the whole family has decided to go to California because they believe that there is a lot of work there. It was so sad to see the families lose their homes when they cannot even feed their children. The owners of the land kicked off about 100 people and left them to the streets. Before they leave Tom’s mom goes through all of her things and has to get rid of the things she doesn’t absolutely need. That morning Grandpa decides that he is not going, this is his land and he is not leaving. They have to force him into the truck, but on the way there he has a stroke and dies. They bury him with a note that says that he was buried by his family because they have no money to pay for funerals. They write this note to make sure that no one thinks that he was murdered so that the police do not have to open an investigation. “The government is more interested in the dead then the living.” This statement is true through most of the movie. They stay at a camp for 50 cents and a man there says that he is coming back from California because there are no jobs left there and says that he is going home to die. They continue on anyway just to see if it is true. There is a scene where they have to buy some food because Grandmother is hungry; they have to buy bread because she cannot chew. The lady brings out a loaf and says that it is 15 cents, but they only have 10. So, they offer the ten cents and say to just cut them off ten cents worth, but the owner of the store says to give it all to them. The two kids have come into the store and see the candy. When they are checking out they ask if the candies are a penny candies and the lady tells them that they are 2 for a penny and the kids are happy. However, after they leave we find out that the candies are 5 cents each from truckers who have stopped there and who witness the kindness. When they leave they give extra money to pay for what was owed by the Joad family. This was probably my favorite scene because there is so much kindness here. One person sees someone else showing kindness and so they show kindness. On the way Grandma starts getting really sick and the family is stopped for a check to make sure that they do not have agricultural items. As they leave the man who is checking cars says, “They can’t be human because a human couldn’t stand to be s miserable.” When they get stopped again later the checkers let them go on without being checked because Grandma looks so sick. We find out that Grandma was actually dead. When they get to California there is no work for them and they have to go to a camp. There are so many people in the camp and the kids in the camp have not eaten all day, at least. So they cook what is left of their food and the kids get what is left over. Everyone leaves the camp because there is word that a bunch of people are going to set fire to it and they can still find to work. They get a flat tire and a man stops by and tells them that there is work picking peaches up the road and they are very happy. When they get there there is trouble and cops are everywhere. People are lined up on the roads. Their first day they only make a dollar and this is barely enough for food, but it is better than nothing. Tom walks outside of the camp to find out what is wrong and it is a strike because they used to work there and they start workers at 5 cents per barrel and then drop them to two and a half cents per barrel. The owners exploit the poor people’s situation to make it better for themselves. Police come upon them and attack the head, who is Connie, who came with the Joad family to California and kill him. Tom gets mad and hits a police man who he accidentally kills, but another police man hits Tom across the face and leaves a bad mark. The family has to leave the work at night and when they do another family comes in and instead of 5 cents they are offered two and a half. Tom wants to leave by himself, but the mom is trying so hard to keep the family together. When they drive down the road they find a camp down the road that is run by the Department of Agriculture and it is a good place to stay. They stay at the camp ground until they can find work during cotton season. Police end up finding Tom and he has to run away and leave his family behind. He decides that he is going to fight for protestors and help out people whenever he can. They stay in the camp a little longer, without Tom, and then go on to pick cotton. The family says that they took a beating, but that’s what made them strong.
