Issue 01 - The Pilgrim - December 2011 - The newspaper of the Archdiocese of Southwark

Features The Pilgrim December 2011/January 2012
Tired of Hollywood blockbusters
By Alannah Powell
If you are fed up with Hollywood
blockbusters and
want gritty portrayals of
human life, then take a
look at what film makers
from other countries can
offer.
One film that will set
your heart pounding is City
of God, Fernando Meirelles’
interpretation of poverty
and survival in the lawless
slums of Rio.
Meirelles explains that his
own experiences of Brazil
were vastly different to the
film he made.
‘Reading Paulo Lins’ City
of God was like a revelation.
I believed I knew all
about social apartheid in
Brazil until I read the book.
I realized that we, from the
middle class, are unable to
see what is going right in
front of our noses.’
His shock at learning this
was the very thing that ignited
his interest in making
the film. The characters
are charismatic and confident;
some likeable, others
not. However, amid this
fast-paced movie of one
gang member’s struggle to
escape the favela is a simple
message: violence simply
breeds more violence.
The theme of violence
and its devastating effects
is also prevalent in Isao
Takahata’s, Grave of the
Fireflies, which tells the
story of teenage Seita and
his younger sister Setsuko,
who are made motherless
and homeless by the firebombing
of Kobe, Japan, at
the end of World War Two.
Great care is taken in visually
communicating the
hardship of wartime life.
Film critic Jurge Fauth described
it as, ‘one of the
most devastating anti-war
films ever made.’
Pedro Almodovar explores
the theme of family in his
1999 movie, All About My
Mother. The maternal role,
in particular, is highlighted,
through the quirky characters,
including transvestites,
prostitutes and nuns,
who live outside of the conventional
restraints of life,
yet are made humane by
the relatable motherhood
storylines within the plot.
There is no real male influence
in the movie, as the
focus is on the female nurturing
instinct and their relationships
with their
children, be they natural or
otherwise.
The message, as film
critic Roger Ebert suggests,
is that, ‘families are where
you find them and how you
make them.’
In his 2002 film Talk to
Her Almodovar highlights
the way the sensitivity that
men posses is often oppressed
by the masculine
expectations of stereotypical
societies.
Talk to Her addresses this
issue though the story of
two men who devote their
lives to caring for the
women they love, who are
both in comas.
The spiritual message of
the film is that men are as
capable of emotion as
women.
Finally, the theme of nurturing
is superficially discussed
in Brian Gilbert’s
little-known 1991 film, Not
Without My Daughter.
The story follows the
struggle of Betty and her
daughter, Mahtob, as they
visit Iran, the birthplace of
Betty’s husband, Moody.
Upon their departure,
Moody announces that they
will stay in Iran and live as
Iranian citizens; their return
to America will not be
Above: Poverty and survival
are depicted in City of God
and (below right) wars
impact on children as
realised in Grave of the
Fireflies
happening.
If you feel frustrated with
Betty and dislike towards
Moody, dig a little deeper.
In its exploration of Islamic
society, Not Without my
Daughter raises questions
about our perception of
prejudice.
So, the next time you are
looking for a film that will
provide more than cliché
storylines and special effects,
then look beyond
Hollywood.
Theatre group a big hit in schools
By CB Martin
Annie is a teenager, and pregnant.
Scared and confused, she
confides in her father – whose disappointment
at his own ‘baby’
having a baby translates itself
into anger.
Her boyfriend Joe takes a week
to build up the courage to tell his
mother about the pregnancy.
When he does, his world is rocked
to discover that she herself had
been moments away from having
him aborted.
As the story unfolds, a hall full
of year 11s – chatting, pushing,
laughing just a few minutes ago –
watch silent, gripped and intense.
In one way or another,
these teenagers can all relate to
Annie and Joe’s story.
Ten Ten is an award-winning
Catholic educational charity
which uses drama to communicate
to the hearts and minds of
young people, their parents and
their teachers. It takes its name
from John 10:10 (‘I have come
that they may have life, and have
it to the full’).
The core of Ten Ten’s work is an
underlying Christian ethos that
young people should be given
every opportunity to live life to
the full. Their plays and workshops
explore the nature of love
and personal responsibility, commitment,
respect and the dignity
of human life.
Established in 2007, Ten Ten’s
roots go back 20 years to when
founder Martin O’Brien – an actor
himself – was working at a diocesan
youth retreat centre.
‘Whilst there, I was encouraged
to write plays for schools, to help
young people understand their
faith and place in the world,’
Martin explains.
He moved onto writing and producing
new plays professionally,
but was regularly asked to write
more dramas for young people.
‘I started Ten Ten as a way to
bring together those two different
experiences of work. I would
like to think that what makes Ten
Ten special is that we explore
matters of faith and Christian living
by producing drama, workshops
and education resources of
the highest quality,’ he adds.
Certainly, within the space of
four years, it has gained an outstanding
reputation for its work in
primary and secondary schools,
using resources that are both
faithful to Church teaching and
rooted in the experiences of
young people.
Throughout the academic year,
Ten Ten has two teams touring nationally,
one visiting primary
schools and one visiting secondary
schools.
The primary school programme
is currently expanding because it
has become so popular. In the last
academic year, Ten Ten teams
worked with over 70,000 children
and young people – and demand is
increasing.
The Archdiocese of Southwark
has had close ties to Ten Ten since
the charity’s early days, and welcomed
its teams into many
schools.
What teachers appreciate in
particular is the actors’ ability to
address difficult issues in a
thought-provoking and nonpreachy
way which young people
can relate to.
‘It has been such an inspiration!’
said Alyson Rodrigues of Our
Lady Immaculate School in Surbiton.
‘Catholic teaching at
school can only benefit in this
secular world we find ourselves.
One of the answers to the Holy
Father’s ‘New Evangelisation’,
the impetus of Ten Ten is just
excellent.’
St Thomas More School in
Eltham has a particular closeness
to Ten Ten, having partnered
them since the beginning. The
school even provided valuable
dress rehearsal and feedback opportunities
recently, when the
whole team spent four days trialling
the plays, workshops and
teacher resources there.
Ten Ten also has well-established
links with Southwark’s education
department and has
presented at their conferences.
Christine Edwards, the archdiocese’s
Primary Schools Adviser,
has described their conference
presence as ‘truly inspirational’.
One of Ten Ten’s visions is to
enhance home-school links within
a parish, and a particular selling
point of their primary school visits
is that parents are also involved.
After dropping their children at
school, mothers and fathers are
invited to watch a part of each
play that will be performed during
the day; this leads onto a discussion
about the issues the
actors will be addressing during
the day, so the parents (who are
also given question ideas) can discuss
them further when the children
get home.
‘I was blown away by your performance
and workshop,’ wrote
one parent afterwards. ‘I can
barely express how fantastic I
thought it was.
I loved the dedication and spirituality
that shone through the
two actors and the
message/teaching in each play.’
Above all, the impact Ten Ten
has on young people can be profound
and lasting. One 12-yearold
girl reported: ‘It was the best
RE lesson I have had all year. It
made me think better about myself
‘looking through the eyes of
God’.’
An added value for many
schools is that is that Ten Ten
plays link to the whole curriculum,
not just to RE, and help address
many issues that young
people are often unwilling to explore
with adults.
‘I liked the way it made me
think about how love is more than
just a feeling, but it is an action
as well,’ said one 13-year-old boy.
‘Sex is a gift and we should give
ourselves to the right person, not
just anyone.’
Page 10