In Class Writing #3: Society's Blame for the Homeless

Topic: Writing a response after watching a short video

Mankind Is No Island is an award-winning short film(Tropfest NY 2008 Winter) that lasts only three and a half minutes. Despite its short length, it effectively conveys a message by simply providing words on signboards in a delicate form of a visual poem. But the video lacks new ideas because it is based on a moral lesson which most people are already aware of; that we should help those in hardships such as, in this case, the homeless.

Nevertheless, the film raises an interesting point that society often bears the responsibility for the homeless. People become homeless for various reasons. Some must quit an ordinary life because of their careless decisions and reckless behaviors such as gambling addiction. On the other hand, society often comes into play and drives people to unemployment, even though it is supposed to take care of its members. This is shown in the film as ‘Our city says we’ll look after you. Your very own family turns blind.’ A social crisis usually occurs unexpectedly and causes severe damage which requires a long time to recover. For example, companies laid off workers and self-employed businesses suffered when a financial crisis hit Korea in 1997. Korea's economy started to shrink quarterly at an average of -6.65%, and the unemployment rate reached 6.5% in May 1998, compared to 2.5% before the crisis. A similar situation occurred when Lehman Brothers collapsed in 2008, and many people started street lives after losing jobs or money for something they are not in control of.

The collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008
precipitated the global financial crisis.

The problem is that many choose to rely on prejudices rather than ask a question why homeless people have no other alternatives but to sleep on the cold pavement. Common stereotypes include that they are lazy, uneducated, or mentally ill. People keep avoiding and discriminating against those in desperate need of help using the stereotypes as an excuse. However, drug addicts or criminals are only minorities among the homeless, and some of them are in fact highly educated. Most importantly, some became homeless not because of personal choices, but due to a sudden change in society which they cannot deal with on their own. In many cases, they are unfortunate outcasts of society who constantly seek a second chance, which means that anyone can be homeless at any time. When people bear in mind that we live together in society and that the same situation can happen anytime, there would be less people begging for help on streets.

Considering the purpose of the video, the film is well-organized in order to maximize the emotional effect and trigger people’s actions. The words are carefully arranged to the piano tune so that viewers can share the feelings and hardships of the homeless. The film utilized close-ups and repeated images to make a lasting impression as well. By showing the director of the film having a conversation with an old man on the street, it also tells that the homeless are not far away, but are actually close in our lives. All in all, Mankind Is No Island successfully delivers a simple but necessary message of helping the homeless in its creative style. It points out that it is a matter of basic human interaction which involves empathy and sincere attention.