Girl Rising (2013)

Girl Rising is a movie that premiered in 2013 and was released on DVD in 2014. Here are some basic facts about it:

** Directed by Richard E. Robbins

** Produced by Martha Adams, Paul G. Allen, Jody Allen, Holly Gordon, and Tom Yellin

** Narrated by Liam Neeson (and nine others)

** Run time: 104 minutes

This movie presents nine stories about nine girls from nine countries who face arranged marriages, child slavery, and other heart-breaking injustices. Through education, these girls are able to break barriers, create change and offer hope and inspiration.

Each story is written by a professional author who is from the same country as the girl. Each story is narrated by a professional artist (often a famous actress from the US). Here are the names of the nine girls, the authors, and the narrators:

# 1. SOKHA – from Cambodia

Written by Loung Ung - narrated by Alicia Keys

# 2. WADLEY – from Port au Prince, Haiti

Written by Edwidge Danticat – narrated by Cate Blanchett

# 3. SUMA – from Bardiya, Nepal

Written by Manjushree Thapa – narrated by Kerry Washington

# 4. YASMIN – from Cairo, Egypt

Written by Mina Eltahawy – narrated by Chloe Moretz

# 5. AZMERA – from Yilmana Densa, Ethiopia

Written by Maaza Mengiste - narrated by Meryl Streep

# 6. RUKSANA – from Kolkata, India

Written by Sooni Taraporevala – narrated by Priyanka Chopra

# 7. SENNA – from La Rinconada, Peru

Written by Marie Arana – narrated by Salma Hayek

# 8. MARIAMA – from Free Town, Sierra Leone

Written by Aminatta Forna – narrated by Selena Gomez

# 9. AMINA – from Afghanistan

Written by Zarghuna Kargar – narrated by Anne Hathaway

Several short segments between the nine stories are narrated by Liam Neeson, the only male narrator. Additional narration is done by Freida Pinto, an Indian actress who has appeared mainly in American and British movies.

Seven girls play themselves, while two girls are played by actors, because the real girls were afraid to appear in front of the camera. The two exceptions are:

# 4. The girl that is called Yasmin from Egypt

# 9. The girl that is called Amina from Afghanistan

The people around the girls are also actors. All scenes are carefully planned and constructed. The movie follows a script. This fact allows several cameramen to go into position and record every scene from several angles. The cinematography is excellent. According to the producers, all stories are true, including the two stories where the real girls do not appear.

Some of the girls are seen at more than one age, for instance Suma from Nepal, who seems to be around 20, when we see her riding from house to house on her bicycle, but we also see her as a young girl. Obviously, the younger version of Suma is played by another girl.

Since we are dealing with true stories where the main characters plays themselves, this movie might be described as a documentary film, but since it is based on a script, since all scenes are carefully planned and constructed, it might be better to talk about a docudrama.

As you can see, all girls chosen for the movie are from a Third World country. There is no story from Europe or the US. Why not? According to the producers, girls in Europe and the US do not face the same obstacles to getting a basic education as girls in a Third World country do. This argument seems fair.

PART ONE

Girl Rising got some good reviews: on Metacritic it has a rating of 59 per cent; on IMDb it has a rating of 73 per cent; on Common Sense Media it has a rating of 4 out of 5, which corresponds to 80 per cent; and on Rotten Tomatoes it has a rating of 89 per cent.

I understand the positive reviews. This movie has a message to which few people in Europe and the US will object: all girls have a right to get an education. Neither poverty nor any other obstacle should be allowed to stop them. Making sure that more girls get a basic education will benefit not only the girls themselves, but also the country in which they live and ultimately the whole world.

The producers have good intentions. There is no doubt about it. But good intentions do not guarantee a good result. Good intentions do not guarantee that the movie has a high quality; that it is interesting to watch; or that it deserves the high ratings mentioned above.

I have some reservations, I have some objections, to this movie. Not to the general message, but to the way in which this message is constructed and conveyed to the viewer.

# 1. One reason why many reviewers like this movie is that it gives these nine girls a voice. Strictly speaking, this is not true. Each girl talks to a local author whose story is read by a professional artist. The local author often employs words and concepts which do not always come from the girl herself.

The story is given an adult angle, an adult perspective, which may be fine, but the fact remains that we never hear from the girls themselves. The line from girl to viewer is a chain with four links: the girl, the writer, the narrator, and finally the viewer.

I think it would have been nice to hear at least one or two statements from the girls themselves. I say: let them speak in their own language and cover their statements with subtitles in English.

If the producers had done something like this, they would have made the movie more authentic. It would have been easier to believe them when they insist that all nine stories are true.

# 2. Several short segments between the nine stories offer a multitude of statistical information in colourful and fanciful ways. This information can be divided into two categories. In the first category we have statistics about what is, about the current situation. In the second category we have statistics about all the great things that will happen if more girls will get an education, about the future.

