Share ideas you have about the movie that help us begin our unit on Consumer Economics + Identity.
Here are some points that you can make about the movie:
* What scene(s) in the movie helped you get an idea of economic situations? Give us the details you took note of and your thoughts about these details.
* Do you agree that Ali's family is 'poor'? Please explain.
* How might the title of the movie relate to some economic idea about the lives of Ali and Zahra?
* What connections can you make between the economic situations in the movie and those that you have experienced?
45 comments:
To be honest I thought that the movie only showed the down side of the economy. For example, the only time that the movie showed rich people was when the poor people were mowing the rich peoples lawn. Other then that, the economy was mostly on the street market. That disapointed me.
I thought that this movie was very sad. This movie taught me a lot about economics and about the value and the importance of money. From this movie i recieved a message that I think said that I should save on things and not waste them as there are people who can't even afford daily items like food and shoes.
I think this movie had shown us what we should learn about this world we live in today. For example, in some poor parts of the world, money is something that one could only dream of. A single pair of shoes could stop a child from going to school. Poor economy status would hold back one’s dreams. However, on the other hand, I think this movie had taught us that we should be satisfied with what we already have and see in perspective with the rest of the world.
I think this movie showed us the poor side of the world. For example, Ali and Zahra only had one pair of shoes and they had to wear sneakers because Ali had lost Zahra's shoes. This taught us that not everybody lives by doing what you want to do, or what you want to buy. The movie was sad to watch, but it taught us to be happy that we are living such a good life, and have hope even if you are in a bad situation.
What I learnt from this movie is about how we should value money and the important of money. I think that everyone at ISB has enough money to buy everything that they need in able to survive; food, clothes, shelter. But I think that we should not waste money on stuff that is not very important since there are many other people out in the would who doesn't have all the stuff they need. I think that while we have lots of money, we should be careful how we spend it and we shouldn't waste the stuff we have, such as food. This movie also shows that many poor people does not have what we have, and so I think that we should be happy with what we have.
I thought the movie was really sad that the family couldn't afford enough money to buy new shoes but at the same time, I thought the movie was really weird because after Ali won the race, his prize was a vacation. He could have traded the vacation tickets for new shoes. The part where Ali and Zahra visited the house of the girl who had Zahra's shoes, I realized that the economic situation was really bad because the girl who had Zahra's shoes had to help her blind father sell stuff. Normally, if a person was blind, they wouldn't work but the girl with Zahra's shoes was in a really poor family so her father had to work.
I agree that Ali's family is poor because they couldn't even afford shoes. Also, when I saw their house, I knew that they were poor because the house had only one room without a bathroom and they couldn't even pay the rent.
Some connections that I can make between the economic situations in the movie and those that I have experienced are that Ali's family couldn't afford new shoes and one time, I wanted new shoes so my mom told me to buy them with my own money but I didn't have enough money so I couldn't buy it.
Overall, I think this movie was pretty sad because whenever I saw Ali or Zahra cry, it made me think about how lucky I was.
This movie shows the poor side of economy, Ali and Zahra only have one pair of shoes each and can't afford to buy new ones, they have to get them fixed. I think this movie taught me to keep your hopes up even when you're in bad situations. Also, it brought to my attention to not take what I have for granted. This movie showed what it was like to be poor.
I agree that Ali's family is poor, because Ali's sister had only one pair of shoes,Aand it got stoled, and Ali didn't want his sister to tell his father because his father would beat him, but also because his father didn't have money to buy another pair of shoes. Also because his father doesn't have good job, so he can't offer everything to his family.
While watching this movie, I felt that Ali's family was financially poor but they pretty much were having a good life. Ali and Zahra were able to go to school where high-status children went. They had a somewhat type of TV and radio. Although they had to share a pair of sneakers and were considered low on status, they could meet up to their needs. As Joseph said, I also feel that the movie only showed the negative impact of economy. It showed how families like Ali's were surviving but it only showed the rich people once in the movie.
