‘Otherness’ is the concept of an assertive group (the Self) establishing different groups (Other) by pointing out that they are different through identity. This concept can be seen in a scene from the movie I, Tonya. ‘I, Tonya’ is based on a true story of Tonya Harding, an American figure skater. Tonya had a hard childhood, she did not come from money. During most of her life’s relationships with people, she endured some type of abuse. She always tried her best and worked hard, even though sometimes it left her in pain. While skating in competitions, Tonya had been feeling like the judges were cheating her of a good score after her performances. So in this specific scene, Tonya skates up to the judges and asks them how she can get a perfect score because she has been working hard non-stop and believes she has been doing better than the other skaters she has skated against. One of the female judges looked at Tonya, staring up and down at her costume, and said that they also judge on presentation. Now, that did not sit right with Tonya. Prior to this scene, it showed her sewing and creating her costume, in which she was very proud of because she did it herself. Many of the costumes that can be purchased are very, very expensive. This is an example of otherness because the judges based most of Tonya’s performance on her costume rather than her accuracy and overall performance. The judges used their power to tear down Tonya. They basically told her she is not as good as she thinks she is just because of how she looks. People should not be basing their judgements on how people look but rather on who they are as a person. Tonya put in more work than the girls she faced, but was not treated the same because the judges saw her as “white trash.” She was belittled in front of many people.

Get Out Text Review Assignment

            Get Out, a motion picture by Jordan Peele is considered one of the most interesting and creative stories movie watchers have seen in the film industry in the 21st century.  This horror-thriller follows our main character Chris as he and his girlfriend, Rose, are meeting her parents for the first time in a weekend getaway to her parent’s house. Chris is nervous about meeting them due to their interracial relationship but as the weekend continues Chris soon discovers the truth on why Rose wants to bring him to her parents for the weekend. The film would go on do to excellent box office-wise and critically while winning an Oscar for best original screenplay for Jordan Peele’s first film. The film also does a phenomenal job of showcasing themes and ideas that have never been showcased in the film industry like this.

One of the main themes that Get Out does an excellent job of portraying throughout the entirety of the film is the idea of slavery and how Chris discovers the plan where the party that Rose’s parents through was actually was a ploy to sell off Chris’s body to one of Rose’s white friends because his body is getting old. Chris ends up getting captured when discovering this truth out and it is revealed to him that the people behind this operation view the African-American body as excellent and far superior to a white person’s body and also this man needed a new body to continue his life. This is very comparable to the Master-Slave dialogue that has been talked about a lot in the class where Caucasian people in this movie are the masters using the African Americans as a slave for just their bodies. The director and screenwriter, Jordan Peele, does an excellent job of showcasing slavery and this Master-Slave dynamic in the movie.

Another theme that is showcased throughout this movie is the othering as it works in a unique way that you don’t see too much with how othering is usually showcased. Othering in this movie is showcased by the Caucasian people at the party wanting the other who is Chris for his body because they find it superior. Chris is kind of shown outcast at the party and is ultimately the other and even when he finds another African-American he realizes that he is still the other because he realizes that he is actually a white person in an African-Americans body. The film is ultimately a depiction of slavery and how even these “white liberal parents” from Get Out could still play a really big factor at hand and you could have no idea about it. Peele is asking the audience to look around and see if you can see ideas of slavery in your everyday life because sometimes it is hard to notice when you aren’t looking. Peele does an excellent job of conveying this message in Get Out and highly recommend you watch it.

Pose (FX, 2018-) is a TV drama revolving around the lives of Black and Latine transgender women and gender-nonconforming gay men in New York City’s 1980s Drag Ball culture. The series follows Blanca Rodriguez as she breaks away and forms her own “House” (a group that competes in Drag Balls, but also a surrogate family for those who have no other home.) The series grapples with difficult topics, including the plight of the subaltern, and the relative benefits of assimilation, both on the personal level- “passing” for the transgender characters- and the macro level- the struggle for acceptance, or even survival, in a world that would rather pretend that they didn’t exist.

