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Are You Listening!

Name: Are You Listening!
Director: Kamar Ahmad Simon
Released: 2012
Duration: 90 min

Representation Score

6.2/10

Good

2012

Director

Kamar Ahmad Simon

Runtime

90 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

Are You Listening! succeeds as a piece of observational cinema that centers non-Western ability to act. By focusing on the coastal communities of Bangladesh, it provides a powerful counter-narrative to the passive victimhood often seen in global North documentaries. The film's strength lies in its multi-layered approach to environmental crisis and human resilience. It moves beyond simple survival stories to offer a sophisticated critique of how shifting topographies impact communal life. However, the film remains anchored in a traditional family structure. While it challenges gender clichés through Rakhi's leadership, it lacks broader representation of LGBTQ+ identities or disability-specific narratives.

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Category Breakdown

Does Are You Listening! have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

The film focuses on a traditional nuclear family unit. It does not explicitly depict LGBTQ+ identities or non-assuming gender matches what was assigned at birth gender expressions within the narrative.

How does Are You Listening! portray gender?

Good

Rakhi’s perspective serves as the primary lens for the story. The film challenges traditional hierarchies by centering her resilience against environmental and systemic odds.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Are You Listening!?

Excellent

The documentary centers the specific ethnic identity of coastal Bangladeshi communities. It provides high-level representation by challenging Western-centric gazes through local ability to act.

How does Are You Listening! represent religion and culture?

Good

The narrative frames characters as subjects navigating environmental instability and systemic forces. It emphasizes communal reclamation and the cyclical nature of survival.

Does Are You Listening! include disability representation?

Minimal

There are no specific mentions of visible or invisible disabilities. No characters are identified as having specific accessibility needs or impairments.

Present on Screen

Highlights the ability to act of non-Western subjects navigating environmental shifts.
Challenges gender clichés by centering the female protagonist's resilience.
Provides a regional-specific counter-narrative to Western-centric documentaries.

Limited or Absent

Does not explicitly represent LGBTQ+ identities or gender expressions.
Lacks representation of visible or invisible disabilities in the narrative.

Official Synopsis

By the coastal belts of Bangladesh, in a small village named ‘Sutarkhali,’ RAKHI lives with her man SOUMEN (32) and their son RAHUL (6). Fighting against all the odds of the woods, along with around 100 families, they cultivated the land for generations until a tidal surge hit the coastal belts of Bangladesh. For RAKHI, SOUMEN, and RAHUL, life is not the same anymore. Seasons change the topography, even relations… Yet after the rain… They go out with spades and shovels to reclaim life again… Are You Listening!

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