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The Waverley Welfare Center in Manhattan has to cope with an expanding population and shrinking resources. More than any other Wiseman film, Welfare is about an institution under pressure as it is required to take on more and more functions. The bureaucratic response tends to be to classify (with an attendant vocabulary) rather than tackle the basic problem of just distribution in what amounts to a cycle of deprivation, in which ‘clients must repeatedly present themselves as devoid of all economic support and moral strength in order to qualify for financial help and that may never be adequate in such a situation’.
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How to watch
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
317981
Language
English
Subject categories
Documentary → Documentary films - United States
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Poverty
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Public welfare
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Public welfare - United States
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Social service
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Urban poor - United States
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Black and White
Holdings
VHS; Access Print (Section 1)