This movie taught me a very valuable lesson and shows me how lucky I am. We each own many pairs shoes when someone like Ali and Zahra had to share the same pair of sneakers, since their father couldn't afford to buy them a new one. This movie shows how economics can affect people's lives greatly. A nine year old had to help his mother work and a little girl had to take care of her younger sibling. This also taught me how money could be very powerful and can mean a lot to many people.
Ali and Zarah's circumstances in the movie helped me get an idea of the economic situations. While Ali and Zarah were living poorly, rich people lived very honorably. Money was an important system that people needed during life. Without money, you have to live poorly and miserably like Ali's family. His parents couldn't even afford shoes to their children and lived in a small room. Also, Ali had to buy small potatoes in their village store because they weren't wealthy, which is so unfair in my opinion. Now think about the rich houses that Ali's father went to gardening. They lived so wealthy compared to Ali's. The only difference between them was that they had money or not.
I think the movie was really interesting because it portrayed the side of life in not so rich and ndeveloped countries. The fact that throughout the movie they only showed the poorer side and the characters rarely talked about the 'east side' showed me that majority of the population is not that rich and that the economy is low. I know of such situations in countries in Africa and parts of India. Compared to us Ali and Zahra would be considered poor. Because they could barely afford their basic needs like rnt and groceries. I liked this movie because it helped me understand country's economies better.
This movie focuses more on the poor areas than on the wealthy or well-off areas. I think that Ali's family is poor because they can't afford to buy a new pair of shoes, and they can't afford to pay the rent on their house. Also, their house doesn't look like houses that I normally see, so that peobably means that they can't afford to rent a better house.
I watched this movie once or twice before a few years back, and watching it again during Humanities class invoked the same feelings they did before. This movie was very touching and showed the love between Ali and Zahra, and the poor lifestyle some people lead. I think that yes, Ali's family is poor, as they are behind on rent and their grocer's account, and their father is working so many jobs to earn money, but they are not poor on happiness and love, and that's why the movie is titled 'Children of Heaven' possibly. The situation in CoH can be related to the poorer parts of Thailand, where such situations may occur. We are lucky to be in ISB which has many facilities, but there may be people like Ali and Zahra somewhere in Thailand who don't get such a chance.
I think this movie taught us a lot about the difference between rich and poor people and how difficult the poor people are living. The movie also showed if you work hard, you will earn money.
From watching this sorrowful movie, I discovered about the importance of the value of money and our luckiness of having many things others don’t have. In one part of the world, some people have lots of money and can use it to satisfy their life. However, in the other part of the world, some people have only a small amount of money to live with, which they don’t always get what they desire for. This makes me understand of how money is valuable, especially for the poor. Points in the movie that made me get the idea of economic situations are when Ali’s sister’s shoe was repaired, drinking tap water, and getting low quality food. All these points occurred because of the amount of money Ali’s family had. Firstly, instead of buying a new pair of shoe, Ali went to repair the old shoe. Why? It is because they don’t have enough money to buy a whole new one. Secondly, Ali, and probably everyone else had to drink tap water since they couldn’t afford buying drinking water. Lastly, poor people get low quality food because the food of better quality is sold to people who have more money. These events made me feel very pity for the people who have a small amount of money and cannot afford their needs in order to be satisfied with life. Since I know that there are still people who live in a state of poverty and lack of necessities, I will live my life by using my money wisely and being pleased of what I have, compared to others who don’t.
This movie focused more on the downside of economy and its impact on people’s lives. It showed the importance of money and how advantageous it can be. Rich people can afford to have luxurious homes and are able to buy cars (as seen in the movie) whereas the poor can barely feed themselves. Along with many others, I agree that Ali and Zahra’s family is poor because they couldn’t afford to buy new shoes and they had a hard time paying the house rent. Even at a young age, they had to help their parents work. This shows how money can affect people’s lives so greatly. Watching this movie also made me realize how fortunate I am. It taught me to appreciate what I have and not take anything for granted. Overall, I think it is a great movie; it helped me understand more about economic situations and it also taught me a valuable lesson about life.
