Educational Media Reviews Online

This is an outstanding film which demonstrates the crises faced by low income households in the United States. The program begins with a series of well animated graphs that clearly illustrate stark truths such as the plunging value of real wages, the real value of minimum wage, and the rapid growth of the population living in near poverty. These well presented data, though only serving as an introduction, create a context for the remainder of the documentary. Footers of text offering more sobering statistics are offered throughout the film.

Waging a Living offers stories of the struggles of four Americans struggling for a better life. Segments of their stories are shown at intervals and are paced very well. The viewer is presented with contrasts and parallels in the lives of these four people. The stories address the loyalties of families and the sacrifices they make to better themselves. Though film discusses the pressures such as low paying jobs and intolerant employers, the film’s unifying theme is the catastrophic effects of divorce on a family. Without a second income or sufficient child support, many previously prosperous families fall into financial ruin. Furthermore, any gains in income are often negated by decreases in government benefits, such as Medicaid and food stamps, which are designed to coincide with recipients’ incomes. For example, one woman featured in this documentary endeavored to earn a $450 monthly pay increase, but as a result, had $600 worth of monthly government assistance cut. Though only 37% of eligible single mothers receive child support, the film does an evenhanded job with its portrayal of a sacrificing, divorced father who religiously fulfilled his child support payment obligation.

Waging a Living demonstrates just how sticky downward poverty is. The film is heartbreaking but gives an outline for hope in the conclusions of the stories of the people whose lives are examined. Each struggled to climb out of their respective troubled situations, by education, union organization, remarriage, and more.

Viewers should be aware that there are several uses of vulgarities in this film, though the dialogues in which these expressions are used are presented candidly. The vulgar words are not heaped indiscriminately, but show the harsh reality the documentary presents.

Waging a Living is an excellent work which gives the viewer a great deal of wide scale information laced in between the skillful representation of four noble and self-sacrificing Americans working to escape poverty. The timing of the transitions of segments from one person’s life to the next is exquisite. Though the lives of the four people featured in the film are very different, the film shows their shared levels of desperation, frustration, and hope.

This documentary is highly recommended for its accurate and fair portrayal of the crisis of low income households. The makers of this film are to be congratulated for presenting a work which offers optimism, and does not merely leave the audience in despair. This documentary would be welcome viewing for audiences high school aged and up.

Awards:

• New Jersey, International Film Festival, Top Award, 2005