"Waste Land"

Recently I watched a documentary called "Waste Land." In this documentary, Vik Muniz who is considered one of the greatest contemporary artists in the world, decided to go to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In Rio, he went to the biggest landfill in the world called Jardim Gramacho. This documentary follow Muniz as he tours this massive landfill. The landfill is filled with pickers. Pickers are people who roam the landfill, collecting recyclable materials. The pickers who are shown in this documentary are very poor people who live in the favelas. These people collect recyclable materials to sustain their families. Muniz becomes friends with a few of the pickers. To help the struggling people of Rio, Muniz uses his talent to make massive portraits of the pickers, using recyclable materials. Muniz then takes photos of these gigantic portraits and sells them. Muniz gives all of the profit from the art to the pickers association. The documentary follows the different pickers and sows the different struggles that each one is going through. All of the pickers live in such unfair conditions, and it is really great for Muniz to make an effort to bring them cheer, hope and opportunity. This documentary really opened my eyes to the conditions that people live in. I often take all the conveniences around me for granted. I would highly suggest watching this documentary because it will really open your eyes.