EDEN - trafficking of young girls in the west ?

Miraculously, I found an answer to the question I had raised in my last post for the movie "SOLD" - is there a market for young girls in the western part of the world like the one we have in the east ? I found the answer in the form of the movie called EDEN on YouTube. If what is shown in the movie is true, their life is even more horrifying than what is shown in SOLD!! However, there is a difference - the girls in EDEN seem to live in sanitary conditions and appear to be well fed unlike the poverty stricken setting of SOLD ! 

The movie's credits show that it is sponsored by Washington State and City of Seattle. It is available on YouTube :

The movie tells the story of a normal 19 year old Korean American girl in US who ignores the warning of her mother not to stay out late in the evening and goes to a bar with an American girl. There she becomes infatuated with a young man who drives her to a parking lot from where she is kidnapped by a man who drives her to a building  faraway from civilization. There the girl is locked up in a jail like room. There are several girls like her in the building who are also in a similar situation! This, you see, is a  prostitution ring run by an organization whose local boss is an ex-cop or a military man. The boy in the bar is a bait to pickup girls!! There are huge white males who monitor this jail like setting (Russian ?)

The Korean girl is smart. She outwits these men and manages to escape in the end but only after she has seen and experienced first hand the life of a young prostitute!! There are a few scenes of brutal torture and shooting that exhibit shocking lack of respect for human life by the men who run the place as well as their clients!!

Does what is shown in the movie mirror real life ? I do not know. Ask the producers and their sponsors please. 

SOLD - the forgotten girls of India/Asia!

This movie is akin to some documentaries we see on the subject of trading of young girls in India and Asia! I do not know if many people here will have the patience and tolerance to watch this movie but I did! It is based on a book with the same name by Patricia McCormick.

The drunk father of a very poor Nepali girl sells her to a lady who promises better life across the border in India. The girl seems to be about 10 years old and unaware of what is going on ! She is taken to a house in the poorest parts of Calcutta and introduced to some mean ladies who run a brothel made up such young girls. The crowded streets like the ones shown in the movie look familiar to many Indians who have stayed or visited poorer and denser areas of these towns and cities. This is a world of brutal poverty!

There is no inch thick makeup on the girls and ladies, their nails are uncut and hair has no frills as is true of many real Indian ladies ! The shocking details of how the girl is forced into prostitution better be left unsaid! By magic or by design two Americans and an Indian social organization turn up to rescue the girl and the end of the movie is better than the middle parts where you see the girls being beaten and tortured with red chilies when they do not comply or try to escape!

This movie shows the inner world of the poor girls and equally poor clients which might not be familiar to most middle class and educated Indians including myself! The brothel has a temple in one corner of the kitchen with picture of Kali goddess and Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa! Education and population reduction might be the long term solution for the girls so they can be independent and find better jobs for themselves! Even that seems like a tall order in these highly populated areas! As one young girl tells us, even the cruel brothel madams help her when she needs money for medicine for a family member!

Gillian A. of X-files fame plays a journalist in simple attire unlike the sophisticated and strange characters she plays in her movies and TV shows! I do not know what happens here  in America regarding the topic under discussion. Maybe it is all part of daily life here well hidden behind the mobile homes and old cars, seedy hotels, fancy desks and corporate hideouts ! Or maybe it is just my hallucination - nobody sleeps hungry and naked here except for the very rich on a diet!

And why do some people here in USA use foul language similar to the one used by the ladies in the Calcutta brothel ?

PASSENGERS - A LOVE AFFAIR IN SPACE AND TIME...

This is a story of a time in future when 5000 passengers are travelling to a planet 120 light years away from earth They are all asleep/hibernating in pods in an impressive large luxurious space vehicle that seems an improvement on the one in 2001 A Space Odyssey. 

A passenger, (Chris Pratt) wakes up 90 years too early and goes crazy living alone. In desperation, he wakes up a pretty lady author (Jennifer Lawrence) and the two fall in love. They share some disasters in space and manage to survive all of those. There are some scientific facts on display here, using special effects, like the effect of loss of gravity when the heroine is in the swimming pool (please read my Science Hows And Whys link on the blog Menu) and their leap into the starry sky, flying past a sun-like star etc.

LION - A miraculous escape from the slums

LION is a true story based on the life of a very poor slum-like dweller's life in a small town called Khandwa,India before he is adopted by Australian parents. The first half of the movie looks very real to me because I am familiar with the social environment in India.There are poor kids like the ones shown in this movie in every city of India.

The two poor brothers steal coal from a moving train to help their poor mother. The young one, probably 6 or 7 years old, gets separated from his brother when he accidentally locks himself in an empty  train 'car' and screams for his brother for help but to no avail until he finds himself 1700 kilometers away in Calcutta. Scenes of his experiences in Calcutta, homeless and filthy, are amazingly real  ! That an innocent boy who does not understand the world around him and even where he is, seem heartbreaking! Once he is discovered and delivered in Australia by an Indian social worker, the movie becomes like a regular Hallmark movie! If everything is true as shown, this is an extraordinary story of a poor boy's resilience against unsurmountable odds and a God given miracle!

THE ACCUSED - A Rape Case In USA !!

This could be considered an educational films for ladies who get too close to strange men in a provocative 'dress' and lead them on until they loose control. The current string of sexual abuse cases make the movie topical.

The movie might also be considered an education for parents serious about their kids. And also an introduction for those interested in understanding the US legal process.[ They, of course, do not show the big fees the lawyers charge for their service including the meetings, depositions etc.]

A pretty, though somewhat rough woman, gets raped in a bar filled with suspicious men where she and her friend seem to be the only females. She walks into a bar and makes friends with a man. They hug and kiss. The lady gives a provocative dance performance. This leads to a forced rape because the girl did not expect to be that close so soon, I guess. This 'carrot and stick' approach might be unique to  western culture and/or the mod rich crowd! What is further abhorring is that she gets raped by three men/boys which makes her a sympathetic character. A dozen or so men encourage the rapists with their repulsive comments as if it was a soccer game !

The rape scene is quite explicit and one feels that Jodie Foster must have tolerated a lot  of abuse while filming. It is embarrassing and angering to watch that scene.

Disclaimer: My comments above do not imply that I approve the behavior of the rapists and of the cheering men. However, any steps taken to prevent such rapes from occurring by dressing appropriately, not making seductive comments and keeping at a safe distance from unfamiliar men should be considered seriously.