While information in the former category is based on facts, information in the latter category is based on assumptions. No one can predict what will happen if more girls will get an education. Nonetheless, all statistics are presented as if they are correct and beyond dispute, even though it is a well-known fact that statistics can be manipulated in many different ways, so that they demonstrate exactly the point you wish to prove.

I would have preferred to have less statistical information and instead to have some discussion about the reliability and validity of these statistics. If the producers had done this, they would have raised the credibility of the movie.

PART TWO

# 3. Eight of the nine stories begin with an on-screen message that provides the following information:

** The location

** The name of the girl

** The name of the local author

But one story has no on-screen massage: # 1 about Sokha from Cambodia. Why is there no on-screen message for this story?

# 4. In eight of the nine stories the local writer explains how and why change happens, if or when it occurs. This is not done in story # 1 about Sokha from Cambodia. Sokha is an orphan. When she was a child, she worked in a garbage dump, searching for treasure among the rubbish. Now she goes to school and in her free time performs as a dancer. How did this happen? How and why was Sokha able to turn her life around? This change is never explained, even though it is an obvious question to ask when we have seen her story.

# 5. At the end of story # 9 about Amina from Afghanistan, the girl who plays Amina removes her blue burqa and shows her face. Other girls around her follow her example and soon Amina is joined by a large group of girls who run to the top of a hill and proudly show their faces to the world. It is an optimistic ending to the story about a girl who lives in a deplorable situation.

But there is a problem here. The brave girls who show their faces are not a part of Amina’s reality, they are a part of her dream, which is acted out for the benefit of the camera and the viewer. Meanwhile, the girl, on whose life this story is based, is afraid to show her face to the camera, fearing that she would suffer if she did this. She cannot join the girls in her dream who are standing on the top of the hill.

There is another problem here. Take another look at the girls who have removed their burqas. What are they wearing? They are all wearing a scarf which covers their hair! How much freedom does this show? Even in the dream world, the girls of Afghanistan are still wearing a scarf that covers their hair. Even in the dream world, there are limits and lines which cannot be crossed.

# 6. At the end of story # 9, the girl who plays Amina speculates why she and other girls cannot get a basic education. What is the reason? What are the obstacles which are holding them back? She does not answer the question. Instead she says: “Don’t tell me the blame lies in my religion, in my culture, in my traditions.”

Why does she say that? Given what she has told us in her story, it is obvious to blame the religion, the culture, and the traditions of Afghanistan for the sad situation in which she and other girls find themselves. Apparently, we are not allowed to blame religion, culture and tradition, because these items are sacrosanct, i.e. they cannot be discussed let alone questioned. If we are not allowed to blame either of these institutions, I would like to know who or what I should blame instead. The movie offers no other choice.

# 7. When we have followed the nine stories, the movie turns to action: what can be done? And more directly: what can you do to help girls such as the ones we have seen in this movie? The answer: you can make a contribution. So now it is revealed that this movie is not merely information about girls in the Third World and their lack of education, it is also a fundraiser, an extended commercial, or - as some might say - a PSA, a Public Service Announcement.

Obviously, money may help in countries such as Cambodia, India, and Peru, where there are no religious or cultural objections to girls who want to go to school. But what about Amina in Afghanistan? Her problem is not lack of money, but rather something else which we are not allowed to mention or something which has not yet been identified.

CONCLUSION

Girl Rising has a strong side and a weak side. On the strong side, I have already mentioned that the producers have good intentions. They wish to call attention to a serious problem; this movie is one way to do it and in this movie it is done quite well.

On the weak side, the movie says we are not allowed to blame religion, culture or tradition when we want to find out what is holding the girls back. No other reason is offered.

In addition, the movie is afraid to tell us what is really going on. In story # 5 Yasmin from Egypt is raped, but this fact is concealed by a cartoon which ends up telling us that Yasmin defeated the man who wanted to attack her, which is the opposite of what actually happened. While I understand that the producers do not wish to show us a rape, they might be just a little more honest than this. When they tell us that Yasmin defeated the man who attacked her, they seem to turn reality upside down.

The good intentions of the producers are not in doubt. But when we are dealing with a book or a movie, what really matters is the result: how good is it? How well are the true stories told? Can the movie capture our attention? Are the main characters given a voice? Does the movie offer an analysis which can explain why the current situation is so sad? Does it offer any kind of constructive action, which can help us find a way out of the sad situation?

While I agree with the message of this movie, I must say that it is not successful in all respects. It has a strong side, but as you can see, it also has a weak side. There are flaws, which I cannot ignore. I would like to give it a good rating, but I have to remove at least two stars because of these flaws. Therefore I think it deserves a rating of three stars.

In my opinion, the 59 per cent rating on Metacritic is very appropriate, while the 73 per cent rating on IMDb, the 80 per cent rating on Common Sense Media, and the 89 per cent rating on Rotten Tomatoes are too high.

PS. For more information about gender relations in the US and the rest of the world, see the following films:

** America the Beautiful (2010)

** Miss Representation (2011)

** Half the Sky (2012)

** It’s a Girl (2013)

*****