Born Into Brothels

The documentary Born into Brothels displays the lives of the kids of prostitutes in the Red Light District of Calcutta. The cinematographer’s initial intention on going to the red light district was to take photographs of the place and while she is there, she also begins to become invested in the lives of some of the children that live in the area. The photographer, Zana Briski, makes this documentary come to life by using a camera that she chooses to carry around her to record her daily life. By carrying the camera around and holding it herself, she creates a more personable approach to the whole film as she allows for a first person narrative to occur easily, especially when she interviews the children. The movie proceeds with Briski teaching the children how to take a photograph and sparking an interest in them for it. She then uses the pictures each child took and displays the child’s current living situation and life through their pictures. She asks each child questions about their life and presents their life through a series of interviews which makes the audience feel as though they are there listening to these answers and seeing their habitat.

Due to most of the movie being in an interview format, it was not extremely necessary to edit the movie, which also helped create a very realistic portrayal of the documentary. Everything that happens in the red light district is out in the open for the audience to view and analyze. Briski makes it of extreme importance to show the place for exactly what it is and therefore, the images and videos shown of the place are laid out bare, honest, harsh, and vulgar such as when a mother is cursing at her young child and forcing her to clean the dishes and clothes. Since these children are stuck in the brothel, Briski starts teaching the children photography so that they can escape their brutal reality and focus on something lighter and happier and also have an opportunity to show their creativity.

A question I would like to present to the class is if you think there is anything else people that live in the red district can do to help children that are born there?