SIDEWALK
– What information did you learn about the main character/s in the movie?
All the people that are in the film have found a way of making a living by selling books on the sidewalk. Some of them are homeless and some of them are not but all of them are in need of money to live in this expensive city. They have to live with the stigma of being homeless or being addicted to drugs or having been in prison so opportunities don’t come very often, especially when it comes to getting a job. They make their own opportunities and take care of each other when no one else does.
– What research method/s the filmmakers’ use in the documentary?
The filmmakers in the film mainly use interviews and film as research methods. By asking the characters questions about their lives and experiences they give the observer information about the stories they want to share. By using images they show the reality of the booksellers and give them a voice of their own to tell their stories.
The filmmakers also support the message of the film by giving examples and showing other realities in different parts of the world, like the booksellers by the edge of the Seine in Paris and the history of how they started.
– What questions do these videos provoke?
I think the video evokes questions about homelessness, street selling, the strict social hierarchy, and prejudices and stigmas. They show the opinion of Andrew Manshel talking about how selling books is not a positive way to support yourself because it makes homeless people more independent so they keep being on the streets. He also claims that this is “not an appropriate life choice”. There are a lot of people who think like this and honestly, I don’t understand why. Selling books is the only way they have to make a living since it’s very hard for people to give opportunities to those in need. Instead of selling drugs or stealing they look for objects and collect books they can sell to earn some money, or get creative and sell crates for Halloween. It is an honest way of living and not an “unfair competition for those who have done it the right way” as Manshel says. As one of the main characters said in the documentary: “ people don’t give us opportunities so we make our own”
The film also provokes questions about how important it is to have these public characters. Jane Jacobs talks about how the neighborhood needs these characters that are aware of what’s going on around them and become depended upon and respected.
– What social support and structure in society you observed?
Our society is so strict that is very hard to reincorporate once you are out. Hierarchy is the main component of our present social structure and that prevents the main characters to get jobs and get opportunities to get off the streets.
There are people who are aware of this so they decide to help in what they can. Some donate books for them to sell, others just give money or food and I think all of us should be doing this. Giving money to the homeless is not a way to keep them homeless, it’s a way of helping them live in a world where having money is the only way of surviving. Some of them even gave them the opportunity of having a job where they can earn money and afford to live off the streets.
– What problems do you identify in the life of the sidewalk participants?
One of the problems they discuss is the lack of bathrooms. Maintaining public bathrooms is very expensive so they just decide to not do it. Going to the bathroom is one of our basic needs, it doesn’t matter how much money you have, everyone goes to the bathroom. Since the street workers or homeless people don’t have a house, they don’t have a bathroom and therefore have to either spend money on stores to go or just do it on the streets. Each town should care about providing public bathrooms to the people who live there just like they do in Europe.
Another problem that I’ve mentioned before is the lack of opportunities. Stigma and prejudice prevent these characters from getting a job and working towards making a living, therefore, keeping them on the streets like a vicious circle.
