Author: bravo.43

Text Review: Avatar – Christian Bravo

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The work that I would like to analyze is the widely known movie Avatar directed by James Cameron. The movie that came out in 2009 still shows a great majority of issues that we discussed in this course and issues that we face on a daily basis. The movie is classified as a futuristic sci-fi that portray the interaction of humans with an alien species called the Na’vi. The movie shows the livelihood of humans in a futuristic time in which humans have depleted the earth’s resources and people are only driven by greed. Showing that the main character isn’t able to fix his legs solely based on money problems. Also stating how the main characters brother dies just based on stealing his wallet. The greed goes along to which the movie presents this company trying to mine a rare ore from the planet Pandora that would make them a great amount of money.

The main character is brought to this planet to serve as a scientist and soldier picking up were his brother left off. The first concept that I could easily notice in the movie is “the one” and “the other”. When the main character Jake Sully arrives at the planet the people from the different departments expected someone like his brother and were not accepting of him at the start. During all the scenes being treated as “the other” not given the proper time or respect for him to show who he is and what he can do. From there Sully is part of the department that transfers their mind into the body of a Na’vi avatar and used with the purpose of getting intelligence. When discovered by the tribe he isn’t welcomed initially, but slowly accepted into their own culture. While the character of Sully may seem as “the other” to this tribe they are willing to break that concept and accept him differently from where humans were treating him.

The main issues that is portrayed in the movie shows how the power of information or lack thereof matters. How when new soldiers are arriving at the planet they are always under the impression that this society is dangerous. The company controlling the narrative on what every human must think of these people. Presenting that even without knowing anything about them that humans must hate this species. This concept stays true throughout the movie for the company only in it for the money. While the character of Jake Sully is able to join the tribe and learn many thing about their culture and break the stereotype created by those in charge. Leading to the conclusion that greed caused people to start war and want to control every single action. I believe that the director wanted to present how different cultures could merge and co-exist if open to it. Keeping a closeminded attitude and only focusing on oneself leads to bad character.

“Yo, Is This Discrimination?” – Christian Bravo

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The Wage Gap is a topic known worldwide, but there are different aspects to it that are not commonly known. When discussing the discrimination I have noticed that the main importance of this issue come from the difference in salary earned from a man and a women. The one aspect that gets left out of this topic that I have noticed is that the issue is not just about men and women, but also has to do with what race or ethnicity of the person. For a long time there has been discrimination between races the most common is between Whites and Afro-Americans. Noticeable that in today’s age the riots and the Black Lives Matter movement is taking a stand and demanding change from the discrimination. These events are making it, so these people are getting their voices heard and promoting for a better future.

These discriminations ranging from the times in which Afro-American citizens were enslaved to gaining freedom but having limited rights. In those events one can clearly ask Who decided to crown the White Race as Master Race? How is it that they were allowed to decide the life of another if we are all one in the same. Being able to have the freedom to do and say anything they wanted allowed to limit those from other races and also the female gender. Change slowly started to come as how the 15th Amendment to the US Constitution granted African-American’s to vote. While change slowly affects society it has been very present the discrimination between white people and those from other races during this year of 2020. As figures who pioneered for change like Martin Luther King, Barack Obama, John Lewis between others who gave a voice to those who didn’t have it all of those changes are being tested in today’s age. With all that being said the issue with equal pay is it a form of discrimination. This issue can be compared to those times in which other people didn’t have rights as this discrimination is violation a human right of equality. Having that equal pay is not a reality for many people of color. Calculating all the factors that are into calculating pay being education, work ethic, experience most men and female of color end up falling short of their white counterpart. I want to address the situation based about different professional setting in which the different wage gap is clearly present.

Noticing how throughout the years it has been very clear that other races make less money than white people or even Asians at occasions. How is it that in todays age with all the changes happening in society these gaps are very predominant. While the wage gap is critically noticed between different men of color the one that trumps them all is women’s wages. How every different woman either being white or any other race have a significant wage drop from their gender counterpart. While white women are predominant in hourly earning within all the different women they all still fall short to those wages of white and exception of some Asian men. That leads me to the bigger picture of those that wage gap between different races and gender classify as discrimination. What makes those that get paid higher better than others even if showing the same education paths and experiences. Showing how if born with a certain color of skin or gender one is more inclined to succeed in the business world.

