Author: kapur.54

Text Review: Django Unchained

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The text I chose to analyze was the movie “Django Unchained.” This film is set in the 1800s and is about a slave, named Django, (played by Jamie Foxx), and his “owner”, Dr. King Schultz, (played by Christopher Waltz). Shultz is a bounty hunter and he needed Django to help identify two white men who watch over the slaves in the fields. In return, he would buy Django his freedom. However, Django eventually becomes a bounty hunter with him to get enough money to buy his wife out of slavery.

This movie shows a lot of the disgusting acts that occurred during this time. For example, in the first scene there are a group of slaves who are all tied up with iron clasps on their ankles. It then zoomed in on the iron and how it absolutely tore away any skin underneath it. However, these slaves were still made to walk through the night to their destination. The gore and inhumanity in this made me squirm.

Shultz did not care for or approve of slavery, so he was happy being Django’s friend. He even bought a horse for Django, and they both went into pubs together. However, whenever people saw them in pubs or Django riding a horse, they always stared and then resorted to run away or yell derogatory words. I found interesting that the slaves did this, too. In addition, when the people yelled at Django, they always yelled at Schultz for “allowing him” to have a horse or to be in a pub drinking a beer. I thought this was interesting too.

I think this most closely relates to de Beauvoir’s One and the Other. Since Django has different colored skin, he is represented as the Other, because it deviates from the “class” that the One needs to preserve. I also think that some of the actions done to the slaves is similar to the John Lewis book we read. The slaves never asked for this and they never retaliated. They were portrayed as peaceful people who had horrible things done to them as they were stripped away from any humanity.

 

This is a link to a youtube video where the people are surprised to see Django riding a horse.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCTj0TgyGH8

 

#StopAsianHate

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I will be talking about the shooting that happened in Atlanta a couple weeks ago. This is something that is extremely horrifying and tragic. Eight people were killed senselessly. Most of them happened to be Asian.

There has been a lot of traction lately with the #StopAsianHate movement. I first heard about it when Jeremy Lin came out and said that people in the G-League called him coronavirus.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2933593-jeremy-lin-asian-americans-tired-of-being-told-we-dont-experience-racism

It still boggles my mind that there are people out there who find these types of things “funny” and “not harmful”. Since then, I have personally seen a lot more on the movement. What I find interesting, is how I have not seen the mainstream media putting enough coverage onto this. During the height of the pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement was always being talked about, which was great and important. However, I feel like I have not seen enough on this movement. We did not even learn the names of the people until days after the tragedy. While I understand respecting the victims and victims’ families, I do believe that saying their names just like Breonna Taylor and George Floyd helps bring more awareness.

I am also shocked that some policemen are saying that the shooter “was having a bad day.” When somebody has a bad day, you channel that energy in different ways. You do not go and shoot a salon.

Because of these two things, I am calling for gun reform. We have to be a lot stricter on who we allow to possess guns. As someone who grew up in Sandy Hook, CT I feel very strongly about this issue. The next thing I am calling for is more attention to the #StopAsianHate movement.

We put a lot of energy and effort into the Black Lives Matter movement as it still continues today and Asian people deserve nothing but the same.

Context Research Presentation- Ahmad and Ortiz-Cofer

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A topic that I believe is relevant to the excerpts from Ahmad and Ortiz-Cofer is the surge in immigration from Puerto Rico to the United States in the 1950s. This connects to both readings as Ahmad talks about the differences, or lack thereof, in “Third World” and “First World” countries. In addition, Ortiz-Cofer speaks on her experience of immigrating from Puerto Rico to the United States. Since we consider Puerto Rico to be a Third World country, I believe that this was an appropriate choice. In the following paragraphs, I will speak on why there was a surge specifically in the 1950s and some struggles these immigrants might have faced when moving here.

In 1917, people in Puerto Rico officially became US Citizens. However, even prior to the Second World War, there was very little Puerto Rican immigration to the United States. According to data from Lehman College, from 1920-1950 there were only approximately 211,000 Puerto Rican immigrants where in 1950-1960 there were 470,000. A main reason for this surge is because of “Operation Bootstrap.” Operation Bootstrap shifted of employment in Puerto Rico to manufacturing rather than agricultural. While this was successful and produced $627 million by 1967, and was known as “Puerto Rico’s economic miracle”, this did take away a lot of jobs for others. The result of this was moving to the mainland and finding opportunity in a First World country. L, kn

However, the transition from Puerto Rico to the United States was not always pretty. The Library of Congress did an interview with Rafael Sorio, an immigrant from Puerto Rico in the 1950s who moved to Paterson, NJ, the same city that Ortiz-Cofer lived in as a child after immigrating. Some key and striking things he stated were that his teachers changed his given name, Rafael, to Ralph. This is what he goes by even today. His father worked in agriculture and raised pigs, cows, and horses. They moved from Puerto Rico because of the lack of opportunity. In addition, they lived in a one-bedroom apartment with friends that charged $3-$4 a week.

All in all, it was definitely a tough move for Puerto Ricans to come to the United States. However, because this move was a necessity for them, I believe that the new opportunities given helped cope with the newfound struggles brought by being an immigrant in the 1950s.

 

 

Works Cited

Lehman College. “Puerto Rican Immigration: Why the 1950s?” Lehman Edu, lcw.lehman.edu/lehman/depts/latinampuertorican/latinoweb/PuertoRico/1950s.htm.

The Library of Congress. “Migrating to a New Land  :  Puerto Rican/Cuban  :  Immigration and Relocation in U.S. History  :  Classroom Materials at the Library of Congress  :  Library of Congress.” Migrating to a New Land, www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/immigration/puerto-rican-cuban/migrating-to-a-new-land/.

“Puerto Rico’s Operation Bootstrap.” Modern Latin America, Brown University Library, library.brown.edu/create/modernlatinamerica/chapters/chapter-12-strategies-for-economic-developmen/puerto-ricos-operation-bootstrap/.