Something in this film that has stuck with me is the amount of orphans that were made due to the war. All of those boys were alone without family. All they had was each other. I found it interesting and relieving that they had formed their own families to help take care of each other. The Lost Boys showed perseverance in defeating such a hardship. The loss of their families and being displaced would alone cause a tremendous amount of stress. When they add their makeshift families to the equation, this could have only added to the stress that they already had. When faced with a family model, one worries about feeding the family members and their physical and mental well being. For such young boys to take on this great task it forced them to bypass their childhood and move straight into manhood.
As human beings we possess a great ethical responsibility. With us being as fortunate as we are to be in the U.S we are given even more responsibility. However, the country gives us a split between individualism and responsibility. With the U.S being a capitalist society, people tend to do what is best for themselves and their families. What happens to others is none of their concern, and if forced to help out with something many complain. On the flip-side, America can also be very giving. We as a country have always tried to help the “little guy.” We believe that we have a moral duty to help others when we are able. We have even gone so far as to make it a crime in some states to not render aid to someone when you are able to. When evaluating corporate America with the middle-class, the two sides are clearly evident. People do what is required to get ahead of the competition. Most times this requires one to step on others in order to reach the goal. America is a melting pot and as such we have different views on all topics, however when asked to help those who are in need most people are inclined to say yes. I believe that people are born with an inherent sense of goodness in them. If they show it or not is a different story. People feel like they are required to help someone in need, because if we were in that type of situation, we too would want the help. The U.S is big on adopting children from developing countries, and as such is or should be the main target of adoption agencies in times of war and displacement.
This film is most definitely a persuasive paper. Though it is more closely related to a documentary, the images that are portrayed in the film fill the viewer with a sense of moral obligation to help the Lost Boys. It would be incredibly difficult if not impossible to cover this topic without trying to convince people to help. From the images of the little ones to those of the camps the video touches the human heart. If fills our minds with theories of how a group of people could possibly do such a thing.
