Final Blog

After this semester, I have learned the importance of film in commenting on the state of society.  Film is an all encompassing medium that reaches as far as any form in existence.  I also found myself amazed by the amount of subtlety in art from this course.  The minute details found in these films and the overarching themes they represent concerning race and ethnicity astounded me and taught me to watch and read with a much finer comb.

This course has also shown me a lot about the power of collaborative learning.  Through group discussion, peer editing, and reading my peers' blogs, I've come to realize how much learning can be done by collaborating with others who may not look at problems the same way I do.  My learning style must adapt to accept collaboration in a world where seeing the most possible perspectives is most advantageous.

Overall, I've seen myself grow both as a writer and a thinker in this course.  It has taught me how to critically and emotionally evaluate issues of race in our society as they act in commercials, movies, and in public discourse and then communicate my views to the world in a convincing, clear, and positive manner.

Visions and Voices: "New York is like Johannesburg" Response

Before watching "New York is like Johannesburg" the idea of racism on a global scale had never really occured to me.  Yes I knew that racism takes place globally yet I never thought that racism in the United States was similar to anywhere else.  However, through its discussion of criminalization and radicalization in South Africa, the connection the panel was trying to make became clear.  The similarities between how African-Americans and black South Africans are radicalized by police forces and unfairly treated are staggering.  Although there may be more violence in response to racial conflict in South Africa, the cause is not dissimilar from causes of racial conflict in the US.  Issues like the stop and frisk policy in New York were mentioned by the panel in connection with the criminalization of many black people in South Africa.  Where the differences between the two are seen is in demographics.  African-Americans constitute a minority in the US where as South Africa has a 79% majority of black citizens.  This is vital because when racially charged events happen in the US widespread coverage is not always seen or equal, yet in South Africa if a black man is unfairly harassed by police, the majority of the country is outraged.  This makes me consider how both nations still have the capacity to allow blatant mistreatment to continue while outwardly expressing disgust for these conflicts.

Visions and Voices: Mehfil Massive Response

       This evening I had the privilege of attending a Visions and Voices event titled Mehfil Massive: South Asian Religions Remixed Through Poetry and Music.  This performance featured five different performances all featuring a poetry reading paired with a musical performer.  Although all different, each performer talked about life as a member of a South Asian culture, whether it be Indian, Pakistani, etc, the event brought together all different cultures located in South Asia.  In connection to our class, I thought this event served to generalize South Asian cultures.  Although the performers were recognized for each of the differing ethnic and cultural backgrounds, the host of the show seemed to group all of these cultures together using stereotypes.  Given some was meant as humor, but the hosts continual generalization of the different cultures of South Asia seemed to stereotype the religions of South Asia.
       The event also explored the ethnic identities of many different South Asian religions and cultures.  Multiple performers particularly Tarfia Faizullah and Brooklyn Shanti focused on the struggle of being from South Asia and the obstacles they must overcome because of their culture.  This struggle to find ethnic identity reminded me of both our 140 class as well as AMST 274 because we have focused so much on what ethnic identity is and how it is formed.  Faizullah and Shanti's performance touched on how both the physical display of their ethnicity as well as how institutions determined their life chances in regards to hunger and poverty growing up.  Clearly they overcame and are now performing beautifully the struggles and triumphs in finding their ethnic identities.
     Overall I thought the event featured very talented and diverse performances, yet seemed to generalize the religions and cultures of South Asia.  If I were to make suggestions on how to improve the show, I would order performances based on the religion and culture they feature and emphasize this fact to the audience.  Then I would tie the overall message of each performance together by celebrating each religion and culture for their differences and similarities, in both practice and their appearance in the performances.

Assignment #5, Blog #2

The audience play maybe the most integral role in the ethics of a rhetorical situation because the audience might as well be a judge in this context.  Participants in a discussion clearly outline the points and foundations of the argument and discussion and provide the material to judge whether or not the discussion is rhetorically ethical, however it is the audience who ultimately decides how positive or negative the discussion was because they represent the public.  The audience is vital in creating the tone of the discussion because if one member of the discussion steps out of line, it is up to the audience to criticize this member and ask for a more positive contribution.  Also, for those who act in detrimental way in discussion, it is the audience and public who reprimands this individual for their insensitivity.  In part, the audience guides the discussion because many who face the public are afraid of stepping over the line of political correctness and refrain from points that may upset the public opinion of the individual.