The characters featured in Pose can be identified as subaltern because, while they are living in one of the most prosperous cities in the world, they are, almost entirely, confined to its underbelly. Because of hiring discrimination on the basis of their race and transgender status, they are confined to low paying or under the table jobs- Blanca works in a nail salon, but many of her “children” and peers survive off sex work, stripping, and being sugar babies (receiving money and shelter in exchange for a, mostly carnal, relationship.) Even the highly-marginalized (white) gay men of the 1980s, will not let Blanca into their bars and establishments.

Season 1 features a B plot that follows the relationship between Angel, an Afro-Latina transgender woman, and Stan, a white middle class married father of 2. Stan is a foil to the other, subaltern, characters- he has social status, and “prospects,” but still he is not happy. He describes Angel as the first “real” and “authentic” experience in his life, and says to her, ‘’I’m no one. I want what I’m supposed to want, I wear what I’m supposed to wear, and I work where I’m supposed to work… I don’t live. I don’t believe. I accumulate. I’m a brand – a middle-class white guy.” Eventually, Angel brings Stan to a Drag Ball, where he is overwhelmed and panics. He expresses that that is not the life for him- he tries to “rescue” Angel from this life- her life- but she refuses.

The biggest question Pose raises is in relation to assimilation and mainstream acceptance. Obviously, we are meant to sympathize with Blanca and her struggle to be accepted by the mainstream gay/queer community, but scenes like Stan trying to “save” Angel, and other smaller parts involving characters being discouraged from participating in balls in favor of more “acceptable” activities raises questions about what queer culture has lost since the 1980s in return for mainstream acceptance. Stan is a complicated character, but he is sympathetic at times, especially for a queer person in 2018/2020- I’ve felt the pull to cut my hair, through out my skirts, get a job as a lawyer doing something safe and profitable, because that’s now something obtainable for a transgender person- but what part of myself would I lose?

Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye”
The central clue of the story is the experience of an 11-year-old black girl named Pekra Bridlav, whose family is burdened with a heavy burden: when you see them, you will be surprised how they look like this Ugly, you may not find the reason, and then you will realize that it is because of what sin they committed and God’s punishment for them. It seemed that the Almighty God gave each of them an “ugly cloak”, and they reluctantly accepted…They took the cloak in their hands and wore it around the world. There is nothing in the world uglier than their looks, and poor little Pekra belongs to such an alien. She was ridiculed, beaten and scolded, and finally raped by her father and became pregnant. Because of this, Pecola’s mother beat her brutally, and the “Savior of Faith” at the Supuheide Church also betrayed her. Since then, Pecola has gone crazy, and she is convinced that she has blue eyes that have gone both ways.
In the novel, Toni Morrison pictured the stories about Pecola’s mother and father. From their stories, we learned that they all suffered a lot in their lives. Toni Morrison seems to tell us they are also victims of the society, of the racial discrimination. Victims are also offenders. They are the offenders to their daughter. While in the novel, what we do not see is Pecola’s complaints, Pecola’s crying for her miserable life. Pecola is silent. Silence is a kind power more than crying. Her silence touched me a lot and made me want to cry for her. She was silent and she told much. Her crying was so loud and so penetrating that daunted around my ears for days. The power of silence reminded me of 80 thousand people in Hongkong demonstrating for 8 persons who were killed in Philippines in 2010. They were silent, instead of crying. 80 thousand people’s silence has more power than 80 thousand people’s crying.
Toni Morrison is merciless, so merciless to Pecola. At the end of the novel, she made Pecola’s dream for the bluest eye come true at the cost of her clear mind. Pecola finally had the bluest eye, but sadly, she found that people still did not love her. She wondered the reason why the situation did not change as she thought, as she learned, as she was told. She wondered that maybe the color was still not the bluest. She still believed the bluest eye is the root of her misery. “No, Pecola, no,” I desire to cry to her, “It is not your problem. It is the problem of the racism, of the society, of the country, of the world.” While she could not hear me, even if she could hear me, she would not listen to me. Her mind had been polluted by the wrong awareness of beauty. She and many black people like her had been brainwashed by the White.
Tony Morrison is like a magician, combining different voices and organizing them into different characters, instead of bluntly squeezing his opinions to readers. She wants readers to truly walk into the novel during the reading process, and taste the joys and pains of the protagonist’s life and the mystery of the inner world with her. It was a black girl’s dream of a beautiful life in a world full of ugliness, discrimination, and bullying, under the temptation of “blue eyes” from another world.

