Delayed Reaction: Writing with Fire

Premise: A documentary about India's only all-female news organization.

 

I think even people who believe in the importance of journalism get tired of how sanctimonious journalists can be sometimes. All the fourth estate, speak truth to power, necessary public service stuff can be a little much. At the end of the day, it is a job, and the people who do it have to have an inflated sense of the importance of the work to do it well. I'm always up for an inspiring journalism story though.

 

The women working for the Khabar Lahariya newspaper in India are very impressive. That's the one sentence review of Writing with Fire. They are a group of Dalit women, which, according to India's caste system, makes them the least powerful people in the country. Basically, everything is stacked against them succeeding. Their low caste means they can't live in nice areas. They come from poor families that can't provide good dowries. The very fact that they work brings shame to their families. Once they marry, they aren't supposed to work. It's amazing that this newspaper exists at all.

 

Writing with Fire catches the women as they make their shift from paper to digital. In addition to being an education on India's caste, gender, and political systems, the movie is a lesson on what media looks like today. It's digital and iPads and web shows. They are the best kind of disrupters and the movie is pretty drama free, honestly. It's Khabar Lahariya being successful and getting bigger.

 

Still, it all goes back to those impressive women. I was continually surprised by the lack of support they received from their families and community. Even when they are the breadwinners, their families are ashamed of them working. Husbands would rather them not work. The one reporter puts off getting married because she fears that it means she'll have to leave the job. And they are fierce at what they do. There are a few times when they go up against crowds of people to make their point or ask their questions and hold court successfully.

 

I don't recall anything special going on with the filmmaking of this documentary. It just tells a good story and follows compelling characters. Sometimes, that's all a documentary needs.

 

Verdict: Strongly Recommend