The first example I want to cover is the medical profession having to study for at least 10 years and there is a significant wage gap between genders. In the article “Despite Physician Salary Increases, Wage Gaps Still Exists” they go on to show how in the that particular medical field white men are dominant in their wages while white women and Hispanic, African-American, Asian doctors end up falling short next to those white men wages. The article reports hoe on average male physicians end up making around $100,000 more than the average women or average Afro-American, Hispanic, or Asian. Being that salary is not a public topic in which most people discuss most of these minorities don’t fully know how much others are making in their same field. As soon as those conversations start that’s when turmoil begins and explanations are required to explain how this is the case and why these numbers are the way they are.

Another increasingly important field in society is engineering. The primarily discussed topic is that in engineering there aren’t many women who decide to take that path and work in that field. Across the years more and more women have taken an interest and have decided to become professionals in any of the many engineering fields just leaving one unanswered problem. The wage gap is clearly presented to be an issue in any of the different branches of engineering and shown very little sign to improve. Gender growing to be less of a stereotype in the field, but the same wage gap has always been clear. In the article “What’s the Gender Pay Gap in Engineering?” they clearly represent most of the different branches that are represented in Engineering and the percentages of how men keep getting paid higher. Both genders can have the same education, experience but that does not change the differences that they get paid for the same job. Companies saying that the problem is just an expensive problem to fix and not make a change whatsoever. What decided that from the start those were supposed to be the normal and customary pay based on race or gender. How are these who are benefiting from a better wage decide to ignore the issue since it doesn’t affect them.

As this discrimination is noticeable in the United States it is also differently based on what state the person is from. While all states suffer from the same discrimination each attacks the issue differently. As some lead the change and try to close the wage gap others fall short and barely deal with the problem at all. Those states that are fighting for change leading the charge have implemented laws against gender discrimination that would protect women at a Federal level. Even though that some laws are placed they haven’t been able to fully close the wage gap as there is still a difference in what different genders make. How can a nation fully progress if there are some states that are working hard and promoting change trying to make a difference and some neighboring states that would rather not address it and maintain everything the exact same. The entire country should be focused on working as 1 unit trying to progress this society into a new chapter of the United States history, a chapter that expresses the concern to these different racial and female Americans.

While noticeable the discrimination in the United States the problem of the wage gap is worldwide. The main difference from the wage gap in other countries is that these countries discrimination is more directed towards the female gender. In other countries the different races isn’t seen as the issue when it comes to wage gap. The country with the most notable wage gap between women and men is found in South Korea. While the discrimination has decreased over the past decades one can clearly notice the difference between many countries in which have succeeded to minimize the wage gap towards a small percentage like Colombia in which has less than 1% of wage gap between men and women. Those efforts show how all of the different countries can follow certain guidelines and laws that would lead towards the ending of this discrimination.

I have found that this is a problem that we consistently face and the changes that occur are minimal throughout the years. While I fall in the category of not being a white male I am not at the lower end of the spectrum being affected massively like women and other races of color. While this injustice and discrimination can be connected to different topics studied throughout the semester I believe that the “One” and “Other” clearly establishes the issue and addresses how it affects our society. Being able to establish men as the “one” and women as the other or even have White men as the one and every other race and gender as the other. The philosophy clearly establishes how people of different races and gender are treated as minority and seen is inferior to those who classify in the one category. We have to act up and promote this change giving voices to those who don’t have them and express the correct approach. Noticing that there is a difference and accepting the fact that this discrimination is happening is the first step. Being able to learn and educate oneself on the topic helps those who are affected seek for change and allow for the discrimination to end. Slowly there are changes that happen and with more people aware and dedicated for change this issue can be just a part of history instead of our reality.

Citations:
+ 2020 Racial Wage Gap – Compensation Research from PayScale. www.payscale.com/data/racial-wage-gap.

+ Stephen Miller, CEBS. Black Workers Still Earn Less than Their White Counterparts. 7 Aug. 2020, www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/compensation/pages/racial-wage-gaps-persistence-poses-challenge.aspx.

+ Lardieri, Alexa. “Pay Gaps Still Exist for Women and Black Physicians, Study Finds.” U.S. News & World Report, U.S. News & World Report, 11 Apr. 2018, www.usnews.com/news/health-care-news/articles/2018-04-11/report-despite-physician-salary-increases-wage-gaps-still-exist.

+ Rincon, Roberta. “What’s the Gender Pay Gap in Engineering?” All Together, 17 May 2018, alltogether.swe.org/2018/04/pay-gap-in-engineering/.

+ Sheth, Sonam, et al. “7 Charts That Show the Glaring Gap between Men’s and Women’s Salaries in the US.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 26 Aug. 2020, www.businessinsider.com/gender-wage-pay-gap-charts-2017-3.

