Paycheck: Film Analysis

The 2014 documentary produced by Sheila Nevins and Maria Shriver, Paycheck to

Paycheck: The Life and Times of Katrina Gilbert, showcases a year of Katrina's struggle as a poor single parent of three. A film crew follows her through her relationships, parenting, job as a certified nursing assistant, and application process for college. As a piece from The Shriver

Report, Paycheck to Paycheck casts a humanizing glow on the millions of American women working to provide for their families.

One of the most important take-aways from Paycheck to Paycheck is the assorted factors that contribute to Katrina's poverty. After Katrina's husband developed an addiction, she was left on her own with three children too young for public school. With little

Her doctor and new partner seem to alleviate a lot of stress as well. Unfortunately, what can look like luxuries when compared to other people's stories, are necessary for the survival of Katrina and her children. There's a moment in the film where

Katrina puts her head in her hands because she can't handle the idea of cooking for her hungry kids. It's one of the most honest few seconds in the documentary because it puts the anxiety,

depression, and helpless feelings she's facing into perspective. It helps show that the support granted to her is the minimum that should be available in an advanced, humane society to our neighbors most in need.

Ultimately, Paycheck to Paycheck does a great job of gently exposing the daily lives of one of our most vulnerable communities without becoming too voyeuristic. Although it would hinge on exploitation, it would have been interesting if the documentarians had told more of her husband's story and how it led them to poverty; there are countless stories of separated women left to clean up their husband's mess. Regardless of how Katrina got to be living paycheck to paycheck, she, like millions of other mothers, is doing her best to keep a roof over her