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What Children Do

What Children Do

Representation Score

6.4/10

Good

2017

Director

Dean Peterson

Runtime

87 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

What Children Do functions as an intimate character study centered on familial estrangement and mortality. The film finds its strength in deconstructing traditional domestic structures through the lens of female experience and emotional truth. However, the work lacks significant markers reflecting diverse identities. The narrative appears to follow a conventional domestic framework that does not explicitly signal a disruption of racial homogeneity or include confirmed LGBTQ+ identities. Ultimately, the film offers a mid-range representation. It succeeds in challenging the sanctity of the traditional family unit but lacks the diverse casting and explicit identity markers required for a higher score.

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Category Breakdown

Does What Children Do have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

The film does not provide explicit details about LGBTQ+ identities. While indie dramas often explore nuanced interpersonal dynamics, there is no confirmed presence of non-straight or non-cisgender narratives.

How does What Children Do portray gender?

Fair

The story centers on the relationship between two sisters, emphasizing women's ability to drive the story. This focus shifts the narrative away from patriarchal hierarchies to highlight women navigating grief and estrangement.

How racially and ethnically diverse is What Children Do?

Limited

The narrative follows a conventional domestic structure without signaling a disruption of racial homogeneity. There is no evidence of a diverse or non-Anglo-Saxon majority cast.

How does What Children Do represent religion and culture?

Good

The film critiques the idealized Western family model by focusing on dysfunction and tension. It presents family as a site of conflict rather than a cohesive, stable institution.

Does What Children Do include disability representation?

Fair

The terminal illness of a grandmother introduces themes of physical frailty. This framework allows for an exploration of chronic decline and the realities of end-of-life care.

Present on Screen

  • Prioritizes women's ability to drive the story by centering the relationship between two sisters.
  • Challenges idealized Western family models by exploring dysfunction and unresolved tension.
  • Uses terminal illness to explore the lived experience of physical frailty and end-of-life care.

Limited or Absent

  • Lacks explicit evidence of diverse or non-Anglo-Saxon casting.
  • Provides no confirmed representation of LGBTQ+ or non-cisgender identities.
  • Fails to incorporate broader markers reflecting diverse identities beyond the central female dynamic.

Official Synopsis

A comedy about two estranged sisters brought back into each other's lives by the impending death of their grandmother.

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