Archaeology is a tool the world can and does use to break down stereotyping. The documentary on Inocente shows how the assumptions on homeless people are tainted with inaccuracies.
The face of Inocente, most kids in her school don’t know she is homeless. Inocente shows how society needs to rethink about who is homeless
In the first 30 seconds of the film we hear Inocente say that she is a girl who likes to jump in puddles. Inocente is a child. There is a large population of homeless children yet the average person thinking about a homeless person is not a child. 1 in 45 children in the united states will experience a homeless experience. That means over 1.6 million children.
Another important stereo type that is not seen in this situation is that being homeless doesn’t necessarily mean not waking up with a roof over your head. Inocente mentions the multiple shelters they’ve stayed at and the small rooms they’ve rented. The main issue is that after staying in a room for too long they won’t be able to pay and have to move because of their undocumented status. The place Inocente’s family stayed in during the film was in a small garage like building. Inocente did moved out at one point to get away from her family to work on independency and focus on her art. Although there are homeless artist that create dismal pieces inocente’s art is the complete opposite. Inocente’s art is modern and surreal, with bright colors and messages of love. The documentary shows how hard Inocente’s mother works for to supply for her family. This contradicts the stereotype of lazy homeless people. Inocente’s mother dreams of a house where her family can live and call theirs. Inocente brings a new perspective to those who are homeless.
Work cited:
Inocente. Dir. Sean Fine and Andrea Nix. Salty Features, 2012. DVD.
Extra readings:
https://www.academia.edu/4041486/Archaeology_of_the_Homeless_by_Nicole_Albertson
This article is about how Archaeologist are directly learning how to help homelessness.
https://www.academia.edu/444352/Adomizen_A_Foucaultian_Archaeology_of_Homelessness_In_Washington_DCS_Monumental_Core
This thesis tells the history of Washington D.C. and its relationship with Homelessness