Local Film Appreciation by Alicia Lim 4B (1)

The arts have made a significant amount of impact on today's society, especially positively. After watching 'The Menstrual Man', a documentary based on a true story of a man with the idea of empowering women, I feel that this conveys the issue of inequality of women and their right to education. In India, 73% of women are unable to get hold of sanitary pads to use during their period, which may result in serious health issues arising from this poor hygiene practice. So, the 'Menstrual Man', Muruganantham, has managed to come up with an ingenious idea by creating a user-friendly sanitary pad machine, which can be operated by anyone. To date, he has managed to extend the productivity of this invention to 23 states in India, totalling 643 machines. He has also created this machine to increase the sustainable employment rate of women in India, giving them the chance to earn a living for raising and nourishing their children, which will make up the future generation. Even without an education background, Muruganantham is able to invent this beneficial machine. Hence, education surely must be able to empower people with the proper knowledge and skills to creating a better future. Spreading their message through films and arts will leave a greater impact on the audience because of acting out the whole situation when the audience is viewing, so the audience can remember the details better after watching and are left to think and ponder over the whole story once it is over. Local filmmakers should be encouraged to produce more films so that Singapore would be portrayed in a positive light by foreigners, and there would be more opportunities for rising to become the elite in the film industry.