I think this movie showed poor economic side.Ali and Zahra's family don't have money to buy new shoes.One day Ali repaired Zahra's shoes.But someone got Zahra's shoes when Ali bought potatos. So,they had to wear one pair of sneaker. Also his father doesn't have job. After I saw this movie I think the movie taught variable of our life and you have a hope even if you are in bad happening. Also the movie showed us there are some people who have poor econimics, so they couldn't buy what they want or have to use.
As you can see in the scence where Ali could only buy small potatoes it is obvious that there family is poor. Also they can't afford to buy a new pair of shoes and has a hard time sharing it as Ali lost Zahra's shoes.This movie show how money has such a big influence in people's life. Rich people live in splendid houses and their children plays in good places when poor people can't even sleep and eat well. Also like Ali and Zahra poor children had to work in the age of 9. This movie once again reminded me of how I am fortunate and that we should be helping those who are not fortunate as we are.
1. What scene(s) in the movie helped you get an idea of economic situations? Give us the details you took note of and your thoughts about these details.
The beginning of this movie made me understand Ali's family money situation. When they were introducing the characters and trying to describe the setting and their lives, they had a lot of scenes showing how Ali's family didn't have a lot of money. One of the scenes that really made me realize how poor they were was at the very beginning when Ali was watching the shoemaker fix his sister's shoes. When I saw that he was repairing them then I thought that it was amazing how that seemed so wierd to me. All of us are used to getting a new pair of shoes when we ask for one, even if they are not torn or damaged, and when I saw that they were repairing them and they were torn I realized that they didn't have a lot of money. After that, when he went to the grocery store and the shopkeeper told him to get the old, small potatoes instead of the more expensive potatoes because he knows that they cannot afford it. Also when Ali told the shopkeeper to put the cost on their bill, the shopkeeper told him that they could not put anymore food on it. This made me realize that they were a lot poorer than I thought. The last scene that made me realize that they had a finical problem was when he came home after work and the sister was very upset over her lost shoes, and Ali said that she couldn't tell their mom because she would beat them because she did not have enough money to buy the daughter a new pair of shoes. This scene really made me understand how poor they were and little money they had.
2. Do you agree that Ali's family is 'poor'? Please explain.
I do think that Ali's family is poor in terms of money because they have not paid their rent in five months, they are in debt with the store owner, the son and the daughter have to work and the father cannot save any money.
3. How might the title of the movie relate to some economic idea about the lives of Ali and Zahra?
The title may refer to the children's lives because they always work and try and figure things out by using the least disruptive ways possible. They always help their parents no matter what, they get the best grades in school and they never cause trouble. I think that all parents would like children like these two. I think that these two kids are 'perfect' in the minds of many people, but below the surface they have many problems that they may never get out of.
4. What connections can you make between the economic situations in the movie and those that you have experienced?
I have never been in this situation with money but I have seen many families on the street of Thailand like the boys who sell jasmine garlands on the highways. I do not know how the families ever get out of debt but if they work extremely hard and they have some luck, they might be able to improve their style of living like Ali's family does when the father gets the gardening job at the wealthy people's houses.
One of the scenes in the movie that helped me get an idea of economic situations is the scene in the beginning where Ali looses his sister, Zahra’s shoes. Ali thinks really precious of the shoes and spends hours looking for shoes. This taught me that in some poor countries with a terrible economy people can’t even afford a pair of shoes because they are financially having problems. Another scene that I was inspired from is the part where Ali and his father ride bicycle to go to the other town. I could see that the distinction between the poor and the rich is really huge in some countries.
This movie showed me what is life like in Iran. It showed me how lucky I am to have a good family that has a good wealth condition. It showed me how low a family’s economic condition can get.
It mostly showed the bad wealth condition neighborhood of Ali and Zahra.
It really made me happy to be a part of the good wealth condition community.
General comment about this movie:
For me, I found this movie quite sad and depressing. Before, I could care less about economics. However, when I saw the rich vs. poor gap in Iran, it raised another question that I knew the answer to: Was this happening in every other country around the world? When I think back, I realize that I have sometimes overlooked those poorer than me. They might be poor on money, but that doesn't mean anything; even if they are in poverty they can be rich in other things such as love, friendship, and other things as well.
