The Waste Land Documentary Analysis

The Waste Land documentary is a depiction of the lives of several Catadores (pickers) at the Brazilian landfill, Jardim Gramacho. At the beginning of the documentary, we see these men and women working the landfill seemingly content with their jobs. As the film continues, we begin to learn about each of the Catadores; why they work at the landfill and their part in the community. Two men in particular, Tiaõ, the president of ACAMJG, helps by creating an organization for the Catadores. Then Zumbi, the intellect, finds books that people have thrown out and gives them to those people that cannot afford them. With their help, Jardim Gramacho has become a place of security and intellect. When Vik first enters Jardim Gramacho, he wants to create …show more content…
The Waste Land documentary depicts the lives of several Brazilian women and men that work in Jardim Gramacho, the largest garbage dump in the world. The lives that these men and woman live are hard and gruesome, but they do not see it as such. At the beginning of the documentary, we learn that these people see their lives as fortunate and are grateful to work with the “recyclables” that they do. A fellow picker named Magna expresses her thankfulness when she states, “at least I’m not turning tricks on Copacabana” (Waste Land). This might not be a great comparison but working at the landfill does give these people a sincere semi-safe job. It keeps them off the streets, fed, clothed, and away from drugs and other substances. Even though many people may see them as being less than the society, and find the job they do minuscule and unimportant, it is one of the most important jobs. These men and women clean up and separate recyclable and non-recyclable material, to keep the community they live in clean. This job is hard and can cause injury or even death, but these brave men and women wake up every morning and do it. That in itself is a feat that not many could say they have accomplished. Though others say they stink or that it is useless to do such work, they would rather do this job than become drug dealers or …show more content…
The job that these men and women perform every day is more than unsavory, and to most a disgrace, but to them it is an honorable job. These pickers have the job of going through the trash of everyone, both rich and poor, and separating it into recyclable and unrecyclable. By recycling some of the material, they have been able to cut down on the large piles of garbage that accumulates each day in the landfill. Many of these men and women are lucky to have this job. If it were not for Jardim Gramacho, they would be on the streets selling drugs or prostituting themselves. The landfill brings these people together each day to do something great for the community and in the environment. Each individual picker has a part in this giant landfill. However, some decide to leave the landfill, with Vik’s help each one of these men and woman are able to live better lives and bring awareness to their