Girlhood

Director: Liz Garbus
Studio: Fox Lorber
Product Type: DVD

Description

Academy Award® nominated director Liz Garbus follows Shanae and Megan for the next three years, as they try to make a life for themselves both inside and outside of Baltimore's juvenile justice system. A story of mothers and daughters, crimes and consequences, and strength in the face of unimaginable adversity, girlhood is a testament to the faith and struggles of two girls just trying to grow up.

Customer Reviews:

The Real Thing!.......2007-07-05

I have some experience with the MD. State Juvenile Corrections System and this documentry is a realistic look at what these young ladies experience. We are using it as an educational tool for some at risk girls and it really held their interest.

very intense .......2006-12-12

I thought this documentary film was very intense and provided me with an entirely different outlook on the events troubled youth must overcome to survive. This film was an eye-opener and carried much shock value. I think that this film would be an excellent film to show to high school aged individuals who might be struggling through difficult times, or be temped by drugs or running away. This film captured what it is difficult to grasp while reading a book and that is the fact that each girl had a face to her troubles. The fact that I was able to see the look on these young girls' faces, to see the hurt, and the pain life had caused them was defiantly a reality shock for me.

The Destructive Results of the Victim Culture.......2006-11-17

This documentary is about as good as it gets. I always feel uneasy with the fact that human beings invariably alter their behavior when cameras are focussed on them. Still, Liz Garbus helps us to find out what makes these young ladies tick. The leftist intellectual community has encouraged American citizens of color to perceive themselves as victims of a racist society. Adhering to society's norms is often considered as selling out to the wider white establishment. It is therefore not surprising that Shanae and Megan have the odds stacked against them. They reside in neighborhoods were vile rap music and sexually promiscuity are glamorized. Shanae was even raped before her twelfth birthday. During a fight, She stabbed to death another young girl. Oddly enough, Shanae is far less troubled than Megan. The latter teenager lacks a viable family structure and will likely become a drug user and prostitute like her mother. Shanae probably already has earned a college degree. Megan, on the other hand, may be lucky if she could graduate out of grade school. It would be interesting if Ms. Garbus might soon possibly provide us with a four year update.

David Thomson
Flares into Darkness

Girlhood -- or Girls in the 'hood?.......2004-06-20

The title of Liz Garbus's brilliant film contains an irony. "Girlhood" conveys images of fluffy dresses, teddybears, and innocent first dates.

But Girlhood's two protagonists, Shanae and Megan, lose their girlhood, spending teen years locked up or (in Megan's case) in foster homes. Their "girlhood" is about drug-addiction, crimes, getting locked up and trying to get out. They speak about degrees of assault as calmly as their suburban contemporaries might speak of varsity and junior varsity cheering squads.

The success of Girlhood comes from Garbus's ability to transform our image of these girls from "juvenile delinquents' to complex young women, products of their environment as well as their own choices. We see how the system fails these young women, but to her credit, Garbus does not dwell on larger "society" topics. Instead, she focuses on the individuals and the impact of institutions comes through loud and clear.

Shanae's family was smart and supportive, although her mother had to work long hours to support the family. Inevitably Shanae got into trouble on the streets. I'm reminded of a segment in Bowling for Columbine: The mother of a child who brought a gun to school, killing a young girl, worked seventy hours a week and still couldn't make ends meet.

Shanae is easier to like, with a natural charisma. She's articulate and poised. You can feel her strength as she sits silently during "meetings," patiently listening while she's discussed in the third person. T

he scene of Shanae getting ready for a prom is triumphant and also moving, as we realize what it cost her to achieve her goal. She graduated fourth in her high school class, in a year that saw her released from juvenile hall and losing a mother to heart disease -- a failure of our health care system. I hope she achieves her dream of law school.

Megan, as smart as Shanae, continues to be haunted by the heritage of a mother who keeps returning to prison for drug-related crimes. She's almost a stereotype: raised in foster homes, bipolar, lacking role models outside the juvenile home. Yet as the film shows, she's also a unique individual who's surviving and staying out of jail.

In a way, these girls were lucky. Their juvenile home must be a model of its kind. Staff were tough but concerned and the girls had teddy bears. Shanae had room to grow and Megan ... well, Megan could go her own way.

After reading the dust jacket of this video, I was afraid the film, especially the ending, would be depressing. It wasn't. If anything, Girlhood shows how Megan and Shanae transcend their environments. And an investment in humane institutions can pay huge dividends. Not quite uplifting but definitely hopeful.

GIRLS MADE OF MORE THAN SUGAR AND SPICE.......2004-05-24

Documentaries are truly becoming the most captivating cinematic spectacles. From Hoop Dreams to Bowling for Columbine and now Girlhood, documentaries are capturing the brutal honesty of our modern culture.

Girlhood is a emotionally devestating look into the lives of two young girls Shanae and Meghan who journey through the juvenile detention center in Baltimore and their outside struggles at home. It is a story of lost innocence, deferred dreams, anguish, and torment, family disconnection and instability but in fragmented moments there are also elements of hope. We truly grow to feel for these girls and take a glance into their turbulent, ever changing lives.

Shanae is quiet spirited and articulate and is serving time for stabbing a girl to death. Meghan is an outspoken live-wire but just as intelligent, talented, and articulate, is serving time for assault. Through the separate journeys of these young women we see the harsh realities of inner city life and how it attempts to breaks the spirits of its daughters.

You will remember these girls long after the credits have rolled. You will be captivated by their story, their struggles, their strength, and their constant ability to continue to endure.

Description

First, Bob Costas from NBC Sports talks about the continuing baseball strike and its implications for the coming season. Then, author Fatima Mernissi talks about growing up in a Harem in Fez, Morocco, the subject of her book, Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood. Finally, Leonard Hayflick, professor of cell biology at the University of California in San Francisco, talks about aging and mortality as detailed in his new book, How and Why We Age.

Average customer rating:

From Girlhood To Womanhood Vol 2
Starring: Learning About
Manufacturer: Tell ME Why Sales Co.
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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