Introduction
“Yesterday” is a powerful South African drama set in a rural Zulu village, chronicling the journey of a woman named Yesterday, who discovers she is HIV positive. As she faces this life-altering diagnosis, her primary concern is her young daughter, Beauty. The film poignantly explores themes of illness, stigma, survival, and, most importantly, the deep bond between a mother and her child. With a minimalist narrative but deep emotional resonance, Yesterday presents a profound opportunity to analyze its message through the lenses of Family Strengthening, Securing a Friendly and Protective Environment for Children®, and Rights-Based Parenting®.
Introduction
- Release Year: 2004
- Director: Darrell Roodt
- Country: South Africa
–Streaming Platforms: Available on platforms like Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, and others.
Family Strengthening Perspective
From a family strengthening viewpoint, Yesterday exemplifies the resilience and determination of a mother despite facing overwhelming personal challenges. Yesterday’s primary motivation throughout the film is ensuring the well-being and future of her daughter, Beauty. This resonates with the idea of family as a unit that must support and sustain each other, especially in times of adversity. Despite the social and economic limitations imposed by her rural setting, Yesterday seeks to create a stable and nurturing environment for her daughter by focusing on health, education, and emotional connection.
Key family-strengthening lessons from the film include:
- Maternal Sacrifice: Yesterday’s decision to walk miles to access medical care, despite her own deteriorating health, illustrates the lengths parents go to safeguard their children’s future.
- Interdependence and Support: The community, although initially distant due to stigma, begins to rally around Yesterday and Beauty, showcasing the importance of collective responsibility in strengthening families in need.
- Education and Awareness: Yesterday’s goal is to live long enough to see her daughter go to school, highlighting the critical role of education in securing a child’s future within family systems.
Securing a Friendly and Protective Environment for Children® Perspective
The film shines a light on the vulnerabilities children face when protective environments fail them. In the case of Beauty, the child’s safety is intimately tied to her mother’s health and ability to provide. Through Yesterday’s illness and the stigma attached to HIV/AIDS, we see how precarious Beauty’s environment becomes, both socially and emotionally. Yet, the film also demonstrates pathways toward building protective environments, even under dire circumstances.
Important child protection principles include:
- Community Support Networks: Initially, the stigma around HIV isolates Yesterday and Beauty from the community. Over time, as people become more aware and supportive, a safer environment is created for the child. This underscores the need for community engagement in providing protection.
- Health as a Critical Safeguard: Yesterday’s quest for medical care is an essential part of securing a protective environment. It highlights how health care, or the lack thereof, can have profound effects on a child’s safety and development.
- Resilience in the Face of Stigma: The film also addresses societal stigma, which can create hostile environments for children. Yesterday’s journey reflects the broader need to educate communities about HIV/AIDS to foster environments free of prejudice where children can thrive.
Rights-Based Parenting® Perspective
Yesterday powerfully emphasizes the core principles of Rights-Based Parenting®, which focus on respecting and upholding the rights of children as individuals deserving care, dignity, and protection. Yesterday, despite her own suffering, consistently prioritizes her daughter’s rights, demonstrating the responsibility of parents to protect and nurture their children’s inherent dignity.
Key elements of Rights-Based Parenting® in the film include:
- Right to Health: Yesterday’s relentless pursuit of medical help for herself is ultimately a means of securing Beauty’s future, emphasizing a parent’s duty to ensure a child’s right to health and survival.
- Right to Education: Yesterday’s dream is to live long enough to send her daughter to school, underlining the importance of education as a fundamental right that every child should enjoy.
- Right to Love and Security: Despite the harsh realities she faces, Yesterday ensures that Beauty feels loved and emotionally secure. Her commitment to being present for her child emotionally and physically reflects a deep understanding of parental responsibility to provide affection and care.
Conclusion
“Yesterday” is a heart-wrenching but deeply inspiring film that illustrates the fundamental importance of family bonds, community support, and a child’s right to a protective and nurturing environment. Through the eyes of a determined mother facing the dual burden of illness and stigma, the film sheds light on critical themes in family strengthening, child protection, and rights-based parenting.
The film encourages audiences to recognize the broader societal roles in securing a friendly and protective environment for children, urging that children’s rights must be prioritized even in the face of overwhelming personal challenges.