Realism in Children of Invention

 During the movie I actually shed a tear or two in some scenes. I found Children of Invention to be brutally honest about the situation of immigrants in America and incredibly honest. I think as a born citizen I've never actually considered what it must be like to struggle as an immigrant. This year we have studied The Jungle and Maggie A Girl of the Streets which both addressed the situation of immigrants but that was in the past. The modern realism of Children of Invention was refreshing.

Realism is defined in our handout as an "accurate representation of reality". Further in the handout it is said that "the plots of these works works encompass all social classes and tend away from excessive sentimentalizing". Children of Invention has a plot that shows various social classes within the immigrant society. It shows the grandmother who became successful, a father who left and continues to have success in Hong Kong, and the mother who is struggling to utilize her college education to support her family. The movie isn't over sentimentalized in my opinion. It has on a great deal of emotion but it isn't an overwhelming amount because the main focus remains throughout just fighting to survive their social class above all. The viewer is left constantly hoping that the mother will somehow find success and that all of their problems will be solved. In Children of Invention it is almost like money would fix everything, which seems to be a more realist sentiment than anything.