Shanae Documentary Summary

In the beginning of the documentary Shanae begins expressing her disappointment about how society will view her for the rest of her life. She explains how people will always be more concerned with the charge she has received rather than who she truly is as a person. She continues to explain how she was bullied by the girl she killed and the girl started the fight. She claims she never thought about the consequences of the fight. I believe this is a valid point and an important one to focus on. A murder charge will stay with her for the rest of her life and will prohibit her from doing various things. She did not intend to murder the girl, she was only trying to make the bullying stop. However, when her and her parents are sitting at the kitchen

She is not trying to turn her life around while she is in the facility. It seems as if she doesn’t believe she can change, I believe this plays a role in her delinquency. I think Meghan doesn’t think she can be different than her mother so she just follows her path. She is constantly being disrespectful and manipulative towards authority figures. Even once she is released she continues to be disrespectful to the foster parent she is living with. Throughout the entire documentary she runs away from wherever she is supposed to be. It said in the beginning of the documentary that she had already run away from ten foster homes. Running away has become a way of life for her. I believe one major reason Meghan continues to get into trouble is because her mother is a prostitute, as well as a drug addict, who is continuously in and out of jail. Her most influential role model is not a positive one. Meghan is simply following the example her mother set for her. She is constantly disappointed by her mother. She is always telling people, “you don’t even love me!” She makes it obvious that he mother is hurting her by saying things like, “It don’t matter, my mother is a stranger too.” Meghan does not have the strong family support system or positive role models which Shanae has. After considering these factors, I think it is more important to focus on Meghan as a person, rather than the crime. I believe social bond theory can help explain some of Meghan’s problems. She does not have a close relationship with her mother, and there is no mention of her father. She says she used to be close with her grandmother but her grandmother was unable to take care of her and her family. She had gone through eleven foster homes before she was sent into the facility, which leads me to believe she didn’t have close bonds with any of those families. There is no mention of other family members, sports teams, or school. This leads me to