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Adrienne Caburao

Professor Swiger

ENGL-1301

16 February 2022

Poor Kids

There are a lot of children who are lucky to get what they want, to eat enough food, and

to own enough clothes. According to the authors of the article title "Income and Poverty in the

United States: 2020," the number of people in poverty has increased since 2019 (Shrider et al.).

The 2017 PBS Frontline documentary "Poor Kids" was produced by Jezza Neumann and Lauren

Mucciolo, and the documentary is about how children see poverty and how they have overcome

their daily struggles as they grow. In the documentary “Poor Kids,” Neumann and Mucciolo

successfully convinced the audience that the children already know how to survive despite living

in poverty because their parents are short of money through the use of word connotations,

unflattering pictures, and limited perspective.

Word connotation bias is repeatedly used in the documentary and convinces the audience

that the children are suffering and have a hard time socially. For example, Jasmine said in the

documentary, “I’m embarrassed because I’m poor and because I live in a shelter. It makes me

feel like I just wish I never lived here,” and Kylie said, “I’m just starving. We don’t get those

three meals a day, like, breakfast, lunch and then dinner” “Poor Kids”). Using these negative

word connotations, the children describe how they feel about their situation, and these are some

of the words used that are used in the documentary: embarrassing, poor, starving, and homeless.

Children who are in low-income families are embarrassed for their friends to find out that they

are poor and live in a tiny room or a shelter home. These negative remarks convince the audience
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that using negative words shows how the children feel about their situation. If the children did

not use negative words on how they feel and describe their situation, the audience would not

understand and would not feel sympathy. If the producers did not use negative word

connotations the audience will not feel empathy about their situation. In addition to negative

word connotations, the creators use harsh pictures to persuade the audience.

The documentary “Poor Kids” used unflattering pictures to show what environment the

children have. The documentary showed Kaylie and her family in a tiny hotel room with a sink

full of ice, milk, soft drink, and food instead of these items in a refrigerator. The documentary

also showed Roger’s shoe that is already damaged because of overuse (“Poor Kids”). These

unflattering images cause the audience to empathize with these poor children. By showing

unflattering pictures, the documentary producers have control over how to manipulate the

audience’s empathy. If the producers used flattering pictures, such as the families living in a nice

home and having nice clothes, the audience would have a less emotional connection.

Unflattering pictures are just one of the biases used in the documentary because the producers

also showed limited perspective.

Limited perspectives bias is featured in the documentary showing only the children who

have not yet succeeded. The producers of the documentary interviewed only six children that are

growing up in a poor environment, which is not an accurate representation percentage of the

number of homeless children in America and their experiences. According to the article, “How

Some Kids Escape Poverty” the author stated that, “16 percent of ‘persistently poor children’

(those living more than half of their lives from birth to 17 years in poverty) become successful

young adults, meaning that between the ages of 25 and 30 they are consistently working or in

school, and are not poor” (Kirk). The producers used limited perspective for the audience to only
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view the children living in poverty. The creators did not discuss the children who have succeeded

in life. If the producers did not use limited perspective the purpose of the documentary will not

be about children in poverty. If the producers show the children who live a wealthy life, the

documentary will not be about children in poverty. Therefore, the use of biases in the

documentary helps the audience to understand the situation of the children.

Word connotations, unflattering pictures, and limited perspective are the biases shown in

the documentary to convince the audience about children who are living in poverty. Negative

word connotation was used by the producers to have the audience feel the hardship that the

children go through. By adding unflattering pictures to the documentary, the viewers have

knowledge of what environment the children have. Finally, the limitation of perspective, the

viewers focus more on poverty instead of wealth. The documentary interviewed children who are

living in poverty. The producers would have interviewed children who grew up in a wealthy

environment but it would be different because the children that grew up in a wealthy household

will have a different mindset, and the audience will feel less empathy. People are aware of

poverty but choose not to talk about it, people should help each other even if their status in life is

different. Helping people in poverty may help them overcome the situation that they have and

help the children that are in poverty because they are the hope of the future.
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Works Cited

Kirk, Mimi. " How Some Kids Escape Poverty.” Bloomberg, 19 May 2017,

www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-05-19/why-some-children-born-into-poverty-

become-successful. Accessed 16 Feb. 2022.

"Poor Kids." Produced by Jezza Neumann and Lauren Mucciolo, PBS Frontline, 2017,

www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/poor-kids/.

Shrider, Emily, et al. "Income and Poverty in the United States: 2020." The United States Census

Bureau, 14 Sept. 2021, https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2021/demo/p60-

273.html. Accessed 02 Feb. 2022.