Local Film Appreciation Jodie Suwe (13, 4B)

After today's activities, i learnt that if we know how to appreciate local films, they can actually teach us many things. I felt that menstrual man was a very meaningful movie that taught me many values. Although it was only an hour plus long, it made me realise many things. First of all, menstrual man who was afterall, a man, decided to create low cost sanitary pads for women in the country which was very inspiring. He was obviously not affected by these menstrual unhygiene but yet he still wanted to create something to prevent women from suffering from these diseases. And throughout the whole experience, his wife and mother left him although what he was doing was for women like them. This shows how selfless he is as all that he is working towards is for the good of others and not for himself. And despite facing many obstacles, he never gave up. If i were him who had to face so much disrespect and displeasure from his own village people, i would have given up on the idea long ago. Also, the fact that menstrual man was a school dropout proved a lot. Many people (including myself) feel that a university degree is necessary in order to find a good job and succeed in life. But menstrual man is a perfect example that proves that we do not need high qualifications. Being a school dropout, menstrual man still managed to achieve his dream of providing women with sanitary pads. What he needed was not a piece of paper that indicates how much he has studied, but instead, perseverance, hard work, and of course, a kind heart. When he was hiring people to work for him, he specially targetted women who had no ways of making a living. He could have chosen a higher skilled worker, but he decided to teach women from scratch because he wanted to help these women. This shows that he has a very kind heart as he thinks for others and plans for them instead of himself. 

Overall, this documentary was very meaningful and also encouraging as it taught me that nothing is impossible as long as we keep working hard towards it, even through the many obstacles along the way.