Author: gurd.6

Text Review: Divergent

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For my text review I decided to analyze the movie Divergent which came out in 2014. Divergent is based on a dystopian society that has been split up into different fractions. When a child turns 16 years old in this world they have to take a test which decides what fraction suits them best. There are five different fractions that value different human characteristics. Our main character, Beatrice or Tris, chose to join Dauntless which is like the police or enforcers of this new society. If she doesn’t pass basic training then she will be dropped from the fraction and will become fractionless, hence she will be living in poverty. After completing different stages of her initiation, Tris realizes she is divergent because she is able to manipulate the simulations that they are put in. She keeps this a secret because she knows she could be killed for this. As the movie goes on, the fraction that controls the law, Erudite, puts a tracking device in all of the members of Dauntless. Tris wakes up to find that Erudite is using the device to control the members of Dauntless. Since she is divergent, the device doesn’t work on her but she acts like it does. Erudite uses Dauntless to kill people in a different fraction to show their power and how they want to gain control of the government. Tris then escapes to fight against Erudite and stop the simulation and device to save the fractions.

Power is a main theme in this movie. Erudite wants control of the government so they decide to wipe out Abnegation. They try to do this by taking control of the fraction Dauntless. This leads to a lot of death and destruction in the city and between the fractions. This film also displays different identities. We learn that there are five different fractions for society. We also learn that there is a group of people called divergents because they seem to not fit one of the fractions. The thing is that they fit all of the fractions. Everyone in this movie is seen based off of their identity or in other words their fraction. People are seen less then others due to what fraction they are in. This is like the concept of the other. People are treated differently because they do not fit in with one’s group or culture. This leads to fighting, killing and destruction in the movie. I feel that the author of this movie series wants to teach us that we should accept everyone even if they are different from us. We all have different strengths and weaknesses and if we work together then as a collective whole we can overcome anything.

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Diary of Systemic Justice Showcase: Discrimination in the Workplace

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About a week ago a Black Amazon manager has filed a lawsuit against her company. She is alleging racial discrimination. She is also filing the lawsuit for sexual harassment, pay inequality, and discrimination. Charlotte Newman has been an employee at Amazon for the past four years. She works in the Web Services department and has the position of public policy manager. This job is a level-6 position. A higher up position compared to new workers at Amazon. Charlotte applied for the senior manager job but was not given this position. It would take her another three years to be able to get this job. She feels that Amazon is not treating Black and Latino employees fairly. She is not just fighting for herself. Charlotte talks about how Amazon doesn’t treat everyone fairly and that she is fighting for the minorities that work for Amazon. Charlotte also talks about how she is paid less in Amazon stock compared to her white coworkers. The inequality is unfair and should never take place in large corporations. Charlotte goes in depth on many different aspects of discrimination that she and other coworkers face. Some of these examples are that their supervisors treat them too harsh or unfairly compared to other employees. Lawsuits that deal with racial discrimination can really hurt ones company if they come out to be true. I feel that many companies are working hard to treat their employees fairly. Happy workers lead to positive outcomes. It can be difficult sometimes because not everyone sees the world the same way. I hope that whatever comes from this lawsuit is good for both sides.

After rereading all of my past systemic showcases I found this one to be the most important to me. Amazon was too “sexist” and “racist.” This is what Charlotte Newman had to say about Amazon. I found this situation to be similar to Poudel’s systemic justice showcase. The two showcases are very similar in that they both talk about unfairness. They talk about how some minorities have unfunded schools and don’t get the same education as some whites. Mine talks about the unfairness in the workplace and how a black employee is not treated the same as her white counterpart. I feel that these issue needs to be heard by more people. A company that is known worldwide, should be able to explain why some employees are not treated fairly and it needs to be fixed fast. For multiple employees to be discriminated against is very wrong and will hurt the company in many ways. I hope everyone sees how important this issue is and that if a large corporation is having problems with discrimination then it needs to be addressed and not swept under the rug. Amazon is well known and trusted by lots of people. I hope all of this can be fixed so that Amazon doesn’t have any future problems.

Black female Amazon manager sues, alleging sexism and racism – Chicago Tribune

Amazon sued by Black senior manager alleging sexual assault, discrimination (msn.com)

Context Presentation: History of Persepolis

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The title of the book and movie relate to the ancient Persian city, Persepolis. The history of this ancient city Persepolis goes a while back with its many rulers and its great power.  Persepolis was the capital of the Persian Empire and the city dates back to around 515 BCE(“A Look at Persepolis”). Part of the city was cut out of out of the mountain that is the next to the city. What I believe is ironic is that the name of the mountain is the “Mountain of Mercy”(“A Look at Persepolis”). The history of this city deals with a lot of destruction and battles. There is not much mercy being shown when it comes to the city.

There were many great rulers that ruled Persepolis like, Cyrus the Great and Darius the Great. Darius the Great took over after Cyrus the Great. They both believed in how important religion is and the value of the people who live in their empire. Persepolis used to be a great and wealthy city. It was one of the first cities to connect the East and West in this time(“A Look at Persepolis”). The ancient city had great wealth and a large amount of diverse cultures. This was a very powerful city. However it was destroyed by Alexander the Great(Persepolis). Alexander set fire to the city after he captured it and the city has never been the same since.

The site of Persepolis is ancient ground that represents a lot of history for Iran. It shows how powerful Iran and the Persian Empire used to be. It also shows the diverse cultures that once used to be in Iran. However, once the Islamic Revolution began all this changed. Women were seen as second to men due to all the laws created to belittle them. Rulers have a lot of power and when the power goes to the wrong people, some things can downhill. In the book Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi we see how this once great country and city has turned into a ground of fighting and rioting. Books being burned and people being taken to prison. It is all interesting to me to see that a country that was once so rich has turned into a place of trouble.

“History of Persepolis and The Islamic Revolution.” Satrapisms- A Look at Persepolis, 6 June 2011, satrapism.wordpress.com/history-of-persepolis/#:~:text=History of Persepolis and The Islamic Revolution Persepolis,remains of Persepolis date back from 515 BCE.

Mark, Joshua J. “Persepolis.” Ancient History Encyclopedia, Ancient History Encyclopedia, 1 Mar. 2021, www.ancient.eu/persepolis/#:~:text=Persepolis was the capital of the Persian Achaemenid,knew it as Parsa (City of the Persians).