Directors and authors seek to address certain issues and concerns in the society.
The goal of any piece of art either in writing or production is the address certain concerns, teach, or provide direction for the society. Understanding the themes and the aims of certain direction and writing is important to make the best of what authors and directors among other influential individuals in the society seek to achieve. The essay provides a comparison between The Babushkas of Chernobyl movie by Holly Morris and 'Starting Over' article by Malcolm Gladwell. The focus of the essay is on the main themes addressed, the similarities and the differences and providing a personal view on the two pieces.
Similarities between the article and the movie
The article and the movie seek to address several concerns in the society and tackle similar views. First the article and the movie present opinions regarding disaster in the society hence present views on loss of lives, destruction of property, and the aftermath of such occurrences. The article by Malcom Gladwell takes a lot at the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina highlighting the differences in the community. The movie Babushkas of Chernobyl recounts the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster, which occurred in 1986 resulting in the deaths of 12,000 people (Morris & Bogart, 2016). The two pieces, therefore, provide a contrasting look at the effects of a disaster with Gladwell offering a positive look after Hurricane Katrina while the movie giving a sad state owing to massive loss of lives especially of men but focusses on the lives of about 100 women who decided to go back to Chernobyl despite being marked as a radiation site. The similarity is the fact that both the article and the movie provide a look at the effects of a disaster that forces many people to move out of their ancestral homes and seek a fresh start. The radiation in Chernobyl forces many people to move and many others to die while Hurricane Katrina in the article leads to massive movement of people out of New Orleans and other losing their lives. However, despite the risks of deaths in both places, there are those who risks it and came back with the women in Chernobyl albeit elderly providing a very strong idea of resilience and a great connection with the community and their home.
Death is another theme in the movie and the film with many loss of lives experiences from the two disasters.
However, the film and article focus on the reaction of the community to these changes. In the article, a former New Orleans resident recounts that, “Now, I hate that the storm came because a lot of people died in the storm, but, guess what, that was probably the best thing that could have happened to a lot of people, because it gave them the opportunity to reinvent themselves if their life wasn’t going right.’ (Gladwell, n.d). The film also captures loss of lives highlighting that the husbands of the 100 women died from the radiation.
The theme of connectedness to home is also evident in both the film and the article.
In both, the residents in the area affected are evacuated to other areas and many people are content to start a new life and seek other avenues to earn and living and continue with their lives. However, the 100 women that form the focus of Babushkas of Chernobyl film and a few many and women of New Orleans in the article willingly return to pursue their lives from the disaster stricken areas despite the risks involved. Gladwell’s argument on the connectedness to home is that those resettled following hurricane were better off in their new areas. In his view, most of them are from African American heritage of low and middle level income groups settled in areas that were better than New Orleans. The displacement accorded these women a chance to access and achieve higher social mobility than would have been the case had they stayed. He states, “I think that what’s happening is that a whole new world is opening up to them, Graif said. “If these people hadn’t moved out of the metro area, they would have done the regular move—cycling from one disadvantaged area to another. The fact that they were all of a sudden thrown out of that whirlpool gives them a chance to rethink what they do. It gives them a new option—a new metro area has more neighborhoods in better shape.” (Gladwell, 2015). The individuals who resettled in Houston have access to better transportation networks, better housing, increased job opportunities, low crime rate and an improved quality of life are some of the benefits receive3d by those evicted to Houston and other areas. In contrast, Babushkas of Chernobyl takes a contrary stand focusing on showing the unwillingness to change and gain an upward mobility. The movie relays the challenges women who were unwilling to leave their home decide to face the risks and change their lifestyle including having to take vodka as medication and live alone owing to the deaths of their husbands in the secluded place. In contrast to access to better amenities and social upward movement in the article, the film narrates the experiences of women who have to make do with the little available and limited outside contact with others. Access to medical facilities for example is limited especially dental care to which they need dearly. The women have to depend on vodka as they say, “This is not to get drunk but to heal” (Morris & Bogart, 2016).
Another similarity of the article and the movie is the theme of poverty and social mobility.
In the article, Gladwell demonstrates how the New Orleans’ residents would have remained in the same socioeconomic statuses even as they move from state to state. In the movie, Morris and Bogart quote the women saying they are worried about the anger that would kill them if they moved out of the radioactive zone. The women are willing to make do with the little that is available in the radioactive zone despite the threat this possess to their lives because of low socioeconomic status resulting to an inability to relocate and access better facilities in other areas.
Differences
The differences between the article and the movie is that the type of disasters that form the focus are manmade for the documentary and natural for the article. The actions of man in the development of the nuclear reactor led to the Chernobyl disaster and even such it was during a drill that an accident occurred. The effect is that many people in the town and nearby areas had to be evacuated for fear of radiation. The Babushkas clearly defy the effects of the radiation and show a commitment to their departed loved ones tending to their graves and living within the ruins and radioactive Chernobyl. The difference between the two articles is the outlook of life heading into the future. The article presents a positive outlook for the individuals who remained in New Orleans and decided to rebuild and with the help of the government through a commitment to better the public school system and better buildings and adherence to environmental consciousness and architectural designs. In effect the disaster in New Orleans provided a clean break towards a better future for the individuals living in the county. The same case cannot be said of the 100 women living in Chernobyl. Their future is bleak and it is just a matter of time before they pass away. Old age is catching up with them and the film highlights that death is inevitable either from the radiation that has led to prevalence of cancer especially thyroid cancer or from old age.
Opinion
In my opinion, the film does a better task offering real life examples of women who defy the odds to achieve their aims of a connectedness with the past and their ho9mestead. They choose to stay behind when others left and show that women are strong and can withstand the harshest of circumstances. The article also highlights the positives of disasters through opening up new opportunities especially with the low recidivism rate it highlights and creation of better community and standards following the destruction. The film and article, therefore, in my opinion play important social roles in creating conversation ion disasters, death, poverty, and connection with home and culture. A story of perseverance, commitment, and hardships is also evident in the film making it very inspiring for the current generations as we look at mistakes and mishaps from the past.
The article and the film tackle several important themes including disaster, death, poverty, and connectedness to home or place of origin. The film and article articulate the effects of a disaster on the lives of the people at great strength clearly showing that disaster can lead to positive and negative effects. For New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina provided a clean slate and allowed for the reconstruction, improvement of education and movement of the poor to better social and economic quality of life. The film, however, shows women condemned by the disaster to life as poor and alone waiting for death with limited facilities for healthcare and interaction. Other themes tackled include death and a commitment to home regardless of the inherent risks.
Works Cited
Gladwell, Malcom. Starting Over: "What Social Scientists Learned from Katrina," August 24, 2015. Retrieved from www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/08/24/starting-over-dept-of- social-studies-malcolm-gladwell.
Morris, M. & Bogart, A. "Chernobyl Disaster Documentary 2015." 15 Oct. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tduKwdF3Ag&t=1997s.
