You know you have a problem when the richest 1% of the world’s population possesses more wealth than the poorest 90%. Income redistribution has always been a problem in the world. Economics teaches that a larger middle class creates larger spending, and not surprisingly, countries have taken this tip. In order to create this middle class, the wealth needed to be taken from the rich and the poor. Sadly, the rich are little affected, while the poor, drops into further poverty. Such a problem is particularly apparent in developing countries, such as Brazil, where the newly created middle and upper-class are only beginning to enjoy their new found wealth. They do not wish to see their poor pasts, and have not developed the sophisticated practice of helping the poor. Hence, the poor are being despised, disparaged, detested, and most importantly disregarded. The film Bus 174 explores this mistreatment of the poor through the significant event of Bus 174 and traces the roots of these problems by analyzing the various twisted aspects of Brazil’s society. By hijacking the bus, Sandros had highlighted that there are flaws in the fundamental building blocks of Brazil’s society; a corrupt police force, a lack of social programs, rampant discrimination, and disregard for others. The film digs deeper, revealing Sandros’ motives, and through that, showing not just the flaws in Brazil’s system, but also their root causes.

Poverty is everywhere, and is probably the hardest problem to tackle. The wealthy wants to solve this problem, but refuse to split off the wealth, and they shouldn’t need to since they’ve worked hard for the wealth. In Brazil, the alternative route was taken. That was to make them invisible. The film pointed out that poverty was so common in Brazilian life and so despised, that Brazilians have turned a blind eye to them. People would ignore them as if they didn’t exist. However, these are all temporary solutions to timeless problems. Just because you pretend the poor isn’t there, doesn’t mean they have disappeared. In my opinion, the simple answer is to treat them fairly, give them a chance, and face them. It’s society’s responsibility to help them. Maybe if that person trying to sell things on the streets hadn’t been ignored, she wouldn’t be on the streets. Maybe if the streets kids were given jobs, they wouldn’t be on the streets. In the film, we saw that many street kids became street kids not by choice, but by circumstance. Even in the introduction, it was clear that many people had been forced onto the streets by the awful environment, mostly caused by crime, that they were in, and later on was not able to get reintegrated into society. There was nothing to do then, but to resort to crime causing essentially a chain event. They must resort to the practice that had destroyed them in the first place. Incarceration wouldn’t help, in fact, it had made things worse. By torturing prisoners, the police had effectively made them even angrier and more hateful at the people around them. Many prisoners would then become repeat offenders. Sandros is an epitome of Brazil’s corrupt system, and ultimately a reflection of a society whose justice system had failed, and one that refused to give the poor any opportunity.

It’s easy to forget about the poor while living in Canada, the land of wealth, but nonetheless poverty exists, even in Canada. Yet, how many of us wonder why these people are so poor? Not many and that’s why this film is so powerful. The Bus 174 event had made people aware that there are inherent problems in society but the film manages tackles the root of these problems, and shows us the why and the how of the people living on the streets. By the end of the film, one must to sympathize with Sandros in his actions. The film establishes the crucial connection that we are a part of this world, and we all share a responsibility in creating Sandros’ situation. Sandros and his fellow street kids are not there because they want a life on the streets, but are rather the product of the people’s misconceptions and mistreatments. These are tough choices, facing a tough problem. Society has created these problems, but we also have the ability to end them. Bus 174 was the result of a toxic combination of ignorance, invisibility, and lack of opportunity. From the statements of his adopted mother, we saw that Sandros had wanted to live off the streets, get a job, and live a normal life, but sadly he never had the chance. A chance was all these people needed. If given a chance to work, to live happily, Sandros, and millions like him would eagerly take it. Are we ready to give them the chance?