Documentaries are impactful. Daughters is a 2024 documentary that arrived on Netflix on August 14th. The documentary follows four girls and their incarcerated fathers, as they prepare to reunite at a “Daddy-Daughter” dance arranged through a program at a prison in Washington, D.C.
Background
Daughters premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, where it obtained the awards for “Festival Favorite” and “Audience Choice: U.S. Documentary”. The documentary provides insight into the work of Angela Patton. Patton is one of the directors of the film, and also the CEO of Girls For a Change. Girls For a Change is an organization that focuses on the empowerment of Black girls. Patton also founded Camp Diva Leadership Academy, a similar organization that eventually merged with Girls For a Change.
In the documentary, Patton speaks about the “Date With Dad” program within her organization. Patton designed the program as an initiative to reunite young girls with their fathers in prison. Originally, “Date With Dad” was created as a community weekend event centered on having a “Daddy-Daughter Dance”. However, some girls were disappointed that they were unable to participate since their fathers were in jail. The concept that eventually became the focus of Daughters blossomed when a girl suggested having the dance in the jail itself. Afterwards, the girls wrote to Former Sheriff C.T. Woody, who gave them the greenlight to organize the occasion.
“There’s no denying that a woman’s relationship with her father is one of the most crucial in her life. The quality of that connection— good, damaged, or otherwise—powerfully impacts dads and daughters in a variety of ways. A father’s effect on his daughter’s psychological well-being and identity is far-reaching. A daughter’s sense of self, for instance, is often connected to how her father views her. A girl stands a better chance of becoming a self-confident woman if she has a close bond with her father.”
~ Angela Patton
Daughters Review
Daughters certainly deserves its 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Directors Angela Patton and Natalie Rae artfully unveil the emotional experiences of the fathers and their daughters through intimate glimpses into their thoughts, feelings, and daily lives. The film thus provides an enriched and humanized depiction of incarcerated people and their families, which goes beyond facts and figures.
The cinematography by Michael Cambo Fernandez carries a subtle magnificence through its simplicity. Shots of seemingly ordinary details personalize the lives of the girls and their individualities. Quiet, emotional scenes linger to provoke reflection, while celebratory moments shine amidst the heavy themes of the film. Editors Troy Lewis and Adelina Bichis juxtapose these instances and enhance their profoundness, while also illustrating the fluidity of the roller coaster of emotions.
The Daddy-Daughter Bond
A particular highlight of the documentary was the inside look into the components of the “Date with Dad” program itself. Viewers are able to witness parts of the ten-week counseling sessions that the fathers attend in order to prepare for reuniting with their daughters. In these sessions, the fathers reflect on their emotions and responsibilities under the guidance of fatherhood coach Chad Morris. When they finally meet their daughters, it is impossible to stop tears from spilling.
“Racial inequities of American culture and the cruelties of the carceral state are never directly addressed in Daughters. They don’t need to be. It’s all right there in the faces of a father and his child seeing each other for the first time.”
– Ty Burr, Rotten Tomatoes
By the end of the documentary, it is evident that the “Date with Dad” program not only provides emotional benefits to the participants, but also encourages the fathers to change their lifestyles. The documentary reveals that as of the twelve years that the program has been running, 95% of the incarcerated fathers who participate do not return to prison.
Incarcerated Parents and Their Children
In 2016, 626,800 fathers were in prison in the United States. According to Prison Policy Initiative in 2022, “nearly half (47%) of the approximately 1.25 million people in state prison [were] parents of minor children.” Furthermore, “about 1 in 5 (19%) of those children [were] age 4 or younger.” These children have very limited opportunities to meet their parents in prison. Around “two-thirds of parents in prison with minor children have never received a visit from them.” The state of prisons in the United States is a major reason why visitation is so scarce. Distant prisons, costly calls and emails, and the suspension of visitations altogether prevent children from having contact with their parents.
Separation from their parents can have detrimental effects on children. The National Library of Medicine states that “children with a parent in prison may experience low self-esteem, depression, disturbed sleeping patterns and symptoms of post-traumatic stress.” These effects were also found to be harsher on children than “divorce or the death of a parent.”
Gen Z and Criminal Justice Reform
Prison reform is a major way to find solutions for incarcerated parents and children who are separated from each other. Gen Z-ers are known for their involvement in social justice activism, which includes advocating for prison reform. According to a survey by United Way of the National Capital Area, 32% of Gen Z-ers consistently participate in social justice activism. This percentage of Gen Z activists is higher than millennials at 24%. Additionally, about 51% of Gen Z-ers participate in rallies and protests for social issues. The survey found that approximately 31% of Gen Zers are passionate about criminal justice reform.
Gen Z’s interest in prison reform rings true, especially when considering that several Gen Z-ers have experience having incarcerated family members. For example, Hannah Jackson’s experience of having an incarcerated father led her to becoming a co-chair of Reform Alliance’s Future Shapers Advisory Council. Reform Alliance is an organization committed to fixing probation and parole related issues, and focusing on rehabilitation.
On April 10th, 2024, Reform Alliance held their second Gen Z Day of Action, which took place across eleven college campuses in the United States. The purpose of the event was to educate college students about the criminal supervision system. The event also taught students how to take action locally to end harmful cycles.
Inspiration and Action
With continued efforts like these, Gen Z can help transform the criminal justice system in order to improve the lives and relationships of children and their incarcerated parents. Watching Daughters can certainly inspire one to delve deeper into mass incarceration issues, particularly after getting an emotional glimpse into the bond between a daughter and her incarcerated father.
