AT THE MOVIES - 1987 "Empire of the Sun " the Loss of Innocence

Empire of the Sun is a 1987 American epic coming-of-age war film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Tom Stoppard, based on J. G. Ballard's semi-autobiographical 1984 novel of the same name.  The film tells the story of Jamie "Jim" Graham (Christian Bale), a young boy who goes from living with his wealthy British family in Shanghai to becoming a prisoner of war in a Japanese internment camp during World War II.

Harold Becker and David Lean were originally to direct before Spielberg came on board, initially as a producer for Lean.  Spielberg was attracted to directing the film because of a personal connection to Lean's films and World War II topics.  He considers it to be his most profound work on "the loss of innocence".  The film received positive reviews, but was not initially a commercial success, earning only $22 million at the US box office, although it eventually more than recouped its budget through revenues in foreign markets, home video, and television.

Plot

Amid Japan's invasion of China during World War II, Jamie "Jim" Graham is a British upper middle class schoolboy enjoying a privileged life in the Shanghai International Settlement.  After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan begins occupying the settlement.  As the Graham family evacuate the city, Jamie is separated from his parents in the ensuing chaos.  Jamie makes his way back to their house, assuming they will return.  After a length of time alone and having eaten the little remaining food, he ventures back into the city.

Hungry, Jamie tries surrendering to Japanese soldiers, who ignore him.  After being chased by a street urchin, he is taken in by two American expatriates and hustlers, Basie and Frank.  Unable to sell Jamie for money, they intend to abandon him in the streets, but Jamie offers to lead them to his neighborhood to loot the empty houses there.  Jamie is surprised to see lights on in his family home and thinks his parents have returned, only to discover it is occupied by Japanese troops.  The trio are taken prisoner, transported to the Lunghua Civilian Assembly Centre in Shanghai for processing, and ultimately sent to an internment camp in Suzhou.  - Wikipedia

IMHO this is an outstanding movie and depicts the cost of war on children.  One of the best Steven Spielberg has directed.

 

Trailer

KENTUCKY - Making a Perfect Birthday Cake

"A Kentucky organization that makes perfect birthday cakes for kids with imperfect lives" PBS NewsHour 8/2/2019

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Sweet Blessings, based in Lexington, Kentucky, believes every child should feel special on his or her birthday.  The organization bakes and decorates extraordinary birthday cakes for children who might need a treat made with love, just for them.  Chelsea Gorham of Kentucky Educational Television has the story of what Sweet Blessings volunteers call “cake therapy.”

UKRAINE - Childhood on the Frontlines

"The trauma of a childhood on the frontlines of Ukraine’s war" PBS NewsHour 5/2/2019

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  In eastern Ukraine, war with Russian-backed separatists has raged on and off for five years, forcing a generation of children to endure prolonged trauma and the premature loss of innocence.  The film “The Distant Barking of Dogs” chronicles the story of 10-year-old Oleg and his grandmother, Aleksandra, who experience painful transformation along the conflict's frontlines.  Nick Schifrin reports.

GENERATION Z - Cashless Kids

"How kids are adapting to a cashless culture" PBS NewsHour 3/7/2019

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  A quarter of the U.S. population is made up of people born from the mid-1990s to around 2010, known as Generation Z.  When it comes to making purchases, this group is accustomed to buying online and using credit cards, but less familiar with cash.  How does the absence of tangible currency, and the constant exposure to digital advertising, affect their relationship with money?  Paul Solman reports.

TEACHERS - A Message.....

Cute attack....

NEWSHOUR BOOKSHELF - "When Your Child Is Sick"

"This advice could help parents of kids with serious illnesses" PBS NewsHour 7/4/2018

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  As a psychologist and counselor specializing in the care of children with cancer, Joanna Breyer has advice for families facing stress for which they never prepared.  Author of "When Your Child Is Sick," Breyer joins Judy Woodruff for a conversation.

TEACHERS - Love of a Child

A reminder of what being a child is before growing old enough for divisive politics to poison them.

Students Sing For Their Teacher After Finding Out She Has Cancer

TRUMP AGENDA- 'Kidnapping' Toddlers

aka "The Inhumanity of Immigration Policy"

"Migrant seeking asylum says his toddler was taken away at the U.S. border" PBS NewsHour 12/22/2017

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  At least four Central American men in this California detention facility say U.S. immigration officials took their children after they arrived at the border, asking for asylum.  Immigration and Customs Enforcement says the agency separated the children for their safety, because the men didn't have enough proof they were the fathers.  Special correspondent Jean Guerrero of KPBS in San Diego reports.