Do you agree that Ali's family is 'poor'? Please explain:
I agree and disagree at the same time. If by "poor", that means in terms of money - yes. They do not have a lot of money, their landlord is following them around, and they do not have enough money to buy necessary things, such as shoes. However, if by "poor" as if in happiness and everything else that comes with it, I would have to disagree. Even though they are not rich and have a huge house, they are happy with one another, and they share a bond no one else does.
Having lived in Tehran for three years since I was five years old, I can relate to this movie a lot since I have actually seen and experienced the conditions from the movie in Iran. I first watched this movie when I was six. Then, I did not understand much at all about the economical aspects of this movie, but having watched it the second time today, I saw these aspects in the movie.
Many scenes in this movie give an idea of the economic situations. At the start of the movie, the shopkeeper stopped Ali from taking the large potatoes and told him to take the small ones. Even small incidents like this can mean a lot. The shopkeeper knew that Ali's family would not be able to afford the large potatoes due to their economic condition. Another scene was of the neighborhood Ali and his dad went to for gardening. This area was very posh and clean. The houses, rather mansions were big and spacious, surrounded by greenery. In contrast, Ali's neighborhood had dirty, rundown houses which were very tiny. The streets were filthy and there was almost no vegetation at all. This showed the contrast between the high and the low end of economy, and how big of a gap there is between the rich and the poor in Iran.
I think that Ali's family was 'poor' economically compared to perhaps other people in Iran or us. The family lived in a small house and Ali's father occupation was serving tea. Ali and his sister also valued a single pair of shoes a lot. This, however, does not mean that Ali's family was 'poor' otherwise. Although they had a hard time affording basic needs, they were a close family and quite happy and content at times, for example when Ali and his dad rode into the posh neighborhood, and Ali helped his father out. The relationship between Ali and Zahra was also touching.
I have never personally been in an economic situation like Ali's but I have seen people who are not as fortunate as us on the streets, homeless and unemployed. I know there are situations like these in several countries, not only Iran, like in Africa, India and even Thailand. I think that poverty is a problem that should urgently be addressed. I have seen the rundown, dirty neighborhoods like the one Ali lived in myself, when I lived in Tehran.
I think this movie showed the downside of economy in Iran, contrasting it with the posh side. It was touching to see how Ali ran so hard so that he could get Zahra new shoes and amusing to see how the siblings shared a single pair of sneakers for quite a long time. I found it very coincidental that I have been to the very lake that Ali ran around in the end, a lot of times, often playing in the park next to it. This movie taught me that I have to value my things and what I do have more, not taking them for granted, because there are always people out there like Ali who can barely afford their basic needs.
There was one scene that helped me get an idea of economic situations, where there was a person trading salt for dry breads. We don't see people doing that in Thailand. At the beginning of the movie, when Ali was buying the patatoes. The shop keeper didn't allow him to pick the big patatoes, he told Ali to buy the small ones. Most of the people who lived in the same village were not rich. In addition, when Ali's father brought Ali to the city for a new job. All the houses were really big. It is the difference between the poor people and rich people in Iran. After watching the movie, I agree that Ali's family is poor because they can't afford to buy a pair of shoes, and the rent of the house.
The scene that helped me get an idea of economic situation is the part when Ali wants join the race and get a prize of the sneaker by making in 3rd. He was sad because he didn't make in 3rd place to get a sneaker. This taught me that in poor countries, they don't spend money whatever they want, but they try their best to get it even though they are poor.
a lots of people values the money, but i think money isn't so important. Maybe there are more important in this world. Like connection with other person, or like an atitude to their lifes. We do need money to survive in the world, but it is not so important.
I think this movie was very good. i felt very sorry for Ali and his sister, having to share shoes. But i don't understand the ending because it just ends the Ali's goldfish swimming around his feet; it doesn't make any sense.
