When was the last time you watched a movie that just moved you so much and left you shell shocked and oh so sad. That was me last night when I watched a short australian film called Polly And Me. A fictional story based on true stories about child abuse and neglect right here in Australia. I kept thinking surely this isn’t real, surely this doesn’t go on, I really should change the channel and watch those cheery Duggars on Discovery Health……..but I kept watching.
Image source here
I woke up and covered each of my little ones in kisses and cuddles and thanked my lucky stars that I can give my children the best life possible, a life that is protected, full of love, happiness, opportunity and not of neglect. It was very confronting, very dark, very thought provoking but so necessary to watch. If you watched it let me know what you thought……. it certainly opened my eyes and reminded me that as a member of society I have a responsibility to look out for other people and to not just live in my own little world.
phew, pretty deep for a friday morning isn’t it but I just can’t get it out of my mind.
Oh Corrie! You are brave! I had to change the channel after about 15 mins. Too much! So confronting. Incredibly sad. Bravo though to those who made it xox
I couldn’t get through it but I’m so glad people are watching it and talking about it. Abuse really does happen and I really believe that the more educated we are, the less it will occur…
Jennifer
I forgot to watch it…damn I was meaning to as well. This is my area of training and where I will be working in once I complete my degree.
I don’t think I could watch that. How sad!!!
Well done for sticking with it! I only lasted about 5 minutes before I had to switch. I knew I’d get so sucked in and go to bed sad. So good that it was aired and people are now talking about it.
And yes, my three squids got extra squeezes this morning too!
I taped it and plan to watch it tonight. I am sure it will be heartbeaking.
i’ve just finished ready a book called ‘Cry Silent Tears’ A horrible story of child abuse but I just couldn’t stop reading it..so I know exactly how you feel. I worke the next morning and gave my boy the biggest hugs ever!
I didn’t watch it Corrie (school production night!) but am abit fragile this arvo and feel moved just by reading your post about it…
I didn;t watch it though saw a bit advertised on the news….very confronting! I used to work in Child Protection so would deal with this day in day out and have to work with the parents who would treat their children in the most abhorrent way…now as a parents I share your sentiments…i love that I can give my kids a safe and nurturing home with lots of love and positivity. Bravo to you for watching it!
Oh darling – it’s the kind of movie i would watch, cry till my eyes are red & my husband would ask why i do it to myself??!!
I don’t even like to watch reality television to think there are such awful people in this world, so not sure i could cope with child abuse, oh, too horrible. You are tough for hanging in there & to make it love your family even more.
Love Posie
Isn’t it amazing when a film touches you like that. Especially when it’s an Australian film-sometimes it’s hard to believe that it happens in our own backyards
I watched it, it is very confronting and regretfully Australian children are living like that every day! We need to watch and not turn it off, the children of Australia need our help, they cannot turn off the nightmare that is their lives.
Argh, could I stand that? But I would watch. I would bear witness. We need to ‘see’ these things!!! x
There has been alot on tv this week about child abuse and child protection. I missed the show last night (PandC meetting that went way to long) I hope that they reshow it at some stage.
So glad you have mentioned this. I watched it, I cringed, I had a tear, I begged them to say that this was over dramatised fiction.
They didn’t.
The survivors spoke at the end.
We owe it to every child currently living this hell to watch, to learn and to somehow, someway make a difference.
It is an excellent short film. It was powerful and worth sitting through. The child actor was amazing, but any child living within this level of neglect needs us all to put our noses in and just ask – you ok?
It was also a reminder that some Mums have no ability to cope with parenting and they need help too.
Unfortunately I wasn’t surprised to see that this happening here. I often see children with a sadness in their eyes that you know comes from a very dark and lonely place. I am one of those people who will stop if I see a child alone with no adult near-by and ask ‘Where’s Mum or Dad?’. Sadly we are fast becoming a world were we are too afraid to ask the questions that need to be asked. We need more funding to help those that are struggling, we need to be a community, we need to know our neighbours and really mean it when we ask ‘How are you?’.
I watched it and although I wanted to turn to another chanel I couldn’t. It brought home to me what a safe and happy bubble I live in and after kissing both of my girls while they slept, I wanted to be able to go out and scoop up every other child out there who isn’t as happy and bring them home. It makes me so sad that children are living like that everyday.
I happened by chance to watch it and felt compelled to keep watching. It was so touching, haunting, shocking & confronting on so many levels…I was intigued by the stories of the children who spoke afterwards in the Q & A sesion after the movie had been shown, who had been brought up in a similar environment, that really brought home the message of the movie for me. So many wonderful comments here about the subject. Very thought provoking.
What a lovely blog retro mummy. Thought I’d let you and your friends know about a website for parents called http://www.resourcingparents.com , not all parents need as much help as the mum on Polly and Me. Sometimes we’d just like to do a bit better job. Like you retro mummy I’ve got four children, spread over four and a half years and I love crafting. Sometimes new ideas from a talk or course on parenting can really make life so much easier for us parents but particularly for our children. Have a look and tell your friends where they can find a groups or course near them.
I still cannot get it out of my mind. I could relate to much of it which made it even harder to watch, having come across children many times in my career who are going through similar things. To be there in the house though and see (despite it being fictional) in all it’s rawness was so confronting.
It was horrible to watch but I completely agree that I think all Australians should watch it for exactly that reason. It is horrible and it is real and it is only us adults sitting in our safe houses with our loving arms around our children who can stand up for the rights of those children living a very different life to the one we are providing.
I particularly liked the talk session at the end.