SANDY HOOK - Every Day We Waste

"To this Sandy Hook mom, ‘every day we waste, more people are dying’" PBS NewsHour 12/14/2017

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  For many parents of children at Sandy Hook Elementary, gun violence and how to prevent it was barely on their radar.  Now, five years after 20 children lost their lives, parents are finding ways to cope through education.  Special correspondent Lisa Stark of Education Week sits down with Nicole Hockley, who founded Sandy Hook Promise, a nonprofit that combats gun violence in schools.

CHINA - Home Alone

"Millions of Chinese children fend for themselves when parents must follow work far away" PBS NewsHour 10/31/2017

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Millions of Chinese workers have poured into urban centers as their economy booms.  But opportunity has come with costs for their children, home alone in rural areas without parental care.  Nearly 9 million so-called “left-behind” children see their parents only a few times a year.  Special correspondent Max Duncan reports in partnership with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.

Editor's Note:  This story was produced in cooperation with ChinaFile, an online magazine published by the Asia Society, and with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.

AMERICAN INEQUALITY - Growing Up in an Unequal Economy

"Where you grow up matters in an unequal economy.  Here's how." PBS NewsHour 10/26/2017

Sad to say this, but....

....no kidding.

"When inequality is the general rule in society, the greatest inequalities attract no attention." - Alexis de Tocqueville

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Is geographic mobility the key to moving up the economic ladder?  Economists are finding that the odds no longer favor American kids in doing better than their parents, but some hope that uprooting their families and moving to safer streets with better schools will guarantee a brighter economic future.  Economics correspondent Paul Solman explores the link between location and inequality.

NEWSHOUR'S IMHO - Talking to Your Kids About Mary Jane

"What a scientist suggests you tell your kids about legal marijuana" PBS NewsHour 7/21/2017

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  With marijuana legal in some form in 26 states and the District of Columbia, the old script for talking to your children about pot is changing.  Behavioral scientist Elizabeth D'Amico, who has researched drug and alcohol use among teens for more than 20 years, giver her humble opinion about what kids need to know.

LIMITLESS - Kid 'Superman' Jerry Bruce Hennon

"Kid 'superman,' born with rare heart defect, radiates strength" PBS NewsHour 6/7/2017

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Eleven-year-old Jerry Bruce Hennon was born with a congenital heart disease.  His strength and determination have made him a local hero.  Emma Kate Woods of Dalton Middle School produced this report as part of our Student Reporting Labs for our series Limitless.

MAKING SEN$E - "Make Your Kid a Money Genius"

"The best ways to teach your little kids about money" PBS NewsHour 3/30/2017

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Personal finance guru Beth Kobliner thinks kids should be learning about money and key economic concepts early.  She hopes to break the taboo of talking money with your kids with her new book, "Make Your Kid a Money Genius."  Economics correspondent Paul Solman gets lessons on how to instill economic lessons in young people from Kobliner, as well as some actual kids.

PRESCHOOLS - All In One

"Inclusive wellness center is an oasis for a neighborhood left behind" PBS NewsHour 3/21/2017

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  In the heart of one of Denver's poorest neighborhoods, parents hoped for a new preschool.  Instead they got much more.  The Dahlia Campus for Health and Well-being is a preschool, urban farm, dental office and mental health care center, all in one.  William Brangham visits to see how it's supporting the community.

JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour):  After years of neglect, parents in one of Denver's poorest neighborhoods hoped that a new preschool would be built in their community.  Instead, they got much more.

William Brangham recently visited there, and he is back again with this report.

It's part of our weekly series Making the Grade.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM (NewsHour):  Fish swim in giant tanks.  Collard greens grow in abundance in a massive greenhouse.  Down the hall, there's a dentist's office, as well as a mental health center.  And at the other end of the building, 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds run around like mad.

Some might say it's an unusual mix here in the heart of one of Denver's poorest neighborhoods, but not according to the woman who runs the place.

LYDIA PRADO, Vice President, Mental Health Center of Denver:  It's taking a new approach to community well-being.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM:  Dr. Lydia Prado is the driving force behind this place.  It's called the Dahlia Campus for Health and Well-Being.

LYDIA PRADO:  My initial conversations were with two folks who had — together, they have over 80 years of residence in this community.

And just floated the idea, I want to take integrated care to the next level.  I want to think comprehensively about health.  I want to be able to talk about mental health, and went to talk to them about it, and it's like, what do you think?  And they're like, OH?

But, you know, they were very honest about it.  There are going to be challenges, but if anybody's going to give it a shot — and we're behind you.

INSPIRATION - Heroic Foster Father

I know I could not do this, the emotional toll would be too much.

Note that his actions are part of the faith, Islam.  Caring for others.

