Introduction
Society ordinarily has a divide of two; the rich and the poor; the less privileged and the opportune; the wasted and the significant. Most times, this divide starts at the least units of society that adore the rich and gets disgusted with the poor.
This strong imagery of society is effectively captured in the movie Children of Heaven – which attempts to define whether poverty has always meant the unfortunate. Often times than not, the child who starves due to poverty is looked upon as carrying an infection.
This paper seeks to identify family values and norms that make the family stand out unique irrespective of wealth level, and how the norms shape the child during growing up. When considering an isolation of certain members of the family- particularly children; the general differences that set out the poor and the rich in a given society could be very clear; and the effects of having a society socially divided by content of possession would therefore be basic considerations.
Family Values and Ties and Social Network
A majority of individuals who have watched Children of Heaven have always had a reason to applaud the quality of the piece of work. While credit to the quality of the piece of work has been noted to embed the scriptural work and the high performance of the characters who interpreted the story, it has been argued that the quality of the film is depended on the pre-imaging aspect (Mitch, 2008).
Critique is also built around the fact that even though the film capitalizes on inequality, and on social poverty, it fails to clearly identify the basis which morbid the general structuring of the divide (French & Bunkley, 2005).
This film, as it reflects key family values, is a narration that cuts across both the struggling and the established. Ali, 10, and Zahra, 9, are the chief characters whose story is built on repairs and loss of shoes. One’s interest in the story is lifted when the 10 year old child turns into a participant in a race contest to acquire a pair of shoes. This x-rays the length a child could go, based on family motivating factors, to define success.
The movie presents a resounding quality which reassures one of quality of life for all but paints the picture of the injustice that befalls the poor. Perhaps, the poor live quite simply in most cases, but their life is well fulfilled.
A significant quality of the movie that further projects the uniqueness of the production is the non-availability of gunshots, no physical violence, no ops and sound with loud attractions. Of course, the story writer does consider the value of materialism to the ordinary family in Iran as such families go through though thin on daily basis to better their living. Irrespective of what the families go trough, there is a clear drive in them to keep life going on a happier mood.
Urban Isolation among some Family Members
Urban isolation among some family members in the film is strongly presented as it x-rays poor families making frantic efforts to keep life on a happier side. The inter-switch of school attendance of Ali and his younger sister as the alternative option to share a pair of shoes for school is a strong story line which sees Ali always gets to his classes by late hours unlike the rest of the children who come from urban areas.
When he is not going to school, the boy would usually go with his father to the other part of the city where there are the wealthy to lookout for a gardening job- this work, though low paid would make extra cash available to the family. The scene is a sharp contrast of two families, one leaving in luxuries the other managing to keep things going, yet happiness of the families is not defined by the weight of their individual possessions.
Life, as it will always be, seem to create more opportunities for people who are eager to get solutions. Ali found a way out to the challenge he had consistently faced with the shoes through participation in school sports. To get his dream come through, Ali would have to push through several other children at least to a third place – of course quite a daunting challenge this is.
Physical Setting between Poor and Rich Neighborhoods
From a personal point of view, the major difference between the wealthy and the lacking is based on acquisition and positions. Although these are capable of suggesting one’s happiness, the fulfillment in one’s life is not completely resting on them. Several reasons make Children of Heaven an outstanding film, the most prominent of these is certainly the inherent sweetness of the film.
As against what is seen with majority of the children in the United States, Ali truly expressed deep and affectionate love on the younger sister Zahara. Both siblings having become tired of their predicament and decided to confront an issue through a unified approach without placing extra demand to further stress their parents’ finances.
Of course the family’s dreams to have a better standard of living some days gets louder in their minds day after day- some days, they could acquire whatsoever they please. In this way, both the poor and the rich families in the film have one thing in common- to get to an expected end.
I would say that where I find the movie a bit weak is on the fundamental conceit which rather appears to be artificial. Apart from this, the manner in which Ali lost the younger sister’s shoes is not quite articulate. However, the rest of the film has a careful touch and reflects uniqueness.
Attitudes and Cultural Differences Between haves and Have-Nots
Cultural differences in the movie between the haves and the have-nots are striking as the haves have an unusual display of wealth, where as the later struggle towards expected ends. This trait in the movie is in line with several other Iranian movies that I have watched as a majority of them are usually gentle and project a relaxed style yet a sharp contrast in people’s wealth.
The lesson learnt from this movie is not that zahara could lost her shoes, nor is it that it is difficult for a dad to find work in Iran, neither is it that Ali could be placed in a race. The lesson is based on the qualities of building a great and happy family irrespective of how rich or poor one is.
Conclusion
This paper discusses lessons learnt from Children of Heaven; a movie defining society’s ordinary of classifying people; the rich and the poor; the less privileged and the opportune; the wasted and the significant. Most times, society places a divide between the two which starts at the least units of society that adore the rich and gets disgusted with the poor.
Children of Heaven attempts to define whether poverty has always meant the unfortunate. Often times than not, the child who starves due to poverty is looked upon as carrying an infection. This ugly way of looking at others based on their lack will never make our societies better ones, if not checked.