Media 4 Humanity

Fighting Child Trafficking in the United States

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Media 4 Humanity would like to thank all of our wonderful sponsors and supporters who helped put on the Fire and Ice Party. A special thank you to:

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Media 4 Humanity would also like to extend a big Thank You to everyone who attended the Fire and Ice Party. Your contributions will help fund preventive, self-esteem building initiatives for New York children at risk for trafficking in the coming year. (And your enthusiasm helped make the party a fun event!) 

Check back soon for pictures from the party!

Taken: Awareness-Builder or Misrepresentation?

By: Erin Choi

Disclaimer: This film review does not express the official view of Media 4 Humanity, but reflects the view of a M4H intern.

At first glance, Europacorp’s 2008 thriller, Taken, is an entertaining film with lots of action packed, high-energy sequences that you can't help but enjoy. Digging deeper into it’s content, however, reveals that its portrayal of human trafficking could not be further from the truth.

What upsets me most about Taken is that it oversimplifies the complexity of human trafficking. The movie features a young white girl from an upper class family with abundant resources (including a father who is a former CIA operative) who is kidnapped on the first day she arrives in Europe with her friend. The girls are followed by a seemingly non-threatening boy, who later brings in kidnappers to "take" them and sell them as sex slaves. Liam Neeson, who plays the girl’s father, has 96 hrs to find her somewhere in Europe before she is gone for good. Using his skills as a CIA agent, he tracks down the kidnappers and his daughter.

 

Obviously, this is highly unrealistic. Not every girl that goes missing can be found, even if they have fathers in the CIA. Trafficking is so underground and so well hidden, that it is nearly impossible to find any real signs of it.

 

SPOILER ALERT:

The daughter's friend is not as lucky and meets a not so glorified end of death by overdose in a dingy hotel room. The film does try to give the audience a glimpse of what hardships some girls who are kidnapped go through, such as being a prostitute drugged up behind a curtain on a construction site. What I had a problem with is the film’s over-sensationalized sex. The daughter lucks out because she is "white and can speak English"; she is auctioned off in a glittering bikini on a stage under a spotlight, where the rich European men can marvel at her beauty, youth, and, of course, her ability to speak English.

 

This is the problem with most media displays of human trafficking. So much of what we see about the issue deals with sexual glorification. Whether it does so intentionally or not, the film allows audience members to forget that the daughter was kidnapped and trafficked by blurring the lines between a high end-prostitute and a trafficked victim.

 

Perhaps, I'm reading too much into a film that was created for entertainment purposes only. But I feel that it is necessary to see all the little points that are mentioned in the film and the questions that we should all be thinking about while watching:

 

What does it mean that the girl who is saved is white and from a rich family?

 

Is it realistic that the girl is found in 96 hrs?

 

What did we really learn from this film, other than that it is about sex trafficking (and that Liam Neeson kicks ass)?

 

What if the film was set in Asia or Africa? How would this change our perception and overall feeling about the issue and the face of human trafficking?

 

These are just some things to think about. While it is a film about human trafficking, it is also not a film about human trafficking. It does not address the overall complexity of the issue, but then again it's a Hollywood film. If nothing else, it’s audience members will become aware that human trafficking exists. In sum, Taken should be taken with a grain of salt.

 

Monday, 27 July 2009 13:43 Last Updated on Monday, 19 July 2010 11:03 Written by Carolyn Shanahan

By: Lana Castor

When walking down the bustling streets of Manhattan, it is always easy to spot true New Yorkers. They can usually be found with their cell phones in hand, briskly walking, their eyes focused at least two blocks ahead, and they always appear to be in a hurry. They also seem to have developed a keen sense that allows them to handily avoid anyone on the streets handing out flyers or asking for donations.

Last week, the Media 4 Humanity Interns embarked on one of the group’s regular trips to raise awareness on the street. The goal was to get some of these New Yorkers to slow down for a minute and learn about the immense problem going on here in our home city: child trafficking. When we were successful at getting people to stop and listen, we received a wide spectrum of responses. The replies mostly revealed that people were surprised and disturbed by the numbers. Many then became curious, receptive and completely engaged. Yet one reaction stopped me dead in my tracks; it is a reaction that will likely stick with me for a long time.

Upon being asked if we could speak with her on the topic for a moment, a woman in her sixties, accompanied by her daughter and granddaughter, simply glanced sideways at us and said, “Absolutely not. The topic’s too depressing.” As she briskly looked away, we turned to her daughter—a woman in her thirties—and posed the same question. She looked at us curiously, and asked, “What’s human trafficking?” Before explaining the issue in detail, we stood there for a second, completely silent, unsure of how to react. We shared this with the rest of the interns and found that many of us had the same disturbed reaction. Are there truly people who are this ignorant and unaware of the problem? Are there truly people who are so adamantly opposed to the discussion of such a pervasive human rights issue?

Of course human trafficking is a difficult and depressing topic. Of course the numbers and facts are shocking to many. Yet these facts are real and by not talking about them, we are allowing some of our own citizens to suffer through the reality of exploitation every day. Some people asked us what they could do; others said that with the state of the economy, they are not in a place to donate. Whatever the case may be, the situation with the mother and daughter should serve as a poignant example of how important it is to simply talk about the issue and raise awareness. We each have a moral obligation to discuss and inform each other about these crimes against humanity. Those who believe that these problems are best left to government officials and advocacy groups are mistaken. We each have a voice. Together, our voices are an extremely powerful tool. Together is the only way we can seriously put an end to human trafficking.

So New Yorkers, and all Americans, I challenge you. I challenge you to wake up tomorrow and take a break, slow down for a minute, and inform someone about human trafficking. Challenge them to do the same. Awareness is an enormous, influential instrument. Every time we inform someone new, we are one step closer to eradicating these heinous acts of modern day slavery. It is our nation and our responsibility. Together, let’s do something about it.

Wednesday, 22 July 2009 10:52 Written by Carolyn Shanahan