Review: Inspiration Porn 'Power Of Moths' Reminds Us That Many Parts Don't Make A Whole

"Power of Moths" is a documentary of parts fitted together to make a whole. We're shown disparate footage from two different performances, and then we follow Denis Schupa (who was not part of the previous performances), a young man with a developmental disability. Schupa leads us to his classes at the Stolin daycare center for adults. There, we see rehearsals with his classmates led with patience and compassion by an unnamed actress.

We see more footage of the performances shown at the opening of the film. Now we follow Daniil Yurevich through rehearsals with a different adult daycare class. They are outside. The environment looks like a countryside campsite outpost. It's pretty. The sun shines and the classmates are enjoying themselves. The film ends gracefully at a nearby beach.

The camera follows the students and artists captured in "Power of Moths" like a journalist: It shows us what they do and how they behave without making explicit commentary on the action. There are no voiceovers, and rarely is there commentary from a teacher or student about what happens on film. In this way, "Power of Moths" allows the subjects of the film to speak for themselves and for the viewer to form their own opinion on what they see.

While an objective camera allows its subjects a certain autonomy, the creators of this documentary do not. We don't know when or where the performance footage used in the film occurred (even though it was copyrighted in 2017). We don't know the names of the actors, the teachers, or the carers. Even Denis Schupa's mother, who shares a scene with her son, goes without a first name. It isn't revolutionary to portray disabled people in a documentary. One has to respect their personhood enough to tell us who they are, too.

We don't know who the teachers at the daycare center are. We don't know how the daycare center got started and if it's an independent program. How did the theatre teachers gain access to the center? Why are they teaching?

The students look happy; they are learning important skills such as self-expression and empathy for others. How long do they get to stay in the program? What happens after a performance? Are music, art, and theatre classes new to the daycare center? Why must this story get told? "Power of Moths" answers none of these questions. That's sloppy journalism.

"Power of Moths" has drawn comparisons to "Crip Camp," which is an excellently researched documentary that expresses the inner and outer lives of its subjects while also educating its viewers of their unconscious biases and bigoted assumptions about the disabled community. "Power of Moths" wants credit for merely showing up, turning on a camera, and allowing disable people to exist in the footage. They shouldn't be compared.

"Power of Moths," while a fun slideshow of happy people doing the thing that fulfills them, doesn't explain its mission as a documentary. It is not enough to show us that disabled people who create art exist in Belarus; artistic disabled people live and create everywhere. "Power of Myth" doesn't tell us why this particular group, in this place, at this time is special. As the late Australian disability activist Stella Young once said, it's inspiration porn.

"Power of Moths" is released on DVD and Digital (Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, Google) onJuly 13, 2021.