+ Ortiz-Ospina, Esteban, and Max Roser. “Economic Inequality by Gender.” Our World in Data, 21 Mar. 2018, ourworldindata.org/economic-inequality-by-gender.

Diary of Systemic Injustices Showcase – Christian Bravo

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The Systemic Injustice that I have chosen to expand are the cases that ICE are responsible for removing women’s reproductive organs without consent. All of the victims fall under the category of being immigrants and detained by ICE. While detained in these different immigrant camps its where the injustices have occurred. The primary cause of the procedure is based on these women going to the doctors for a normal routine checkup and end up waking up after a full surgery that removed their reproductive organs.

This systemic injustice can be clearly connected towards the term of “Subalterns” studied throughout this course. The term of subaltern addresses the injustice of a community that is treated as inferior having their voices unheard being fully powerless. The term can clearly be established with these cases in which the cases scaled to the point in which the women who complained were being placed in solitary confinement. The power that ICE officials have over other being able to decide what these women are allowed to do with their bodies shows the amount of control and no restrictions being placed on them. I see the case as a systemic injustice based on the point that these officials are allowed to commit genocide by restricting these women the option to have children. Voices that express their concerns and fight for change, but nobody with power listens nor makes changes to improve these cases lead towards them being treated as inhuman or subaltern. How can certain people decide what other women have to do with their bodies. Imposing these medical operations while violating human rights it is a topic that is not being taken seriously. In the New York Times article “Immigrants Say They Were Pressured Into Unneeded Surgeries” they state how one of the doctors confirms that while some women need some treatments there are some that did not justify being under surgery. These women by being immigrants and being held in these camps does not provide the excuse to treat them as inferior.

The options to help change these cases by restricting the officers and not allowing them with so much freedom that they get to decide fates of other humans. This systemic injustice shows how power over others can easily corrupt people and allow them to think they deserve to decide what happens.

New York Times Article: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/29/us/ice-hysterectomies-surgeries-georgia.html

Citation:
Dickerson, Caitlin, et al. Immigrants Say They Were Pressured Into Unneeded Surgeries. 29
Sept. 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/09/29/us/ice-hysterectomies-surgeries-georgia.html.

Context Research Presentation Week 9 – Christian Bravo

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This week we will be finishing the second half of the book “The Leavers” by Lisa Ko. The book goes into the lives of Deming Guo who’s mom is deported and leaves Deming to face adoption. While the book addresses many different topics throughout the first half it only mentions the aspect of Deming’s mother Polly being help in a immigration camp before being deported with no rights to contact anyone or be able to do anything. The second half of the book goes in depth on Polly’s experience throughout the immigration camp and the effects that still had a hold on her. I want to focus my context presentation on those immigration camps and how those experiences affect the individuals scarring them for life.

Ko addresses the topic of immigration camp by telling the experience of Polly being there for months before actually being deported. In time magazines it is stated reports that people are kept in crowded spaces with no access to clean water nor food. Also saying that reports of many sick people being contained together and no efforts of separating those that are sick from those that are healthy. Forcing these immigrants to live in inhumane conditions with no one trying to change anything. Also stated in The Atlantic the article also addresses the issue of overcrowding in which there is no space to move, forcing children or adults to sleep either on the ground or standing up. The Atlantic’s article goes into the article finding how these camps are similar to concentration camps back in World War I. While forcing these immigrants to live in these conditions the article attacks towards the administrations that allow these places to treat human lives in this matter. Ko shows how all of these conditions affected Polly noticing that she cannot sleep with a glimmer of light showing, the only way to actually be able to sleep is the constant use of sleeping pills, and all the different experiences that led her to have ptsd.

One of the main characters in the book is subjected towards inhumane conditions and ends up scarred for the rest of her life. The international detention coalition describes that form of imprisonment as an act of torture. While the people being detained could be fast tracked and deported quickly some are left there for the larger part of months. These types of detention facilities are meant to be used only when needed as a final resort not as the main source for immigrations. Nobody focuses on the amount of human rights that are violated in camps like these leading to the people living these lives to suffer for the greater part of their lives. Learning from these backgrounds allows us to better connect with the character of Polly by actually being able to notice the experiences she faced in the immigration camp and the experiences she has to face afterwards.

Citations:

+ Joung, Madeleine. What Is Happening at Migrant Detention Centers? What to Know. 12 July 2019, time.com/5623148/migrant-
detention-centers-conditions/.

+ Serwer, Adam. “A Crime by Any Name.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 6 Nov. 2019,
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/07/border-facilities/593239/.

+ “What Is Immigration Detention? And Other Frequently Asked Questions.” International Detention Coalition,
idcoalition.org/about/what-is-detention/.