Educational Media Reviews Online

The power of Trashborn, Isabelle Carbonell’s documentary about trash divers in the Dominican Republic, is the directness of its subjects. For about thirty minutes, viewers are limited to the trash-divers’ world, a vast landscape of waste, danger and toxicity. The director’s choice to contain the film to the trash-divers’ lives enable us to quickly witness and visually connect to their accounts of living in abject poverty. The straightforward shots of trash divers talking to the camera allow us to see sadness, resignation and desperation in their eyes. We hear, in their voices, the persistence to live through their current circumstances so that their families can eventually move on to better life opportunities.

Illiteracy, unemployment and mortality are commonly referenced by trash divers when recounting their struggles. However, the film falls short in that it could have provided more context on the modern phenomena of trash diving, if not in a global context, then at least a national one. The film does provide a few national population and landfill statistics. However, viewers could benefit from more background information on education, healthcare and public welfare issues connected to the existence of trash diving communities. Although there are moments of hope captured in the film when a trash diver’s children are shown progressing scholastically, what other socio-economic hurdles would they have to face in order to realistically get out of poverty?

Despite its brevity, the strength of the film can be found in its ability to spark concern within viewers to consider the problem of widespread poverty and the world’s future. Trashborn is recommended for sociology, international studies and environmental studies courses examining issues of education, sustainability and global poverty. Testimonies from trash divers and their children could prompt students to conduct research on international aid policies, education initiatives and other relevant topics.