Assignment #5, Blog #1

I do not think that our current model of public discourse rewards bad faith argumentation however, it does not necessarily punish those who enact this strategy of debate.  Many times television experts discuss topics in which there are two clear sides and opposers will debate more on the negatives of their opponent then the positives of their argument.  The success of negative ad campaigns speaks to this because it illustrates how receptive the public is to dragging down the opposing side.  Although public figures are not praised for bad faith argumentation, they are not necessarily rewarded for this act, rather ignored.  An example of this would be a Meet the Press show convened to discuss race and the Trayvon Martin case.  In this discussion, the panelists abstain from bad faith argumentation and negative tactics focusing more on what each argument entails, providing for a much more rhetorically ethical discussion and eliminating the need for bad faith argumentation.  

Assignment #4, Blog #2

Devil in a Blue Dress displays multiple, classic conventions of film noir, most prominently the city of Los Angeles acting as an inescapable labyrinth and the portrayal of social anxieties at the time of its release.  In the film, LA becomes a sort of maze that Easy Rawlins cannot escape.  He is constantly trapped by the city and the people who run it, illustrating the lack of control Easy has over his situation, a theme consistent with the film noir genre.  Devil in a Blue Dress also demonstrates the social anxieties during the time of its release in 1995, an aspect of the film noir genre. Three years before its release, the Rodney King race riots in Los Angeles captivated the nation and demonstrated the tension between races in America.  Devil in a Blue Dress emphasizes race relations throughout the film, highlighting the dysfunction and cruelty of racism in the urban setting.  Easy Rawlins and other African-American characters in the film are placed in inescapable situations due to race and the fear of what not cooperating with powerful, white men might bring.  This echoes anxieties of many Americans during the 1990s, a time in which tensions between races were running high.  Devil in a Blue Dress displays the classic conventions of the film noir genre, emphasizing the role of race and the city of Los Angeles in the film.

Assignment #4, Blog #1

After looking through the works cited lists of both readings, I decided that I would explore The Godfather in the context of race and ethnicity combined with the sense of noir.  Because I've seen this film multiple times and never had thought about it as a racially driven film, I thought it might provide some interesting insight.  The Corleone family epitomizes ethnic identity in the film.  Proud of the their Sicilian roots, the Corleone's only deal with family and other Italians, while living their lives as Italian as possible.  They identify and coordinate their lives through their ethnicity.  In the context of Noir drama, although it is a mob movie, The Godfather  still illustrates classic Noir elements, inlcluding elements dealing with race and ethnicity.  The crime in the movie is associated with the Corleone family because of their crime roots in their Italian culture.

Speaker Series Response

After listening to Andrew McGuire speak about fire-safe cigarettes and his life's work to save lives, I was left with a slightly cynical taste in my mouth.  Although Mr. McGuire's work has saved many lives and can be looked at as a incredibly positive, and worthwhile juncture, the fact that an issue with such a logical, reasonable, and feasible solution took almost 40 years of work to come into law.  There are so many institutions and corporations working against positive change in our nation to protect profits and financial interests that eliminating deaths from cigarette-caused house fires takes a backseat to revenue.  In the context of our class, Mr. McGuire's speech brought up one question in particular in my mind, at what point to social issues become prominent enough to evertake social norms?  For example, the civil rights movement took entirely too long to be realized in our country even though it is logical and reasonable to treat all equally.  Similar to the movement for fire-safe cigarettes, the fight for civil rights was not victorious until many lives had been lost in the flames of social unrest.

Assignment #3. Blog #2

After reading multiple critical reviews of the film Avatar, the same basic theme connected the different publications.  Almost all of the reviews took a critical tone in regards to the race issues in the film, consistently stating the racist undertones they noticed along with criticism surrounding the comment on society that Avatar provides.  The critics doubted Avatar's message because of the resemblance the plot bared to other films like Pocahontas, and thought that the criticism of humans destruction of the environment was overstated.  Every review I read praised Avatar for its incredible visual display, yet were critical of the racial stereotypes and generalizations, along with the unoriginal story line.

