Arguably, the most interesting aspect of Valentine Road lies not at its core - it lies in its fringes. It is also at the fringe it gathers pace as a documentary as it becomes a fly on the wall and, there, is free from bias.
At the core; focus is placed on the, extraordinarily, tragic life stories of two teenage boys. Their fate in life is worthy of an objective and empathetic documentary. One putting great effort into the background work and presenting an objective study of the "how", "why" and "what" that lead to this double tragedy. Marta Cunningham, certainly, did not succeed with that.
Heartfelt condolences to those directly affected by the "main story" however, there is a issue on a much grander, systemic, scale unfolding in the fringes of Valentine Road - one that, by chance, got covered, one worthy of its own documentary. It has to do with the people entrusted with protecting human rights.
It is gut wrenching to hear:
People in an official capacity are entrusted custodians and as such have a duty to respect the integrity and human rights of those whose lives they affect. That the above mentioned teacher is entrusted with the lives of young people is incomprehensible.
Adding insult to injury - the only person committed to respecting human rights, was actually fired for going beyond the call of duty. Fired for be empathetic.
As a well balanced, objective, account of the underlying reasons for the unfolding of tragic events, Cunningham fails miserably - but she does manage to scrape the surface of something big. Big and foul smelling...
At the core; focus is placed on the, extraordinarily, tragic life stories of two teenage boys. Their fate in life is worthy of an objective and empathetic documentary. One putting great effort into the background work and presenting an objective study of the "how", "why" and "what" that lead to this double tragedy. Marta Cunningham, certainly, did not succeed with that.
Heartfelt condolences to those directly affected by the "main story" however, there is a issue on a much grander, systemic, scale unfolding in the fringes of Valentine Road - one that, by chance, got covered, one worthy of its own documentary. It has to do with the people entrusted with protecting human rights.
It is gut wrenching to hear:
- Teachers saying that; they would, if not kill, kick a transsexual in the but - if confronted with one. And that they were free from blame - because they told a child to hide his identity and knew that if they didn't, said child would, at a minimum, get a severe beating.
- "Psychological experts" imply that trans-dressers are so offensive, that it mitigates any crime of violence committed against them.
- Jurors referring to God and implying that it is a mitigating circumstance to kill a "sinner" which, apparently, being transgender constitutes.
People in an official capacity are entrusted custodians and as such have a duty to respect the integrity and human rights of those whose lives they affect. That the above mentioned teacher is entrusted with the lives of young people is incomprehensible.
Adding insult to injury - the only person committed to respecting human rights, was actually fired for going beyond the call of duty. Fired for be empathetic.
As a well balanced, objective, account of the underlying reasons for the unfolding of tragic events, Cunningham fails miserably - but she does manage to scrape the surface of something big. Big and foul smelling...