Pandemic Cinema: Poor Is as Poor Does…or Doesn’t
Recently my significant other took over the duties of choosing our pandemic television viewing. A familiar theme has come to surface.
Poor people. Or impoverished people. Or socioeconomically challenged people. You pick.
Technically I don’t have a problem with these selections or these descriptors. Actually I think it’s fair to say, I identify with them.
If you’ve never read me saying this before, let me tell you, I’m very proud of my mom and dad. I’m very proud of their story. I’m very proud to be so lucky to have them as parents.
I’m not going to say we were poor or even socioeconomically challenged. I’m just not. But my folks certainly started out as working class. When I was in primary school, I was sent home with free or reduced lunch papers. They would not be filled out. They would be thrown out.
And I’ve watched their story of hard work, of growth, of setback, of dark times, of joyous times and finally of ultimate success.
We went from a basement apartment to a single wide, to a double wide, to a house, to a farm all by the time I was 14 years old. Then we had a grain embargo by Jimmy Carter and basically my mom and dad had to start all over again.
But they did.
They picked each other up and went back to work. They sent two kids to college, and more than anything, set an example for those two kids of just what hard work is all about.
And so I watch these shows with some detachment. I don’t identify with the entire story. The cyclical nature of these people’s despair is overwhelming. They seemingly have no escape. I was lucky enough to be a part of the surprise happy ending, the escape.
The first show is a serious effort by director Ron Howard, Hillbilly Elegy. It’s a two hour movie about the climb from poverty out of the Appalachia hills. It’s on Netflix. I didn’t really care for it.
Evidently neither did critics or viewers from Rotten Tomatoes. It was too stereotypical they said. It was not a proper depiction of poverty, they said.
I think those criticisms are unfair and incorrect. I didn’t like the film because it seemed very accurate.
It depicted cyclical poverty through several generations. That is not fun, uplifting stuff. It’s depressing, sad stuff. It’s not fun to watch.
But it certainly seemed real to me, and while it didn’t reflect on my personal situation, it did reflect on my observations and experiences growing up. Most people are not lucky enough to have Martha, the engineer of the Jackson locomotive. And if you don’t have that drive, you aren’t getting up or moving onward.
So I can’t recommend you watch Hillbilly Elegy, but if you do, rest assured, there are people just like them all around you. And they are engaged in a struggle every single day.
The other show picked for my viewing pleasure is Showtime’s television series, Shameless. It’s been going on for at least 10 seasons. It too is about cyclical poverty, but this time it’s set in the south side of Chicago. And this time, it’s more of a dramady.
Whew, thankfully some laughs. Not many in the ol’ Hillbilly Elegy.
However, through the first two seasons anyway, the theme is the same. In America, as a poor person, you are in a constant battle to keep your head above water.
Of course some people (and characters) just give up. I don’t know that I blame them. But others persevere. And some of course, though very few will rise to finally make it.
We’ve yet to see anyone make it. Again, we’re only through two seasons. The hope is there for at least one of the myriad characters of family, neighbors, friends and enemies will, in the end, grasp the golden ring.
To many of us the golden ring represents luxury, riches and maybe a beach view. In their case the golden ring is a secure home, no scarcity of food and most importantly, restoration of hope.
Despite the never ending struggle, I enjoy the caricatures of Shameless very much. You probably will too, but um, yeah there are quite a few adult themes, be prepared.
Kinda like the real world, right?