Waging a Living
by Edward Rosenstein, Frances Reid, Pamela Harris, Roger Weisberg
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DVD details
Director: Edward Rosenstein, Frances Reid, Pamela Harris, Roger WeisbergBrand: New Video
Cinematographer: Brian Danitz
Cinematographer: Fawn Yacker
Cinematographer: Hilary Morgan
Cinematographer: Jim Arnold
Cinematographer: John Hazard
Cinematographer: Mark Stoddard
Cinematographer: Peter Nelson
Cinematographer: Rick Butler
Cinematographer: Slawomir Grunberg
Cinematographer: Vicente Franco
Producer: Edward Rosenstein
Producer: Frances Reid
Producer: Pamela Harris
Producer: Roger Weisberg
Editor: Christopher White
Producer: Deborah Clancy
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 85 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-09-26
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Docurama
Product features:
- Tender and eye-opening, WAGING A LIVING takes an unwavering look at America s working poor--people who work hard and play by the rules but never seem to get ahead. Over three years, the film follows four hard-working individuals as they strive for their piece of the American Dream but find only low wages, dead end jobs, and a tattered safety net in their way. As they raise children, try to get a c
DVD Reviews of Waging a Living
DVD Review: The Working Poor
Summary: 3 Stars
Conservatives promote that mess about "Work hard and all your economic problems will disappear!" This documentary focuses on four individuals who are working poor. They put in an honest day's work and spend money on their families, but still have problems making ends meet. This work exemplified how low-income people "take two steps forward and one step back." It was a struggle to watch this as life seems so unfair for this group.
It spoke of how many families are headed toward poverty because non-custodial fathers are not paying child support. It showed how a salary raise can lead to chopped governmental benefits which leaves families in a worse net position. It showed how a lack of health insurance can eat away a family's money when they have to pay for medicine out of pocket. It showed how credit cards can swallow needy families up. There were no repo men here, and maybe there should have been. You can't not pay services and companies without them coming after you at some point.
The work never speaks the terms "the feminization of poverty" or "the infantilization of poverty." However, while the man who is interviewed seemed like he was surviving and could one day thrive, things just seemed to get worse and worse for the single mothers with children. I was able to watch the man's story with no problems, but hearing about the women with children was very distressing to me.
The work interviews individuals on the two coasts. The East Coast and California are expensive! I don't want to render invisible the plight of the rural poor. However, I wonder if these low-income people and their families would have faired better in the South or Midwest. The man interviewed had children in North Carolina. Maybe if he moved there and got an agricultural job or another blue-collar job, he wouldn't have suffered as much as he did in mucho-pricey San Francisco. There's also the issue of weight. Two of the interviewees were BIG. Stress can cause weight gain. Still, I wonder if unsympathetic viewers would assume that the two spend too much on unhealthy foods.
This work could be used as a cautionary tale for youth who want to drop out of school. One boss tells a worker, "If only you were a real nurse, you could make good money." I imagine that these four didn't have college educations. A college degree used to be special, but now it's practically becoming mandatory. Blue-collar jobs are drying up in the US, so young folk gotta try to get those degrees! They could learn from the good people showcased here.
If you liked books like "No Shame in My Game" or "Getting By on the Minimum," you will like this.
More Waging a Living reviews:
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Description of Waging a Living
Tender and eye-opening, WAGING A LIVING takes an unwavering look at America?s working poor--people who work hard and play by the rules but never seem to get ahead. Over three years, the film follows four hard-working individuals as they strive for their piece of the American Dream but find only low wages, dead end jobs, and a tattered safety net in their way. As they raise children, try to get a college degree, and take care of sick relatives, these working class heroes make you root for them to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Mixing stunning facts about poverty and social injustice with the personal testimony of real-life workers, two-time Academy Award-nominated director Roger Weisberg cuts through the fog of politics and prejudice to bring the disturbing reality of the working poor into the light of day. "A film with immense compassion and riveting drama" (San Francisco Weekly), WAGING A LIVING will anger, inspire, and rouse the soul. DVD Features: Bonus Film "Rosevelt?s America"; Filmmaker Interview; Filmmaker Biography; Interactive Menus; Scene SelectionBestsellers in DVD
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