The film Waste Land depicted many acts of service and care that are amazing to see. Often times there are people who are very poor and work in a dangerous and gross dump who are offering help to friends or family who need it. They could very well use a lot of help themselves, and yet they are trying to be of service to those around them.
The artist, Vik, first went to Brazil believing that he'd just shoot some pictures, maybe meet a few locals, and then go home and resume his normal life again. What ended up happening was quite different. Vik got the opportunity to work very closely with a lot of the pickers from the landfill, he learned their stories and showed kindness to all of them. 131
Vik got to know these people very well, and saw how they all kept going on strongly through life despite many terrible hardships. It seemed like all of the pickers he worked with had turned down opportunities to work in the drug trade or similar jobs where they could have made more money. They all wanted to be honest and hard-working people who earned their money, even if it was not very much.
These people were all going through hard times, and then Vik showed up and gave them an opportunity to do work that was outside the landfill and that allowed them to really accomplish something where they could see the results. Vik's encouragement and kindness helped all of the pickers to see that they are important, that they are cared about and that they can be beautiful. He changed their whole outlook on who they were and what they could do.
Watching this movie has shown me that working with and serving people really can change lives. It is too easy to dismiss a service experience as just doing work or another thing to check off on a class requirements list. Giving true service and caring about those you serve can help to make a huge impact on their lives as well as your own.
I definitely agree with what you are saying. Vik did a great job at showing the pickers that they were important and could be a beautiful thing. I love that you pointed out that these people could have been drug dealers and made more money, but wanted to be honest and hard-working people. It is so true, and what a great thing service is in everyone's life. It also showed me that to be involved in your community it doesn't have to be in the best circumstances like having a leadership position or anything, it can be in the dumps just helping someone see their importance in life. Waste Lands was a great documentation and it was really neat to not only see their circumstances, but be able to feel them and gain an understanding of it.
ReplyDeleteI like how you mentioned the workers were honest and hard-working. They knew they could have probably made more money elsewhere but that would require them to either do something illegal or immoral or both. Everyone is talking about service, which is what the movie was about but I'd like to look at it from a different view. Another theme we can learn through this movie is that if we are doing what's right then blessings will come. I think some of us feel like we are in the spiritual "dumps" at times but if we keep enduring then eventually we will be blessed and good things will come. This is true for these hard-working pickers and is true for us every day of our lives.
Delete