"The foster father who cares when terminally ill kids have no one" PBS NewsHour 2/24/2017

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Mohamed Bzeek has become somewhat of a local hero in Los Angeles, taking on a life mission that few others would consider:  as a foster parent who cares solely for terminally ill children.  Special correspondent Gayle Tzemach Lemmon meets Bzeek, a former Libyan immigrant who depends on his Muslim faith as he juggles intensive caretaking and heartbreak, as well as his own battle with cancer.

JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour):  Now the story of a good man on a quiet and heartbreaking mission, one many people would never consider undertaking.

He worked for years in obscurity, until recent notice brought this remarkable man and his story to light.

From Los Angeles, special correspondent Gayle Tzemach Lemmon brings us this profile.

MOHAMED BZEEK, Foster Parent:  What are you doing?

GAYLE TZEMACH LEMMON, special correspondent:  Mohamed Bzeek has become something of a local hero here in Los Angeles recently.

MOHAMED BZEEK:  I am not an angel.  I am not a hero.  It's just what we are supposed to do as a human being.

GAYLE TZEMACH LEMMON:  In 1978, Bzeek, then a former marathon runner, came to the U.S. from Libya to study engineering.  He met his wife here in the U.S., and became a citizen in 1997.

But, today, he is a different kind of champion.  His distinction?  He is the only foster parent in this city of four million who cares solely for terminally ill children.

What happens if you get sick?

MOHAMED BZEEK:  Father doesn't get sick day.

GAYLE TZEMACH LEMMON:  It is not a glamorous job.

MOHAMED BZEEK:  You have to do it from your heart, really.  If you do it for money, you're not going to stay for long.

GAYLE TZEMACH LEMMON:  Over almost three decades, he and his wife cared for scores of children.  Ten have died in his care.  Most of the children he's taken recently are born with terminal illnesses.

Sometimes, they are abandoned or born to parents with drug addiction.  Once they enter the foster care system, the county works to connect them with foster parents like Mohamed.  The memories of the children, he says, still live with him every day.

GUN CONTROL - U.S. Child Gun Accident Rates

"A child dies every other day from gun accidents in U.S." PBS NewsHour 10/15/2016

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  A joint investigation by the Associated Press and the USA Today Network has found that in the first six months of this year, gun accidents killed at least one child in the U.S. every other day.  Both the shooters and victims were most likely to be three years old.  Ryan Foley, one of the reporters on the story for the AP in Iowa, joins Hari Sreenivasan to discuss.

HARI SREENIVASAN, PBS NEWSHOUR WEEKEND ANCHOR:  A joint investigation by the “Associated Press” and “USA Today Network” has found in the first six months of this year, gun accidents killed at least one child in the United States every other day.  The report published yesterday analyzed more than 1,000 deaths and injuries from accidental shootings involving children ages 17 and younger between January 2014 and this June.

Joining me now to talk about this is one of the reporters of that story, Ryan Foley, a member of “A.P.'s” national reporting team focused on state government coverage.  He is in Iowa today.

First of all, what's the purpose of the investigation?  What prompted it in the first place?


RYAN FOLEY, ASSOCIATED PRESS:  So, we wanted to take a more comprehensive look at these shootings, why they were happening, who the victims were, what types of guns were being used.  And we also knew that there wasn't a lot of government research into these questions.

CHILDREN OF WAR - South Sudan

"A portrait of turmoil in South Sudan, from behind the lens" PBS NewsHour 8/19/2016

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  South Sudan, the world’s newest country, is again on the brink of a civil war.  Photographer Sebastian Rich has covered the conflict in the country for more than four decades, and he is there now on a mission with UNICEF, documenting the turmoil and the toll it has taken on civilians.  The area is plagued by malnutrition and the lowest education levels in the world.  John Yang speaks with Rich.

JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour):  The world’s newest country, South Sudan, established in 2011, again stands on the brink of civil war.  A peace deal signed last year between rival governing factions is in tatters.  More than one-sixth of the country’s 12 million citizens have been displaced, and the humanitarian crisis there is worsening by the day.

John Yang has the story.

JOHN YANG (NewsHour):  For that view, we turn to photographer Sebastian Rich, who has covered conflict zones for more than four decades.  He has been to South Sudan many times.  He is there now on assignment for UNICEF, the United Nations children’s agency.

He joins us now via Skype from Juba, the capital.

Sebastian, thanks for joining thus evening.

First of all, tell us how it feels now, what the situation is like on the ground now.

SEBASTIAN RICH, Photojournalist:  Well, the situation is a little more tense than it was, obviously, before the recent fighting.

The recent fighting has put the people, the ordinary people in the street.  They’re much more tense than they were.  There’s not so many friendly faces.  If you walk in the streets of Juba now, you’re not greeted the same way you were a couple of months ago or even a year ago, when I came last year.

