Netflix just released a new limited series titled Maid. This is a series about a female character named Alex who is involved in an abusive relationship. Together, she and her abuser Sean have a 3-year-old daughter named Maddy. As the first episode unravels, it becomes prevalent that Alex was abused by her significant other through threats verbally and physically. She decides that she needs to put her daughter and her own safety ahead of remaining constrained to the trailer that Sean owns and makes a run for it with Maddy. Alex manages to drive away, but upon driving away realizes that she has no money and no home because Sean also demanded to be in control of all the money between the two of them. Alex does her best to attempt to make ends meet by going to social services to strive towards financial stability and have a roof over their head, thanks to a domestic abuse shelter that they are directed to. After being brought to court by her abuser Sean because of custody over Maddy, she is told that there is not enough evidence for the state of Seattle to determine Sean to be abusive therefore they give Sean custody over Maddy, and Alex only has certain visitation rights. This is when Alex realizes that getting her daughter safe and doing it legally was going to be much harder than expected. Alex realized that Sean, a white male was controlling over her on numerous levels including physically, mentally, and financially but was going to win until she was able to show the legal system who he really is. The next couple of days she got a job and signed up for more government assistance and other similar programs, while also attempting to apartment shop to provide a safe place to go to following her time at the domestic violence shelter.
As the series continues, Sean can convince Alex that she needs to move back in if he wants to have any visitation with Maddy and he wins. Alex is being abused again and hides in her daughter’s room to avoid her drunken partner when he comes home from work, but she discovers that he is having an affair with his co-worker. Once again, she makes her case to leave Sean with Maddy and asks people who are aware of the situation to vouch for her, and their reasoning to not is that she will never win against a white male with a stable job. They say she should be happy with what he provides rather than complain about the abuse. In Maid, the white male who is an abuser is not held accountable for numerous reasons including is in with the court system and the state of Seattle’s regulations of what is considered domestic violence.
Author: leroux.19
Susan Sontag’s Regarding the pain of others Week 15 Context Presentation
Susan Sontag was an American writer, filmmaker, philosopher, teacher, and political activist. Some of the pieces of work she is most excited known for was that of On Photography (1977), and Illness as Metaphor (1978), as well as the fictional works The Way We Live Now (1986), The Volcano Lover (1992), and In America (1999). She studied philosophy, theology, and literature at Harvard University and Saint Anne’s College (Estate of Susan Sontag, 2010). Susan was so well known because she would choose to write about very controversial topics such as cultures, illness, and human rights. These topics can often be very difficult to please all people.
Two volumes of Sontag’s diaries have now been published with the third on the way. Although she had passed away, her son, David Rieff, has been reading her unedited diaries and making the necessary edits. (Malcom, 2019) This is crucial because originally, these diaries were her unfiltered and uncensored thoughts as she grew up. this is very interesting to see that after her death, her son saw the need to finish what her mother unknowingly started.(Sontag, 2003)
Susan was known for fighting for what she believed was right now matter the cost. In her book “The Pain of Others” you learn about a book that Susan had read and then you get to see what her spin and opinions on the book are which could even change what a reading thought of the same story themselves. This book took the world by storm because she was such a great writer that everyone wanted to hear what she had to say. For example, “Her books illuminate without simplifying, complicate without obfuscating, and insist above all that to ignore what threatens us is both irresponsible and dangerous”(Estate of Susan Sontag, 2010). This shows that people believe that Susan gives her undying opinion no matter the actions that may come because of it no matter how dangerous or hurtful they can be.
Works Cited:
Estate of Susan Sontag. (2010). Susan Sontag. Retrieved November 28, 2021,
from http://www.susansontag.com/SusanSontag/index.shtml.
Malcom, J. (September 16, 2019). Susan Sontag and the Unholy Practice of Biography The New Yorker. Retrieved November 28, 2021,
from https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/09/23/susan-sontag-and-the-unholy-practice-of-biography
Sontag, S (March 23, 2003). ‘Regarding the Pain of Others’. The New York Times. Retrieved November 28, 2021,
from https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/23/books/chapters/regarding-the-pain-of-others.html
Diary of systemic Injustice Showcase: White Women Syndrome
Missing White Women Syndrome: A phrase coined by Gwen Ifill referring to the mainstream media’s seeming fascination with covering missing or endangered white women and its seeming disinterest in cases involving missing people of color (Demby).
Recently, a major systematic injustice has been emphasized due to the media, including social media and television, bringing mass amounts of attention to the Gabby Petito and Brian Laundry case. This brings injustices to light for those who have been reported missing who are non-white and in the LGBTQ community. The recent event that occurred was really a slap in the face for those families who have had no attention brought to their loved one’s location by the authorities or media. An article from the Washington Post states this very well that “Her (Gaby’s) case deserves attention and justice. But all the missing deserve this. And so, the wall-to-wall coverage of the Petito case has been an added slap in the face to the loved ones of non-White and LGBTQ people who haven’t gotten it.” (Attiah). By no means is this intended to be an attack or slander on the female who was missing, only to be found as murdered days later, but rather this seems to be a case of white woman syndrome. white woman syndrome is a term that is often used to refer to media coverage on missing person cases. The tendency is that there is more coverage by media, especially television if the case involves a young, white, upper-middle-class woman.
So, what does this mean on the coverage for non-white or LGBTQ females and males? Natalie Wilson, the co-founder of black and missing foundation incorporation, states in an ABC News report that “minority adults who go missing are often stereotyped as being involved in crime or violence, poverty, and addiction, which takes attention away from their cases” (Kindelan). This is most certainly a powerful injustice. As stated, this claim is not to be made against Gabby Petito and hate on how the media was able to find justice and locate her body, but rather is intended to bring awareness of how powerful media can be and that is something that should be used often when people are reported missing. With all that being said, “Non-White and LGBTQ people too frequently have to fight against assumptions that members of their community have done something to cause their own disappearances” (Attiah). All people deserve the same urgency and attention.
References:
Attiah, K. (2021). Gabby petito deserves justice, but ‘missing white girl syndrome’ hurts us all. The Washington Post. Retrieved at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/09/28/gabby-petito-deserves-justice-missing-white-girl-syndrome-hurts-us-all/
Demby, G. (2017) What we know (and don’t know) about ‘missing white women syndrome’. NPR. Retrieved at: https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2017/04/13/523769303/what-we-know-and-dont-know-about-missing-white-women-syndrome
Geno, S (2021). How the news coverage for gabby petito exposes inequality for indigenous women and POC. Criminal. Retrieved at: https://vocal.media/criminal/how-the-news-coverage-for-gabby-petito-exposes-inequality-for-indigenous-women-and-poc
Gibson, E. (2019). Data on missing or murder Tohono o’odham females could help guide prevention efforts. Arizona Public Media. Retrieved at: https://news.azpm.org/p/news-splash/2019/5/28/152301-woman-collects-data-the-state-now-seeks-on-missing-or-murdered-tohono-oodham-females/
Kondelan, K. (2021) Gabby petito case example of ‘missing white women syndrome,’ experts say. ABC News. Retrieved at: https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/News/gabby-petito-case-missing-white-woman-syndrome-experts/story?id=80144611