Whores’ Glory is divided into three parts according to region: Thailand, Bangladesh and Mexico. The quality of the segments and narrative style vary per segment. Whores’ Glory is an uneven slice of life that has a quirky element superimposed on its veneer of objectivity and pure observation. I prefer a PBS documentary approach because it gives a fuller picture of the socioeconomic circumstances surrounding the events on screen instead of filming as if the scenes exist in a vacuum.
The Thailand segment just documents what an average day like for a sex worker in Thailand and the occasional point of view of a customer or the support staff. There is an illusion that the camera has no effect on the events that unfold. The director does not interview the prostitutes, but during the daily routine, the prostitutes’ “candid” conversation sounds like an interview. Because it is a slice of life, we don’t really get to find out much about them such as why they decided to become sex workers or why customers seem to come from all parts of the world. The soundtrack varies in quality, and some of the random shots seem like the director strained to create parallels between the subjects’ lives as reflected in nature.
The Bangladesh segment is probably the strongest one because without any narration, a viewer can understand that these women are trapped in a cycle. The probably underage girls and women are expected to behave a certain way as if they are sweethearts of the customers rather than sex workers and live in deplorable conditions. They are held to a code of conduct regarding indelicate language and which sexual acts are appropriate. Only one woman speaks frankly about what her job requires. The pimps are women. The customers are unintentionally creepy, but all locals. One customer said that without prostitutes, women would just get raped in the streets.
The Mexican segment is the most disturbing because the customers alternate between adoration and slut shaming of their favorite prostitutes, and the prostitutes clearly suffer from mental problems and rampant drug or alcohol abuse. I’m not sure what the ethics are for a filmmaker to participate in the transaction-did he have to pay to film an actual transaction between a sex worker and her customer? If he didn’t pay, and the customer and sex worker gave permission, then it is germane though explicit and probably a deal breaker for most documentary viewers, but if he did pay, did he pay the fair amount since it is verging into porn territory? This segment occurs in the last fifteen minutes along with one prostitute clearly using crack to woo another sex worker into a physical relationship with her-two words: full frontal.
Whores’ Glory is an interestingly anthropological look at prostitutes in their natural environment, but I would have preferred something that was less superficial and more analytical without judging. By not also examining European legal prostitution and limiting it to third world prostitution, Whores’ Glory signals that it has an agenda, and it is not necessarily a noble one, but perhaps a slightly prurient one with a dash of exotic obsession and othering.