Winnie Wright, Age 11 from Kartemquin Studio

WINNIE WRIGHT, AGE 11
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Winnie Wright, Age 11 is a documentary film that was directed by Gordon Quinn in 1974 featuring Winnie, a daughter of a steelworker growing up in a Chicago neighbourhood that undergoes significant demographic changes from white to black. Making other friends was an essential thing for Winnie. She no longer needed only her white friends because her neighbourhood was changing and she could have black friends. It is apparent from the documentary that Winnie's family struggles with racism, poor economic challenges, and a looming strike. Growing up white was a daunting task for Winnie. The film explores social change that was experienced in the 1970s and humanizes the people living in the neighbourhood.[Winnie Wright, Age 11, directed by Gordon Quinn (The Kartemquin Collection, 1974), DVD.] [Kevin Gosztola. “Kartemquin Films 50: ‘Winnie Wright, Age 11.” (Shadow Proof, (March 02 2016).]
From the film, Winnie's mother appreciates the fact that her daughter can adapt to the new lifestyle. Going to school with the other races was not regarded as usual amid racism that clouded the U.S during the period. Winnie seems to be doing more than expected of her as a white child. Also, it is essential to analyze Winnie's father and what he does for a living. From the film, he is a steelworker whose role at work is to be consolidated to enable him to accomplish more tasks than before. As it is evident from the documentary, the steelworker faces the challenge of meeting the demands of the new job requirements. It, therefore, forces the management to assign the job to a young, energetic war. Another turn of events in the documentary is when Winnie's father is invited to the "whites only" party but refuses to attend because he does not agree with the idea of dividing workers along race line. He does not support racism as could be expected of him despite being a white man. Winnie's father is a rational man who approves of coexistence amongst different races.[Winnie Wright, Age 11.] [Winnie Wright, Age 11]
The film depicts the struggles of the white working class family in Chicago in the mid-1970s and further gives an account of the changes that Chicago's neighbourhood on the south and southwest have undergone. Winnie Wright, Age 11 is undoubtedly one of the best social documentaries that show life as it is or was living. It focuses on the subject of the gentrification and the white working class family issues more than its craft as it would have been expected. The film exposes the hidden truth in the mid-1970s, and the director has ignored the art and the aesthetics that are required of a movie. After watching the documentary, the audience is likely to get political intentions instead of critiquing the crafting of the movie. Also, the film is only 26 minutes long but manages to follow the life and times of Winnie's family and communicate effectively to the audience. Even though the documentary may be perceived as less intellectual it still effectively passes its intended message. Great documentaries sometimes involve extended interviews that may lead to repetitions in subtle ways but Winnie Wright, Age 11 has cutaways which may also be said to throw off the audience's focus. It doe...