When it comes to Streetwise verses “Postcards from the Edge”, I feel that the reading prepared me more for the documentary. Streetwise is very straight forward and is something to watch. Listening to the children and what they are going through is just crazy. I feel bad for them, but at the same time, the children have a place to go. One example of what I mean is Tiny. She looks as if she has nowhere to go but later in the documentary, we see her go home to her mother. Her mother loves her dearly, and tries to provide for her, but it easier said than done. Tiny wants too much, like in the makeup scene, and her mother tries so hard to provide the “wants” for her. Tiny brings home money all the time and she will not use it for her “wants”, instead she makes her mother pay.

In “Postcards from the Edge”, the children are somewhat the same. They are all homeless, dealing with money issues, and use the money for items that are not needed. One example from “Postcards from the Edge” is Julie. She tries to bum money for her dog, but others think she will use it for drugs or something. Although it says she has been drug free for quite some time, the people giving the money do not know that.

The characters in “Postcards from the Edge” are different in some ways. Shane went out into the world to escape from the rules of the house, and he earned his high school equivalency diploma. Instead of breaking off completely, he still keeps in touch with his mother and really does love her. In the documentary, the kids do not want a lot to do with their parents at all. They would rather live out on their own than live with their guardian or parents.

In the documentary, it is pretty straight forward; although some parts the viewer can draw his or her own conclusions. I definitely preferred the documentary over the postcards only because I am a visual type of person. Also, I really like the fact that it was them, straight forward, no acting or putting on shows.  The documentary was very real yet I laughed. I laughed because the mother feels that this is a “phase” for Tiny, and I laughed not because the comment was absurd, but I laughed because the mother actually believes this.

The photo essay was nice to look at, but the documentary felt more real. The captions to the pictures were a nice asset and helped me to remember the names. Overall when it comes to my emotions, the documentary hit me a little harder. I feel terrible for the kids, but this could be prevented. All in all it was something to definitely watch and read because this is someone’s life out there and it makes the viewers a little more grateful knowing what we have.