The movie Crazy Rich Asians, based off of the book by Kevin Kwan of the same name, is a fictional romantic comedy about the elite and insanely rich families of Singapore. The son of one of these prominent families, Nick Young, comes home for the first time in a few years for his best friends wedding, and brings home his Chinese-American girlfriend, Rachel Chu, to meet his family.  The movie was not only revolutionary because of its entirely Asian cast in a Hollywood blockbuster, but it also shined a light on a portion of Asian society that is not often portrayed in American movies.
Crazy Rich Asians creates discussions about many of the topics the we have covered in ways that are not obvious in American Society.  It raises questions about Othering and the power dynamics in the Asian high society based on not only wealth but also ethnicity and cultural beliefs. Rachel Chu was raised by a single mother in America, so although she is Chinese, she is very westernized in her beliefs. This becomes a prominent issue between Rachel and Nicks family, primarily his mother, because of the difference in beliefs and traditions between their eastern views and responsibility and family.  Although the disagreements appear to resolve at the end of the movie, it leaves a lot of questions about how the deep family cultures of many Asian countries mix with the more individualistic ideas in western society.
The director and writers do an immaculate job showing many of the positive and negative aspects of both cultures, while using comedic relief to accomplish this.  Although they work to show some of the race and cultural clashes and how to overcome these, it is difficult to know if the audience will be receptive to this.  I believe that they suggest that their is common ground between our cultures if we only look for them and remember to stay humble.
All of these conflicts culminate in an internal struggle for Rachel throughout the movie.  She identifies and Asian in America, but she is not accepted or welcomed into the Young family or their portion of society. Rachel must fight for her acceptance and overcome many obstacles both in the relationships she forms and the mental battles that she faces because if the challenge to her identity.  She even mentions in the beginning of the movie that she’s a Chinese economics professor, and therefore they must love and accept her, so the defiance she faces is shocking and forces Rachel to grow and learn to accept herself for who she is.  Crazy Rich Asians generates questions and discussions about racial identity and Othering from a unique perspective.

This film is takes place around in the mid 1940’s right after World War 2. This was still a time of much segregation and discrimination. For many people growing up in this time Baseball was the sport to watch. It is now considered Americans past time. This period in time is often over Romanized by lovers of the sport. Even though baseball was in its prime there were still many faults. Up until Jackie Robinson, African Americans weren’t allowed to play in the Major leagues. This was still a time of segregation and discrimination. This even carried on into sports. This movie tells the brave story of an African American baseball player being drafted into the major leagues.

This movie starts off when Jackie Robinson stops at a gas station to fuel up his minor league “the Kansas City Monarchs” team bus. When the gas station attendants deny him and his teammates access to the bathroom, Jackie tells the attendant they will find another gas station to fill their bus up. This angered the attendants, but Jackie stands his ground. This is where Brooklyn Dodgers owner Branch Ricky tracks Jackie Robinson down. Branch see the confrontation and his interest in Jackie increases. Branch likes Jackie so much he offers him a so much he offers him a spot on the team right then and there. Jackie accepts and moves to Brooklyn to play. This was an unbelievable stress put on Jackie Robinson.

He was the first African American to play in the major leagues. Right off the bat Jackie was exposed to acts of hatred. One of the most notable acts of hatred was in a game against the Philadelphia Phillies. Manager Ben Chapmen calls Jackie Robinson names and mocks him. This causes Jackie to go back and smash his bat in the dugout with frustration. After encouragement of Ricky Jackie returns back onto the field. Jackie hits a single, then steals second, then advancing to third on a throwing error, then runs home winning the game. This is one of the most notable moments of the movie. Jackie Robinson was an amazing baseball player but also a great man. Jackie Robinson paved the way for African American baseball players in the major leagues. I love this movie because it gives people a role model to look up to. At the time this movie came out I was still playing baseball and I looked at Jackie Robinson as a role model.