Oliver Twist (2005)
Oliver Twist starts at a workhouse. A little boy and a wealthier older man are walking through the streets on 1830s England and end at a workhouse. The little boy is 9 years old and is an orphan. His name is Oliver Twist. They take him to the work house to learn a useful trade. There are hundreds of children in this workhouse and they are all crammed in there together. One boy paces the floor at night because he is too hungry to sleep, they do not get a lot of food, and when Oliver asks for more it is a huge deal. Some even suggest that he should be hanged for asking. There is a chimney sweep who comes to the workhouse to get a boy to help him, but Oliver does not want to go with this man when he is taken to him and one man has pity on him and lets him go back to the workhouse. Oliver goes to a house to work. He has to sleep with coffins in the room and under a desk. By this time he is 10 years old. He does not get a lot of food here either. The man of the house seems to take pity on Oliver, but in the end he conforms to everyone else. When the boy that is in charge of him says bad things about his mother he starts to hit him and they lock Oliver in a closet. Bumble, the man who took him to the workhouse comes to flog him because the head of the house is not there, but he then Mr. Sowerberry gets home and does it himself, even though he doesn’t want to. Oliver decides to run away that night and ends up traveling, on foot, the 70 miles to London. A carriage roles by him, but no one in it cares to help him. He tries to get food from one house, but they turn him away. He keeps traveling and collapses outside of a ladies house. She does not have much but offers it to him and lets him sleep in her house. He keeps walking until he gets to London, when he gets there a boy sees him and offers him help. The boy then steals some bread and then takes him back to where he lives. Oliver meets Fagin, the man who has taught all of these boys to steal what they need and want. While Oliver is out with them for the first time and they steal from a man he is caught, even though he did not actually do anything. The man they were stealing from takes pity on Oliver and takes him back to his house and lets him live there. However, one day when Oliver goes out one of Fagin’s friends steals him back because they were afraid he was going to tell on them. No one helps Oliver and when he tries to run for it, they chase him down. They are not as nice to Oliver as they were at the beginning. Fagin threatens Oliver to do what he wants.
**********************************Spoilers******************************
Then Fagin’s friends take Oliver and force him to help them rob the man’s house that was nice to him, Mr. Brownlow. Mr. Brownlow wakes up as they enter the house and they try to shoot him, but hit Oliver instead and Mr. Brownlow becomes very concerned for his well-being. Fagin and his friend, Sikes, decide that they have to kill the boy, but Nancy, a girl in their group, hears this and does not like this. She goes to Mr. Brownlow’s house and tells him to meet her and when he does she warns him. But Fagin has sent someone to follow her and he reports back to Fagin and Sikes that she warned him. Sikes then goes to Nancy and beats her to death and he and the rest of their crew become wanted men. Sikes runs away with Oliver when he sees that this is his only chance, but ends up accidentally hanging himself. The police catch Fagin and he goes to jail to be hanged. Oliver goes to live with Mr. Brownlow, but feels sorry for Fagin and goes to visit him in jail.
This movie shows what some people resort to when they have no money and then do not try to work. They steal what they need from others. During most of this movie I wanted to yell someone help Oliver. Not too many people cared what happened to him. The workhouse was sad, that so many little children were orphaned and poor. Many people in this movie only cared about their own well-being and did not help others. But in the end Mr. Brownlow sees the need and helps Oliver.
**********************************Spoilers******************************
Then Fagin’s friends take Oliver and force him to help them rob the man’s house that was nice to him, Mr. Brownlow. Mr. Brownlow wakes up as they enter the house and they try to shoot him, but hit Oliver instead and Mr. Brownlow becomes very concerned for his well-being. Fagin and his friend, Sikes, decide that they have to kill the boy, but Nancy, a girl in their group, hears this and does not like this. She goes to Mr. Brownlow’s house and tells him to meet her and when he does she warns him. But Fagin has sent someone to follow her and he reports back to Fagin and Sikes that she warned him. Sikes then goes to Nancy and beats her to death and he and the rest of their crew become wanted men. Sikes runs away with Oliver when he sees that this is his only chance, but ends up accidentally hanging himself. The police catch Fagin and he goes to jail to be hanged. Oliver goes to live with Mr. Brownlow, but feels sorry for Fagin and goes to visit him in jail.
This movie shows what some people resort to when they have no money and then do not try to work. They steal what they need from others. During most of this movie I wanted to yell someone help Oliver. Not too many people cared what happened to him. The workhouse was sad, that so many little children were orphaned and poor. Many people in this movie only cared about their own well-being and did not help others. But in the end Mr. Brownlow sees the need and helps Oliver.
