Waste Land, the documentary, follows highly praised and well-known artist Vik Muniz during his project involving the "pickers" within the world's largest landfill, Jardim Gramacho in Brazil. These pickers were hired to live on-site and trudge through the garbage all day, every day, gathering from the mess all the recyclable items carelessly thrown away by the citizens. The pay was less than deserved, and the job was dirty. Muniz was fascinated and touched by their story, and decided to dedicate one of his projects in their honor, and give back the earnings to them. Shown in the film are about five main pickers, who tell their deeply upsetting, but true-to-life stories. Muniz took photographs of these five, and then with their help, redesigned the photos using recyclable items from the landfill itself, which he then turned into photographs.
If I could describe the film in one word, I would choose "humbling." It was marvelous to witness someone as affluent and successful as Vik Muniz give of his time and efforts to people less fortunate. That aspect made me want to make a difference in someone else's life, just as he. When interviewed, I could tell that the pickers were not happy about their situation, but they made the best of it all the same. Some of the most powerful lines of the film came from them, with one saying that, "It's not bad to be poor," and another stating, "I carry this with pride." It's all that they had, and for them, the fact that they had it at all was good enough. It really made me think about the fact that so much of what we complain about is so petty, because to someone else, that's it and they appreciate it.
Watch film here.
I love the word "humbling" that you used to describe the movie. I totally agree with that idea, especially when referring to the pickers themselves. The one girl who was so proud to be a picker and not a prostitute or drug trafficker. It's crazy because, to me, all three of those jobs sound completely terrible and dangerous. It was humbling myself to hear this and then see the change that occurred in each of the individuals as they began to realize who they truly are threw the garbage that they work in. I love that Muniz's goal was to change the lives of a group of people using the materials they work with everyday. That is exactly what he did and I found it truly fascinating and inspiring. Thank you for your thoughts.
ReplyDelete-Vanessa Redden
The examples of the most powerful lines you share are really great. We from our cushy lives see these people and think how terrible that would be. However, collecting recyclables was something they were not ashamed of. Working in the garbage was their reality. Really, Muniz changed their reality by making them into art. He showed them that they could be more than pickers-- Just like Vanessa said. My favorite part of this fil was seeing that change in each of the pickers as they realized their potential. Great post Lauren!
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