I think this movie shows mostly the poor side of the world, like Ali and Zahra. Ali is only a 9 year old kid, but he has to do work for their family, and also go to school. By watching this movie, I learned that there are many people who are very poor that they can't afford to pay the rent of their house, while there are wealthy people in the world.
But maybe the movie could have shown more of the wealthy people's side, rather than showing a lot of the poor people.
I think that Children of Heaven is a great movie and it really gave me lots of ideas on different economic aspects. The scene where Ali and his father are finding a job as gardeners gave me an idea of how the economic situations are like in Iran. The rich and poor gap in Iran is very big. The area where Ali lives seemed like another world comparing to the city. The houses in the city are almost ten times bigger than Ali’s neighborhood. This situation happens in almost every country. I believe that this situation is unpreventable because the only way to prevent this from happening is to share what people earn, which I think is not fair because what you earn should be based on your ability.
I think that Ali’s family is poor on the economic side because they cannot afford many of the basic commodities, the quality of their house and neighborhood and Ali’s father does not have a stable occupation. However, Ali’s family has something that money cannot buy, their cares toward each other and the time that they have and are able to spend with each other.
In conclusion, I do believe that poverty is an important part of life but there are things that money cannot buy. This is the most important thing that I learned from this movie.
1. What scene(s) in the movie helped you get an idea of economic situations? Give us the details you took note of and your thoughts about these details.
The scene when Ali and his father goes out to city helped me understand the idea of the economic situation, because Ali’s neighborhood was really poor and dirty, but the city was very clean and was filled with rich people. This means the economy of Iran isn’t good because not every part of the country is rich. Also I learned that Ali’s family had bad economy situations because they couldn’t afford to buy a pair of sneakers.
2. Do you agree that Ali's family is 'poor'? Please explain.
I agree that Ali’s family is really poor because they weren’t able to pay rent for months. Also Ali’s father doesn’t have a stable job that earns him enough money to survive. Furthermore, Ali’s family couldn’t afford to buy sneakers.
3. How might the title of the movie relate to some economic idea about the lives of Ali and Zahra?
The title “Children of Heaven” relates to some economic idea about the lives of Ali and Zahara because the title means children living happy like in a heaven but Ali and Zahara is living a poor and miserable life, so I think the title is being sarcastic.
4. What connections can you make between the economic situations in the movie and those that you have experienced?
I have never lived in a bad situation like this but I know how it feels because when I was in Korea, some of my friends in school were very poor. They couldn’t bring lunch to school and also couldn’t pay for the food at school. However, I have never experienced it because i have never been to poor places, except for streets in Bangkok and Seoul.
1) The first scene in the movie gave me an idea on the economic situations Ali's family suffers with. I realized that they dont even have enough money to buy new shoes and that they always have to fix the shoes they have over and over again. I also noticed that while Ali was buying vegetables, the shopkepper didn't let Ali choose the big potatoes as his family wasn't wealthy enough to afford it. He told Ali to buy the smaller potatoes insted. i thought that this was very unfair, but I also agree that the shopkepper was doing what was right for his family and he was only trying to earn money.
2)I agree that Ali's family is poor only economically as they don't have a lot of money to even afford daily objects. But, in other ways such as happiness and love they are the richest family.
3)I think the title relates to how Ali and Zahra love each other and how Ali will do anything to bring happiness into Zahra's life. Ali will even jeoperdize his happiness to bring happiness in his sister's eyes.
4)I think, that after I have watched this movie, i have realized how fortunate I am to have such a wealthy family and how lucky I am to be able to afoord daily needs and that I am able to go to such a great school. But, this movie is very much true as in India there are some children who cant even afford clothes or they cant even afford a decent house. There are a lot of children who live on the streets and perform hard labor or beg to get even the little amounts of money that could help their family n the smallest way.
I think the movie "children of Heaven" is a good example of the economic situation nowadays, the different between the poors and the riches. Forexample the scene where they goto the city to earn money by gardening the richs garden. The house they went in for gardening, it was enormous it also had a playground at the garden. Compared to Ali's old and shabby home it was a paradise. The sence made me sad because the poors works hard to earn money when the riches rest.