The Pursuit of Happyness
“Will Smith stars in this movie tale inspired by the true story of Chris Gardner, a San Francisco salesman struggling to build a future for himself and his 5-year-old son Christopher (Jaden Smith). When his girlfriend Linda (Thandie Newton) walks out, Chris is left to raise Christopher on his own. Chris’ determination finally pays off when he lands an unpaid internship in a brutally competitive stockbroker-training program, where only one in twenty interns will make the cut. But without a salary, Chris and his son are evicted from their apartment and are forced to sleep on the streets, in homeless shelters and even behind the locked doors of a metro station bathroom. With self- confidence and the love and trust of his son, Chris Gardner rises above his obstacles to become a Wall Street legend.”[1]
This really is the basics of the movie. Throughout the movie I really felt for Chris, he just goes through one trial after the other. I cannot imagine having to stand in such extremely long line for so long and just hope to get a room in the homeless shelter, but I know it happens every day. Chris has to keep his son in mind and does a lot of the things that he does for him. He hates to see his son homeless and out on the streets, but together Chris and Christopher get through the trials and are able to make it. It is incredible that Chris got the job he did and he showed hard work and determination.
[1] http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/thepursuitofhappyness/
This really is the basics of the movie. Throughout the movie I really felt for Chris, he just goes through one trial after the other. I cannot imagine having to stand in such extremely long line for so long and just hope to get a room in the homeless shelter, but I know it happens every day. Chris has to keep his son in mind and does a lot of the things that he does for him. He hates to see his son homeless and out on the streets, but together Chris and Christopher get through the trials and are able to make it. It is incredible that Chris got the job he did and he showed hard work and determination.
[1] http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/thepursuitofhappyness/
Cinderella Man
Cinderella Man opens in 1928; Jimmy is a boxing star who lives a comfortable life with his family. However, the movie quickly flashes to 1933 and four years into the Great Depression. Bills come into the house and they have no way of paying them. They do not have enough food, at breakfast Jimmy’s daughter says, “Mommy I want more,” but the answer she gets is you cannot have anymore because we have to save some for the boys. Jimmy tries to get fights at night, but they seem to be few and far between, so to try to make some money Jimmy gets up really early and goes to the docks to try to get a shift. There are tons of men crowding the gate to get a shift and they only need about five to ten people each day. Jimmy hasn’t gotten a shift in a while. When he gets home he finds out that his oldest son, Jay, stole salami. Jimmy makes him return it and does not seem to understand why he took it, but as they leave the store he says that his friend had to go to family far away because his parents could not afford to keep him. Jimmy promises that they will always be together as a family and that he does not have to worry about that. Jimmy goes to the fight, but does not fight well at all and has his fighting license revoked. His kids sleep on the floor and they cannot afford to pay the rent of the heating bill. They are out of credit at the market, so they have no more food. By December they are way past due on their heating bill and the company turns off their heat. The kids start to get sick and when Jimmy leaves Mae, his wife, sends the kids away, she is unaware of his promise. Jimmy gets very angry and goes to a relief agency to get money, and then he goes to his boxing buddies and pleads with them for money. He gets enough money for them to turn the heat back on and brings the kids home. His situation is terrible and it really shows how people lived during the Great Depression. They barely had enough to live on. It also shows what many people who deal with poverty today go through.
********************************Spoilers*****************************
In June of 1934, Jimmy gets an offer to come back into the boxing ring for one night to fight one of the latest hot shots. They let him go on because they figure if he wins it will be huge and if he gets knocked out, which they think is the most likely; it will be huge because he has never been knocked out. He wins the fight and his manager is able to get him into a few more fights that he wins. Mae is not happy that he back in the ring because she worries about him so much. When she goes to his managers fancy apartment she realizes it is just to keep up appearances. He has sold most of his furniture to make it look like he has plenty of money. Jimmy’s friend loses his job and gets into some trouble. He participates in a strike that turns bad; he gets trampled and dies. This worries Jimmy a lot and he does not want this to happen to him or his family. He accepts a fight for a big title against a guy who has already killed two people in the ring. When he is warned that he might get killed he tells the men around him that more people die working on scaffolding and working triple shifts each day. He knows that he does not want to go back where he was and says that he has something to fight for now. He goes through the fight and comes out victorious.
