Representation of urban poverty in film
In the current world, most of the information and knowledge shared to the public is through audiovisual works that includes representations of both reality and fantasy world. Creative works like film provide a narrative and interpretation of thousands of geographical locations used in different contexts. Many videos or films analyze various representations of human life, their interactions, social life, economic status, poverty and degradation of the poor urban and rural areas of the world. The film Precious (2009) and Midnight Cowboy represent the image of urban poverty while Smoke Signals and Winter’s Bone represent the image of rural poverty. Poverty is the deprivation of material possessions and is often associated with poor mental and physical wellbeing, socio-economic mobility restrictions, social isolation and weakness. Society terms poverty as a state that reduces economic productivity, limits access to proper public health, and often leads to social division in different economic blocs. The film industry has significantly represented poverty in both urban and rural settings showing the impacts of poverty through characters.
Representation of urban poverty in film
Oftentimes the poor have been associated with drug abuse, violence and crime especially in film. Such is the case in the representation of urban poverty in Midnight Cowboy and Precious. Lee Daniels’s film Precious (2009) provide representations of race, gender, and class, which are closely interrelated in the social aspect. Lee provides an insight into the educational, emotional, financial and family struggles of a low-income teenage girl, showing the extend of the effects of poverty on an individual. John Schlesinger’s 1969 film, Midnight cowboy focuses on masculinity, identity and poverty (Denby, 22). John develops his plot through two characters who have lost everything including their identity, dignity, self-worth, masculinity and are thus struggling to survive on the lowest range of the social ladder. According to (Oxfamamerica.Org, 2020), the low wage workers are also living in poverty, working and feeding hand to mouth and barely meeting their daily needs from their salaries. Living in an environment where the cost of living is too high especially food and other basic amenities, the characters in both Precious and Midnight Cowboy are compelled to indulge themselves in petty crimes and live a lie as they bottle in, their pains and struggles.
Characterization
Characters in Precious and Midnight Cowboy perfectly portray life as it is living in an urban area with no job, and lacking the basic amenities. The main character in Lee’s film, Precious Jones, is sexually and emotionally abused by her parents. Precious, struggles with illiteracy, poverty and above all is failed by the people who are supposed to protect her (Jarman, 166). As a result she builds up anger over the years and finds comfort in school and her world of fantasies. Precious’ mother Mary abuses drugs, does not work and is not willing to find a job either, rather she depends on her grandchildren’s welfare for survival. Precious is not privileged to get a proper education like any other child, and knows nothing about parental love. In one instance, Precious is forced to steal chicken from a fast food outlet. The lives of Joe Buck and Ratso in Midnight Cowboy are not any better. They are both homeless and are forced to steal, engage in prostitution and use violence sometimes just to put food on the table. The characters in both films present life typical of some of the people who live below the standard price in urban areas.
Location/ Setting
Setting in a film is one of the most important element that reinforce the plot and bring out the intended purpose or meaning. Precious is set in Harlem, an estate in the Manhattan Borough of New York City. Harlem is popularly known in the world as one of the African American heritage and home for many blacks in the US. Harlem has been regarded as a ‘ghetto’ for a very long time and has old tenement buildings. Precious is a poor African American so the location suits her character. Precious’ apartment is in one of those old tenement buildings furnished with very old furniture and has no lighting except for the ever droning television in the living room. The neighborhoods are not any better as you can find litter just anywhere. Midnight Cowboy is set in the New York City. According to US census, New York City is the most populated city in the US so it is a host of diversity including people from different social backgrounds, street urchins, homeless adults and criminals. The location suits the film best because it shows the reality side of life of low income or jobless citizen living in the city. Joe and Ratso are homeless managing an abandoned old apartment. In both films, the characters reside in the most impoverished parts of a city.
Reality Vs Expectation/Fantasy
Sometimes expectations are more than what is realistic in a given situation. In such cases, people are likely to develop stress when expectations don’t match up reality. In the film Precious, the main character uses fantasies as an escapism from reality. Precious imagines herself having a better life, slim figure, white boyfriend and walking down the red carpet for awards. The fantasies entail what she wishes she had or she imagines are ideal for bringing her complete happiness. Precious’ fantasies are next to impossible based on the current situation and towards the end of the film she faces more and worse challenges like dealing with a disabled child and accepting her HIV positive status. In Midnight Cowboy Joe Buck hopes for a better life in New York than the one he is living in Texas. Leaving Texas, Joe hopes to make a lot of money in New York City by sexually satisfying the rich women of the city. Life in New York however is hard than Joe had anticipated and he is compelled to engage in petty crime. Joe having high expectations and Precious having better fantasies are slapped with different realities most of which are not pleasant and they both find themselves living in poverty.
Filmic Techniques
The directors in both Precious and Midnight Cowboy used several filmic techniques to enhance the meaning of the films. One of the significant technique used is the use of flashbacks. In precious, Lee incorporates flashbacks to show the traumatic events that Precious has gone through including being raped by her father. Also used is the close up shot to focus on the main character Precious for the purpose of showing emotions. Other significant filmic technique is the choice of colors. Lee mostly uses a vintage pallet mostly to show time because the video narration is set in the 1980’s and also to show the living conditions of Precious. Flashback is also used in Midnight Cowboy where we get to know that Joe was sexually abused and her girlfriend raped by a gang, in a flashback. John also chooses from a wide range of colors in Midnight Cowboy where we see black and white footages especially through the flashbacks. In both films, a good number of filmic techniques are used to create meaning in film.
In summary, film directors do a good job of creation by wonderfully weaving characters, setting, cinematic techniques, and visual creation of reality versus expectations to bring out the intended meaning in film. Poverty has been well presented as it is or rather as it is perceived to be, in film. Depending on the time the film is set and the choice of location and characters, representation of poverty may be completely different as in the case of Precious and Midnight Cowboy. Moreover, it is easier to conclude from the films that poverty is brought about majorly by lack of jobs, proper education or better opportunities in life and all sorts of abuse are most likely to be experienced by the poor. Lastly, actions sometimes are conditional based on the idea that the characters in both films engage in petty crimes because jobs are hard to come by and getting basic needs like food is very hard.
Oxfamamerica.Org, 2020, https://www.oxfamamerica.org/static/media/files/Working-Poor-in-America-report-Oxfam-America.pdf. Accessed 23 November 2020.
Jarman, Michelle. “Cultural Consumption and Rejection of Precious Jones: Pushing Disability into the Discussion of Sapphire’s” Push” and Lee Daniels’s” Precious”.” Feminist Formations (2012): 163-185.
Denby, David. “Midnight Cowboy by John Schlesinger, Jerome Hellman.” (1969): 20-22.