May Non-Fiction

I watched the movie “Girl Rising” by Richard Roberts recently*. Roberts wants the viewer to know that many girls do not get an education and around the world, there are very few opportunities for them to be educated. He also describes that educating girls could be the key to a better world. He also would like the viewer to know that some girls in the world must fight for their education which often turns out to be worth it in the end. The movie shows the stories of a few brave girls who fight for their rights and education. The creator, Roberts, gets this message across by including facts. In between each story of a specific girl, he uses that time to share “fun” facts about the education of girls and about girls all over the world in general. An example of these facts is that there are 33 million less girls than boys attending primary school. Another thing that Roberts does to convey this idea of educating girls is to show the stories of girls who want their education. One example is the story of a girl living in Haiti. She goes to school until the huge earthquake occurs and there is no money for the new school, now taking place in a tent. She goes to the tent but is sent away. The next day she returns and tells her teacher “Even if you send me away, I will come back every day,” and convinces the teacher to let her stay even though she cannot pay.

Richard Roberts hopes that the viewer will both feel upset at the horrible facts of the education and rights of girls, but he also wants the viewer to feel motivated to help those girls who cannot get an education. Some girls are able to educate themselves and that we should feel the same way. The viewer feels saddened by the awful things that happen to girls, but also feels hope for the future through the way that the girls shown solve their problems. One way that Roberts makes the viewers feel this way is by having both frightening and motivating stories. An example of a sad story is a girl who, on a very hot day, wishes to travel to get some juice. The day was hot so she did not want to walk so she took a ride from a man. The man did not take her to the market, but to his house, and then further and further away from her home. He later raped her at 11 years old, and soon after, she became engaged. This story is quite upsetting, unlike the story about a girl working at a radio station. She helps other girls solve their problems. This story was more hopeful to show that not all girls have these terrible experiences. Another way that Roberts makes the audience feel this way is by including hopeful facts as wells as upsetting ones. He talks about how difficult it is to educate girls, and also describes how if we educate girls, we could improve the world.

I loved the movie. I was an excellent mixture of hope and sorrow, and even was a little funny. I learned a lot about what it is like for girls to not be educated all around the world. I think that girls who go to school are so lucky that they can, it is important for them to see this movie to know how fortunate they are. I want to know more about the other issues that affect girls worldwide. I hope that more girls can solve their problems like those in the video did. I enjoyed the movie very much and I wish that there were more videos like this. The movie makes me think about how people don’t care as much about girls’ education as they do boys’ as they have always thought.

*I was not able to collect quotes when watching the movie, so I only have a few.