Born into brothels

Born into Brothels, created by Ross Kauffman and Zana Briski seeks to inform others about the harsh realities in the red light districts of Calcutta. The producers of this film reveal a true story with a very effective pathos tactic. The beginning of this film plays very sad music and a slow picture as they record the everyday lives of the people living in this small area. You can tell the people live in complete chaos within the first minute of the documentary. It was very emotionally heartbreaking to watch the way these children were forced to live their lives. Zana introduces some of the children, which is one approach used to make their lives more personal to us. We learn their names, their families, and even their most passionate dreams. Each child tells of their painful lives growing up in the brothels. Their stories make you realize how much we take our lives in America for granted. Here we complain about the car in front of us driving too slow, or having to go to the dentist; in the brothels their only hope is to somehow escape. Escape the expected life-style of abuse, drugs, and prostitution. As one young girl, Kochi explains, her future is set to soon “join the line,” of prostitution in their family. These children have little to no say in how they choose to live their lives, and Zana “Auntie” makes that very clear in her film.

One of the most effective ways Zana uses pathos is by filming the children of the brothels in their everyday setting. The way the parents talk to their young children makes you not only sad, but almost angry and disgusted. Puja, a young boy of the brothels, tells of his sisters’ high likeliness of ending up as their mother, doing drugs and prostitution. Another young girl even shares that her father tried to sell her at one point.

Although the majority of this film is very heartbreaking, Zana also uses humor. I believe this was a successful tactic to use in this film particularly because it is so depressing. For example, when Avajit is attempting to ice skate when he goes on his trip to Amsterdam, you cannot help but smile. Another example is when Tapasi states, “even if I was poor, I would have a happy life.” Their astonishing optimism under their horrible conditions is very shocking to the audience, but nonetheless makes it a little less painful to watch the film. Overall, this documentary is extremely touching, and I believe it persuades the viewer exactly how the producers hoped it would.