********************************Spoilers*****************************
In June of 1934, Jimmy gets an offer to come back into the boxing ring for one night to fight one of the latest hot shots. They let him go on because they figure if he wins it will be huge and if he gets knocked out, which they think is the most likely; it will be huge because he has never been knocked out. He wins the fight and his manager is able to get him into a few more fights that he wins. Mae is not happy that he back in the ring because she worries about him so much. When she goes to his managers fancy apartment she realizes it is just to keep up appearances. He has sold most of his furniture to make it look like he has plenty of money. Jimmy’s friend loses his job and gets into some trouble. He participates in a strike that turns bad; he gets trampled and dies. This worries Jimmy a lot and he does not want this to happen to him or his family. He accepts a fight for a big title against a guy who has already killed two people in the ring. When he is warned that he might get killed he tells the men around him that more people die working on scaffolding and working triple shifts each day. He knows that he does not want to go back where he was and says that he has something to fight for now. He goes through the fight and comes out victorious.
Dirty Pretty Things
Dirty Pretty Things takes place in London. There are two immigrants who work in the same hotel, Senay and Okwe. Senay is an immigrant from Turkey and Okwe, an illegal immigrant from Nigeria, rents her couch so he can have a place to stay. He drives cabs during the day and works at the front desk of the Baltic Hotel at night. He rarely sleeps and buys drugs to keep him awake. During one of his nights at desk a prostitute comes down from one of the rooms. She says that something was wrong with one of the rooms and that he should check on it. He goes to unclog the toilet and finds a human heart in it. He because concerned and tells the man who runs the hotel about it. He says to forget about it and everyone that is around Okwe seems to know something that he doesn’t. They warn him not to get involved. Immigration comes after Senay at the hotel because she is not allowed to working and they visited her, she is not allowed to have anyone renting from her. She narrowly escapes both incidents, but she cannot come back to the hotel as a maid, so she goes to work at a sweatshop. The man who runs the sweatshop realizes that Senay is in trouble because the police come and all of the workers have to run. To stay there and to not call the police the man sexually abuses her.
********************************Spoilers******************************
Meanwhile, back at the hotel, Okwe, who was a doctor in Nigeria, finds a man in the hotel who needs a hospital, but will not go. He realizes that this man gave his kidney illegally to obtain an American passport. Okwe finds out that the hotel manager is giving people passports for their kidneys. He sees it as okay because he is helping a person who needs a kidney is getting one and a person who needs a passport is getting one, but Okwe does not agree to help. Senay gets tired of the abuse and decides that she needs a passport and we find out that she knew all along what was going on, she had to clean up after the operations. The man who does the operations is not good at all; this is why there was a heart in the toilet and decides the only way to save Senay is to do the operation himself. Okwe and Senay get passports and then trick the manager and take his kidney instead. Okwe goes home to Nigeria and Senay goes to New York to stay with her sister.
This movie was shocking and anyone who watches it needs to be away of the R rating. It showed a dramatic side of the poverty that was happening at the Baltic Hotel. Drug dealers, hookers, and illegal organ donating was just everyday occurrences. It was sad to see the people in the hotel and the workers in the sweatshop just accept what they had to do and their only way out seemed to be to obtain these illegal passports, but they were at quite a cost.
********************************Spoilers******************************
Meanwhile, back at the hotel, Okwe, who was a doctor in Nigeria, finds a man in the hotel who needs a hospital, but will not go. He realizes that this man gave his kidney illegally to obtain an American passport. Okwe finds out that the hotel manager is giving people passports for their kidneys. He sees it as okay because he is helping a person who needs a kidney is getting one and a person who needs a passport is getting one, but Okwe does not agree to help. Senay gets tired of the abuse and decides that she needs a passport and we find out that she knew all along what was going on, she had to clean up after the operations. The man who does the operations is not good at all; this is why there was a heart in the toilet and decides the only way to save Senay is to do the operation himself. Okwe and Senay get passports and then trick the manager and take his kidney instead. Okwe goes home to Nigeria and Senay goes to New York to stay with her sister.
This movie was shocking and anyone who watches it needs to be away of the R rating. It showed a dramatic side of the poverty that was happening at the Baltic Hotel. Drug dealers, hookers, and illegal organ donating was just everyday occurrences. It was sad to see the people in the hotel and the workers in the sweatshop just accept what they had to do and their only way out seemed to be to obtain these illegal passports, but they were at quite a cost.
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