When I first heard the name of the documentary “Wasteland” I was initially was expecting the film to somehow relate to the poem by T.S. Eliot “The Wasteland”. I was surprised to find out that the film was actually centered on a man who makes art out of recyclable waste. This documentary was by far one of the most emotionally charged and eye-opening films we have watched this year. Firstly, I felt extremely humbled by the fact that many of these catadores take such pride and enjoy what they are doing, sorting through trash, when there are people who grumble at throwing a trash bag down the trash shoot. Also, the lives of each catadore displayed the resilience and strength behind each of these individuals and their journey at times had me near tears of sadness and joy. Furthermore, Vik Muniz’s artistic concept with this project was not only beautiful, but the effect he had on the people he chose to involve was equally beautiful. I really respected him for making the art a collaborative effort and not treating the catadores as charity cases. It was amazing to see Muniz fuse his passion of artistic expression with a humanitarian impact. By just allowing these individuals to participate in his project he not only gave each of them a huge boost to their self-esteems and pride, but also gave them the financial stability they needed. Muniz truly helped to transform their lives and influenced them to strive for more in their lives while still carrying pride for their career as a catadore.