Waste Land

Recently in my gifted and talented class we have been studying war, poverty, and hunger. As part of this unit, we watched the movie, Wasteland. Honestly it's hard to watch that movie and take in the reality of the video. I've know about that lifestyle, but I never saw it in picture and video. This video makes me wonder if there are people in the United States, even people around me who live a lifestyle like this. It's truly disgraceful. I knew what this movie was going to be like, from beginning to end, but just the images shocked me. My opinion didn't really change that much, I knew what the video was going to b like. I suppose the video actually "hit home" a little more than what I already thought. I think Vik Muñiz gave these people more than any amount of money could. Sure, in the end he did end up giving these workers thousands of dollars, but he gave them more. He opened the door for them, which is the best thing he could do for those people. Vik really showed these people what the real world is like. He showed them the opportunities that were out there waiting for them. There is a saying, "Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish, feed him for life." Vik did exactly that. He showed them their own potential, which opens them to anything.
This made me realize how much I throw out into the garbage. After watching this video I will be more conscientious about what I dispose of, and how much waste I produce. I'll try to limit how much I throw out. Some other cultures that could benefit from Vik Muñiz's work are people who generally live a poor lifestyle. For example, some people (not everyone, but there are some) out west live in a poor lifestyle. I'm not trying to be stereotypical, but from personal experience I know some people in Western America have a tougher time. One time when I went to South Carolina my family met a man who taught in a school in a western state. He told us about the lifestyle of the people there. He told us how the children went on a class trip to a restaurant, but most of them had never been to one before. That really shocked me. I thought that people would go to a restaurant at least one in their lifetime. In fact, my aunt and uncle eat out every night! I think that Vik's projects would also benefit these areas in America.