Trash 2 Treasure

Created by - Olivia Beasley, Audry Cifreo, Sarah Clark, Hannah Hargroder
Episcopal School of Baton Rouge, Teacher: Charles DeGravelles

We decided to use a short video to create an allegory of the causes of and solutions for crime. If crime can be solved, there will be no need for prisons. How a child is raised and the opportunities he has (or doesn’t have) greatly influence that child’s chances of happiness and success. A child with few advantages raised in an abusive family, witnessing addiction and violence as a part of her normal world, is less likely to do well in school and more likely to fall into addiction, violent behavior, and a sense of worthlessness. A society that simply puts such people in jail without helping them learn, grow, and reach their potential, is in a sense approving what they have been told about themselves—that they are “trash.” We believe it’s never too early or too late to help people understand that every person has value and has the right to be happy and successful. We show this in our short video by burying a manikin (the person) in trash (a dysfunctional and abusive childhood) and then removing the trash until the person, living into his or her full potential, is revealed.