Ancillary 5

Capernaum is filled with powerful and gut-wrenching scenes. While the whole film depicts that the flaws you find in the system of so many poor countries are also found in even the richest and most developed nations, one of the most heart-breaking scenes is when Zain’s beloved sister is taken away after being sold into marriage by her parents. Zain is furious with his parents and begins to hit them. His anger and suffering in this scene is part of a much bigger problem. The world Zain lives in is filled with children who aren’t even happy about being alive because they see themselves as parasites as a system that won’t even allow them to have their basic rights. When Zain sues his parents he’s also suing the corrupt system he lives as a part of. A whole society that denies humans of the very things we need to survive. The story that is shown through this Lebanese masterpiece is something that can resonate with many Americans today. With our current democracy in the United States, people are being denied of their life because of their skin color, and women who are detained by ICE are having their wombs removed against their will. The people in power in the United States, in Lebanon, all over the world for that matter, have the ability to do something, to enact change. The flaws we see in our government here are flaws that are present in every government but with different examples. Zain was not protected since the day he was born. He was a pawn in a flawed system. Is it possible for us to still trust the systems we live in to protect us?