1. When Ali went to get groceries and repair Zahra's shoes i noticed many people in the movie trying sell food to earn money. When Ali got to the fruit and vegetable shop, the shopkeeper told him to get the smaller potatoes than the larger ones because their family was poor.
2. I agree that Ali's family is poor because they dont have enough money to buy a pair of sneakers. Also, his family couldn’t pay off the rent that they owed the landlord.
3. I think the title is trying to tell us even though Ali and Zahra are poor they try their best to live a happy life like in "heaven".
4. All the economic situations in this movie are the opposite to the economic situations I experienced. That’s why I feel lucky that I am going to ISB and having no difficulties in life.(except when I have too much homework)
When I watched the movie 'Children of Heaven' I found that the economy of Iran is very differnt. For example they have a trading system where they trade one item for another, they also however use money. I disliked the movie because the plot was not too good but it was good since it taught me about economy in other countries.
I got the idea that the economy was low and less fortunate than other economies. Like in the market the decency and other attributes of the market were not that pleasant. The schools were very small and compact with children and Ali's house was a one room house which shows the downside of the economy and how the economy can't supply people with sufficient space.
I think the title of this movie refers to the importance of the way Ali and his sister live their lives. Each day we see them as less fortunate people but in everything that they do they enjoy it as much as they can. In the bubble scene it was easy to realize that Ali and his sister were really enjoying the moment.
I think that this movie shows us the less fortunate side of the human population. Especially when this movie begins with Ali running through narrow alleys to get to his house then it shows where he goes gardening. After seeing this movie, I have come to think that I am very fortunate to be on the other side of the economy.
The 'Children of Heaven' clearly exhibits the gap between the rich and the poor in Iran. It shows a part of Iran's economy. While the rich lived in an exclusive luxurious part of Tehran, the poor (Ali and Zahra) had to live in something I could even call a "ghetto". They barely have money to pay for their food, let alone their rent and shoes.
By that, I think that Ali's family is quite. They cannot afford their rent and their food. For instance, when Ali goes to buy food, he could only get small potatoes and not the big ones since the shop keeper knows how much his family owes to him. Children help work and do chores everyday, which would be unheard of where I live.
Also, this movie proved to be a very valuable lesson. Seeing how kids younger have to struggle for their family, I know how privileged I am to live in such an environment.
In my opinion i believe that Ali's family is poor. I think this because his family can not aford to purchase a new pair of shoes for Ails's sister. I also belive they are poor becuase there living area is very compact and dirty. To me this movie was very emotional, and showed me how lucky i have it.
Children of Heaven
The movie “Children of Heaven “is about two children that are very poor, it all started when Ali (the brother) is going to fix his sister shoes .on the way he buys some potatoes he puts the plastic bag, with his sister shoes, aside and buys some staff after a while someone, not on purpose, takes the plastic bag and go away. Ali is telling his sister (Zahra) what happened and ask not to tell to their parents. Then every day they use the same shoes, and learn how to be happy with what they have.
The movie related to economics because it tells a story of poor people and poor people live in a low economics.
I don’t think that all the children are poor in Iran ,but what I do think is that all the children that are with them in school are poor because was probably the cheapest school around and poor people get to there, and the children are poor in this area…
I don’t really think that the title related to economics because it doesn’t really means anything, you can’t really tell what’s going to happen in the movie.
This movie made me a little sad when Ali ran alot just for a pair of sneakers. I think the ending was sad too because Ali didn't get the 3rd place.
I think the movie was about the bad side of economics. It taught me a valuable lesson that I should be greatful for what I have and not complain. Also, I had the sadest feelings for the two kids because they don't have a normal life that we do and I wish I could help them. Also I think to make the movie better, they should add zombies.
This was a very sad movie because it made me realize that there are many poor people out there who can’t even afford to buy shoes. Ali and his sister really value their shoes and personal belongings. We don’t really care much about our personal belongings that much. For example we can just go out and buy shoes without worrying and spending all of your money, for them its their saving all spent on a pair of shoes.
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