American babies, for instance, were more social and impulsive than babies from the other countries, and they were also the most likely to enjoy highly stimulating activities. I also read some of the posts on a forum posted by some of my fellow university students. Each baby comes from a different culture, which shows how the various customs of each culture can impact a child’s development. Finally, baby Bayar from Mongolia appeared to fairly content. Directed by Thomas Balmes. 3 Babies introduces four different babies from four different countries and captures the remarkable universality children experience growing up. Again, the words of my mother come into my head and I can’t help but to be concerned about the cleanliness of the baby and the illnesses that animals could carry. Baby Mari, from Tokio was also exposed to play groups with other children, educational activities, toys, and books. What are the similarities between the development of the babies in the documentary? She appeared to be extremely content in her daily life and cried very rarely. Again, I’m coming from a Western point of view and I generally try not to be ethnocentric towards any culture but I found it a little difficult at first. It seemed unorthodox to me that the mothers in Namibia walked around topless, however I thought about it and came to the conclusion that there are reasons why this is unacceptable in Western society but not in Namibia. In Western society, breasts are not recognized primarily as a source of nourishment for infants, rather they are seen as sexual objects. It took two years and 400 hours of footage to make “Babies.” ‘Babies’ is a documentary film which chronicles the first year of life of four babies spanning the globe. Both of these children had the same resources yet completely different temperament. Although the difference in socio-economic statuses seem to be huge, when one looks beyond the “physical” characteristics of poverty, i.e., the home, the city, the toys, etcetera, one can realize that there are more similarities than differences. Similarities and … If you click “Agree and Continue” below, you acknowledge that your cookie choices in those tools will be respected and that you otherwise agree to the use of cookies on NPR’s sites. Babies Discussion Guide Director: Thomas Balmès Year: 2010 Time: 79 min Aside from the sibling rivalry, baby Bayar appeared to be contented and very much independent much like baby Ponjiao. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. “Babies,” a documentary by Thomas Balmès, chronicles the first year in the lives of four far-flung infants. - The Babies are all spoken to and have conversations to teach the baby to speak the language. Baby Hattie was exposed to many toys, books, and play groups for parental and infant interaction, however she did not appear to be any happier or healthier in her daily life. I believed this to be true because baby Hattie and baby Mari both had access to what I initially thought was more and better resources to rear an infant. This information is shared with social media, sponsorship, analytics, and other vendors or service providers. Being topless isn’t socially acceptable in Western society because society dictates that male and female bodies should be covered. I’ve wanted to write about the differences between my two children since I started blogging. When Ponijao developed the ability to crawl he was permitted to crawl all over the ground and used his mouth to explore his environment. In one scene, Bayar is taking a bath beside a window and a goat sticks its head inside the window and takes a drink out of the baby’s bath water. Sometimes words just complicate things because words can have different meaning and therefore can be interpreted differently depending on the person and their own beliefs. My initial reaction was, “They are just animals! (PG. Their needs are satisfied and the society is not consumed by materialistic needs. In this assignment, you will consider the importance of how language development applies to learning. They are key to the community’s survival. I believe that it is because of the views on women in the Namibian culture that make it acceptable to be topless. In the society to which I was raised, my mother was extremely clean almost the point of OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). I went into this documentary was the preconceived notion that these babies are going to be immensely different from each other based off the cultures they grow up in. NPR’s sites use cookies, similar tracking and storage technologies, and information about the device you use to access our sites (together, “cookies”) to enhance your viewing, listening and user experience, personalize content, personalize messages from NPR’s sponsors, provide social media features, and analyze NPR’s traffic. Being cherished, cared for, honored, and valued within these families ties the story together, providing a rich and meaningful cinematic journey for people across the globe. Yet, each one went through the same physical stages: grasping objects, sitting up, babbling, and crawling, just to name a few. The documentary film Babiesshowcases similarities and differences between the lives of four different babies from different geographical settings and diverse cultures. It didn't seem to draw any conclusions for me, but it gave me plenty to think about. This key experience involves observing and discovering similarities and differences in terms of length and size as well as searching for identical pictures or illustrations. ( Log Out /  The film introduces us to Ponijao, Hattie, Bayar, and Mari as they’re born, play, cry and grow… Each in a culture that’s very different from the others. According to a 2017 survey, 44% of millennials consider dogs as “starter children.”. BABIES Assignment Course: Sociology of Family (SOCI 040) Thomas Balmes’ documentary film represents few main differences in life-style, cross-cultural differences and similarities of four babies’ childhood from four different locations. What does the documentary tell us about the influence of nature and of nurture? Director Finds Parallels, Differences In 4 'Babies' Iron Man II ran roughshod over the movie box office this weekend, collecting $133 million. Directed by documentary filmmaker Thomas Balmès, who lives in Paris with his wife and three children, Babies is pro-life in the best possible sense: It is a celebration of new life, of love, of family, of the wonder of the world. The film depicts the early life (first year) of the four babies from Namibia, Mongolia, Japan, and America. What are the differences between the development of the babies in the documentary? Assignment 1: Impact of Development in Infancy As we have discovered in this module, language develops in a similar progression across cultures, including that of the deaf community. I heard you name a lot of differences too. After watching the film “Babies” by Thomas Balmer, I feel as though I have been given a greater insight into the differences in child rearing practices cross culturally. As a matter of fact all of the humans and animals seemed much adjusted to the proximity in which they coexisted. After watching the film I realize there are probably still some illnesses that babies such as Ponijao would encounter however the baby did not appear to be unhealthy in any way. My children the similarities and how they are different. The documentary takes us on a journey to four very different corners of the Earth. Babies . This seems unorthodox but the baby seems happy none the less and I can’t deny that the scene was cute. Assignment 1: Impact of Development in Infancy As we have discovered in this module, language develops in a similar progression across cultures, including that of the deaf community. Researchers from Northwestern University have found that girls develop language skills earlier than boys. The movie Babies is a documentary that follows four newborns from different regions of the world. Documentary. A collection of thoughts and perceptions on death culture. The documentary “Babies” depicts the lives of four babies from birth through the first year. Coming from a Western stand point in my own developmental path, I initially believed that the baby Hattie from San Francisco, California and baby Mari from Tokyo, Japan would hold developmental advantages over baby Ponijao from Opuwo, Namibia and baby Bayar from Bayanchandmani, Mongolia. I realized after watching the film that resources are important but to an extent. This fascinating documentary follows four babies (from Namibia, Mongolia, Japan, and the U.S.) through their first year of life. What are the similarities between the development of the babies in the documentary? Babies Analysis. (Available for streaming on Netflix) After watching the film “Babies” by Thomas Balmer, I feel as though I have been given a greater insight into the differences in child rearing practices cross culturally. I knew going into the movie that the 4 different cultures shown throughout the documentary would be incredibly different, however I did… They do not know the child is there, and they could very easily trample him.” The more I watched the more obvious it became that these cows were lazy and both the cows and baby Bayar were adjusted to the presence of each other. In this post, we’re going over the similarities and differences between raising fur child and raising an actual child. Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. 92 minutes. What I found interesting was that the documentary did not contain narration. The culture and environments of these babies are very diverse, yet as we learn through the film, and through these four babies, that we as humans have more in common then our perceived differences. For example I heard you say, "Babies are born without animal coverings like fur, hair or feathers." 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