JOHN YANG:  And how is this affecting the children that you’re covering, that you’re there watching, looking at behalf on UNICEF, particularly the issues of malnutrition?

SEBASTIAN RICH:  Well, it’s affecting the children very badly.

And there’s 250,000, a quarter-of-a-million children suffering from severe acute malnutrition.  And that’s not including the children who just got malnutrition, the first stages of.

So, what’s happened is that the children who were actually starting to recover from severe acute malnutrition before this recent fighting, when the fighting happened, those children couldn’t come back to the hospitals to get their follow-up treatment and children that had started to get malnutrition couldn’t get to the hospitals either.

So now we have this huge increase in malnutrition and severe cases of malnutrition.  And UNICEF is trying its very, very best to keep on top of this disaster.

SYRIA - The Haunting Image

"Will the haunting image of an injured Syrian boy make a difference?" PBS NewsHour 8/18/2016

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Airstrikes are a constant in Aleppo, Syria.  But this week, global attention was captured by a haunting snapshot of one strike's aftermath: A 5-year-old boy bloodied, dust covered and dazed.  Such images have a history of going viral.  But do they make an impact?  Hari Sreenivasan asks Susan Moeller, a professor of journalism at the University of Maryland, and the New York Times' Anne Barnard.  *An editor's note:  The 1972 napalm airstrike in Vietnam that led to the iconic photo of a naked, burned Young girl running down a road that is mentioned in this conversation was conducted by the air force of South Vietnam, not the United States.

HARI SREENIVASAN (NewsHour):  It's hard not to be moved by images like that, but some pictures capture the world's attention more than others.

We begin with an image that emerged last night from the frantic attempts to rescue people caught in the aftermath of air strikes.  And again, another warning:  Some images in this story may disturb some viewers.

HARI SREENIVASAN:  Airstrikes are Aleppo's terrible routine.  This one hit an apartment a building in the city's rebel-held area.  Amateur video captured the frantic scramble to save lives amid horror.

Then, a boy, pulled from the rubble, sits in an ambulance.  He's dazed, bloodied, covered in dust.  He wipes his face.  His name: Omran Daqneesh, age five.  He survived without major injuries.  So did his parents and three young siblings.

Almost immediately, his image swept across social media worldwide, making Omran the latest symbol of heartbreak in the now-five year old conflict.

There one comment I can disagree with, "And so, pictures like this hopefully, whatever your political stripe, remind you that we’re talking about just ordinary human beings." - Anne Barnard

Sorry, there is at least one NON-human in Syria, Assad.

PRE-SCHOOLING - Struggling Educators

"Why are early childhood educators struggling to make ends meet?" PBS NewsHour 8/16/2016

IMHO because we are not willing to pay them what they deserve.  Money is more important than child education in our greed-addicted culture.

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Science tells us that critical brain development in children begins well before kindergarten, so their care and education prior to starting school matter.  But the very foundation of effective early education -- child care providers -- often struggle to earn a living wage.  In fact, nearly half of these teachers require some sort of federal support to make ends meet.  Hari Sreenivasan reports.

HARI SREENIVASAN (NewsHour):  Now a look at how pre-K teachers and early child care workers struggle to make ends meet, earning little better than subsistence wages, even as parents and the Obama administration say they increasingly value what they do.

It's part of our weekly education series 'Making the Grade,' produced this week in collaboration with The Hechinger Report.

CHANEE WILSON, Teacher, Booth Memorial Child Development Center:  OK.  What color is this?

CHILDREN:  Yellow.

CHANEE WILSON:  Yellow and white.

HARI SREENIVASAN:  Chanee Wilson teaches at the Salvation Army's Child Development Center in Oakland, California.  This year, the center received a top quality rating from the state.

CHERYL MURRAY, Program Director, Booth Memorial Child Development Center:  Our teachers are doing a really good job.  They're not just baby-sitting.  They're actually teaching.

HARI SREENIVASAN:  But program director Cheryl Murray says, despite the high rating, she is not able to pay her teachers a livable wage.

CHERYL MURRAY:  We're unable.  If we pay them more, then we wouldn't be able to serve the families, and the families really need the service.  I wish I could hit the lottery and pay more for them.

HARI SREENIVASAN:  The center serves low-income families and gets 80 percent of its funding from state subsidies.  Families pay on a sliding scale based on their income, and teachers are paid minimum wage or slightly higher.

One issue is staffing.  Because they have younger children, child care classes require more teachers than kindergarten.  Chanee Wilson lives in Section 8 subsidized housing with her two children and receives a small amount of money in food stamps.  She makes $13.25 an hour.

CHANEE WILSON:  It's a struggle every month paycheck to paycheck.  You have kids and you have bills.  We more focus on the needs, which is like providing the roof over their heads, the clothes, then the food, and things like that.