Assignment #3, Blog #1

The movie I am choosing to write about is Avatar directed by James Cameron.  Although this film does not posses the typical white savior and magic negro characters, the story still follows the basic pattern of the white savior movie.  Jake Sully becomes the white savior in Avatar through his transformation from a paralyzed human bound to a wheel chair, into the leader and savior of the Na'vi, the indigenous, less civilized people of the planet Pandora.  Jake fulfills the duties of the White Savior by turning on his own species, the humans,  to lead the hurting, yet mystical Na'vi people against their foreign invaders.  Not only does Jake act against the beliefs of his own kind, similar to other white saviors, but also saves the almost magical race known as the Na'vi.  The Na'vi act as a communal magic negro because their culture has a somewhat magical quality to it through their connection to the natural world.  The Na'vi show Jake things he never would have experienced without them and eventually lends his hands to the cause.  At its finale, Avatar ends with Jake Sully becoming the leader of the Na'vi people, illustrating their liberation.  Jake Sully's character is essential to the film because he represents the purity and goodness of humans, while representing the spirit and hope of the Na'vi.  Jake becomes more than just a man, but a symbol for an entire community of people.  Without Jake Sully, Avatar would recount the annihilation of the Na'vi people by human invaders.

Judgement is an unstoppable aspect of human nature.  We judge others based off appearance, personality, race, ethnicity, and many other things that help form our perception of the world around us.  Because of this, I believe that it is impossible to be completely un-identified in the modern world.  Although race relations have improved to a level never seen before in the United States, there is still a presence of judgement and identification based of race and ethnicity.  An individual may view themselves as having no ethnic identity however it is not completely up to them.  The world around us forms the majority of our ethnic identity because it is them who attach stereotypes and identifiers to each ethnic identity.  Even though one may believe they are above ethnic identification, others attach identity regardless.

     If one were to be completely un-identified, there would be some advantages as well as some major drawbacks.  By not having an ethnic identity, one could break through the barriers of racial and ethnic discrimination.  No longer would ethnicity or race be a factor in decisions regarding this individual in the social world as well as in the career of said individual.  No prejudice would be placed upon one who is un-identified and they would shed a factor in being judged by others.  However, by being un-identified, this person would lose a community full of support and acceptance.  An overbearing sense of loneliness would begin to take form as this individual without ethnic identity discovered how individual they really are.  Individuality is celebrated in our world, yet community is as well.  Without identity, there is no community.  

Assignment #2, Blog #1

If I were to begin performing a new ethnic identity, I would first look and aim to gear my appearance to what is most associated with that ethnicity.  So much of how we judge others is done so with first impressions and appearances, making the aesthetic appearance crucial in performing ethnicity. I would next look to cultural preferences of that particular ethnicity and adopt the values of that culture.  Not only the religious or spiritual cultural aspects of the ethnicity, but also the artistic and entertainment side of cultural identity.  Lastly, I think it is important to look at the history of the ethnicity in question.  By knowing the historical background of an ethnic group, I would be more able to empathize with other members of the ethnicity and become more apart of the larger group.  However, performing identity similar to Dick in Third Rock From The Sun in my eyes is not much different from what most do today.  We all belong to a certain ethnic group, and many act within the walls of each respective group.  Very few individuals engage in actions that differ from the "accepted" activities for a member of that particular ethnicity.

Blog Entry #2

I do find the Capital One advertisement campaign with Samuel L. Jackson effective.  This ad has it all, a, a humorous undertone, and a solid message delivered by a trustworthy individual.  The advertisement is not offensive at all and in fact makes no mention or allusion to a racial problem or stereotype.  Because of this, the ad gains effectiveness because no credibility is being taken away by racial undertones in the advertisement.  I also think this campaign is effective because it delivers the facts in a no nonsense kind of way.  Jackson speaks loud and clear and almost appears as if he is explaining the simplest thing in the world.  His race only adds to the effectiveness of the ad because it shows a black male as successful, knowledgable, individual and nothing impeded this fact, not even race.

Blog Entry #1/Samuel L. Jackson Ad

The spokesperson I chose to examine is the Samuel L. Jackson line of Capital One commercials.  In this advertisement, Samuel L. Jackson stands alone in a large room wearing a very nice looking suit.  Jackson is tall, dark and handsome making him an ideal spokesperson.  Also, he has a commanding presence and voice which evokes a strong sense that he has a lot of confidence and understanding of the product he is endorsing.  Jackson speaks in firm tone in the ad but still conveys humor to his audience through his escalating excitement as the ad nears its end.  Jackson reaches a point where he is literally shouting, which although humorous, furthers his credibility.  His powerful voice combined with his classic manliness prove to be the most effective agents for Jackson as a spokesperson for Capital One.  These elements combine to create an advertisement with a trustworthy, admirable spokesperson.  

Video of Advertisement

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQfmzNHXZ3w