Lalee’s Kin Movie Review
July 9, 2007
Lalee’s Kin is a film we watched based on the vestige created in the Mississippi Delta. There are strong implications that have accrued during the 300 years of black oppression. While the rest of the country had modernize and moved on to industrialization and service industries, these poor folk are trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty.
The most prevalent of these conditions is the housing. Lalee lives in a trailer home that was granted to her by the government for disabilities. The home does not have water and is infested with cockroaches and rats. They cannot afford paper and pencils, which are a necessity for education.
The education is the worst in the state. These students are poverty stricken and are members of an all black student body. The standard of living is so low in this rural area that teachers are not finding it lucrative enough to take the jobs available. These are the signs of a less developed area. Similar to the situations in less developed countries like India.
People believe that they can improve their standard of living by having more hands to do labor. Thus, they have more children to compensate for the workload they want to employ. The reality is another mouth to feed.
In places like India the lower class and least educated have the most children. The educated population has an average of two children per household. The end result is an increase in the poverty population and a decrease in middle and upper class.
In the Mississippi Delta we encountered a slavery situation where the black community had to unite and hold strong family values, better yet, what was left of their families had to be valued. When the children are born here the families take their entire extended families children in and raise them in one house to build trust, aid and group effort. Different than the poverty in India, where many children are left to beg as pan-handlers on the streets and are not given the opportunity to be educated. The true hardship that is bore by these children is that they have a level of ignorance surrounding them.
If all a family knows is farming, then the children will find it hard to leave their hometowns. If kindergarteners cannot distinguish colors, numbers, or spell their own name because their parents cannot teach them, then there is a dire need for education.
In those places where racism and discrimination was most concentrated are the places that have not developed. We can use historical facts to interpret the conditions in these southern rural areas. If more people are aware of the problems then the hope is that education is spreading further through our nation. If we can help educate the less fortunate folk then we can break these hardship vestiges and arise as an overall developed country.
November 28th, 2007 at 12:38 pm
Where can I obtain a copy of Lalee’s Kin? My husband and I live in the south and actually own a cotton gin. We have seen the documentary on HBO but have not been able to purchase it. Any ideas?
Thanks,
Missy