The show “All American” encapsulates the life of African American high school football player, Spencer James. “All American” takes place in a city near Los Angeles called Crenshaw, which is a poorer, more dangerous area of town. Just a few cities over is Beverly Hills, which is one of the richest cities in Southern California. The show starts off with the football coach of Beverly High School coming to recruit Spencer to play for their team. Spencer then moves in with the coach and the coach’s family so he can transfer there. One of the main themes of the show is the cultural differences that are represented between rich and poor. It shows how socioeconomic status can greatly influence the way a person behaves and who they interact with. Another big issue that is presented in “All American” is race. It is obvious that race is a factor of one’s financial situation, as Spencer’s hometown, which is poor, is primarily black, but the city which he moves to, that is very wealthy, is made up by mostly white citizens.

One of the other important characters to be analyzed is Spencer’s teammate, Asher. Asher grew up very differently from Spencer, as he has lived in a rich town his entire life. He puts himself on a pedastal compared to Spencer, one, because he is rich, and two, because he is white. However, later in the show it is revealed that Asher’s family went bankrupt, since his mom left and his dad was a drug abuser. He continued with his impression of being better than his peers because he thought he had to maintain his reputation of being rich, since most people at the school who go there are rich. It makes Spencer the ‘Other’ in the show, because he does not fit in compared to his classmates and teammates. He is not in the upper class, and is also African American, which makes him a minority in his school.

source for picture: https://gizmostory.com/all-american-season-4-expected-release-date-new-cast-plot-and-trailer/

In Breaking Bad, a series set in New Mexico is a show that is about a high school teacher that teaches chemistry and a past student that was not very popular and received poor grades in the past join together to become wealthy. These two ultimately end up teaming together to become drug dealers. The teacher named Walter and the previous student Jesse both have different reasons as why they wish to obtain money. Walter is looking to set up his family with wealth after he dies after recently learning that he has lung cancer. Jesse wants the riches and the things that come with money, Jesse was picked on in school and was ultimately an outcast with a little number of friends, poor grades along with not having much money. After a crazy amount of setting up and preparing the two start cooking crystal meth in a recreational vehicle in the desert, as an attempt to avoid others. Later on, Jesse gets kicked out of his house for being lazy, making no money, and not contributing around the house little did his parents know he was working the hardest he had ever in his life and was saddened by the neglect his parents put on him. However, Jesse was unable to tell his family as to what he was doing because it was obviously illegal. Day in and day out Jesse and Walter were creating and selling crystal meth successfully, so successfully that they began to launder money where they would get made fun of by people at school for washing cars. After making their drug money legal Jesse was able to make a big purchase. It just so happened that his parents were looking to sell their house and move elsewhere. Jesse took this upon himself to prove to his family for once that he was doing something successfully throughout all of the hardships he faced growing up and people not believing him. Jesse ended up buying the house and when his parents were moving out he went to go into his house, Jesse’s parents quickly stopped and asked what he was doing and that he could not be at the house because the new owners are supposed to be here at any second, however, he was the new owner and presented the house keys to them. This is a prime example of socioeconomic classes where Jesse as an adult grew up to be worthless in his parent’s eyes and how this made him feel below them along with the rest of society. I could see my classmates viewing the analysis of this text as, no matter how you are treated nothing justifies being a drug dealer and ruining the lives of others, however, I feel like upon viewing the series they would find initial sympathy for his as to how he was treated early on in the show.

Jesse’s Parents Reaction Video

Pretty Women is a 1990 American romantic comedy film directed by Garry Marshall, starring Richard Gere and Julia Roberts. The film’s story centers around a prostitute and wealthy businessman falling in love. While Edward Lewis (Richard Gere) is on a business trip in Los Angeles, California, he hires Vivian Ward (Julia Roberts) to be his escort for several business functions he has in the upcoming days, further leading their relationship to flourish over the course of the week. 

Throughout the film, there are several examples of how the difference in socioeconomic classes between Edward and Vivian oppose identity and power injustices towards Vivian. The first example in the film of identity injustice is a scene where Edward thinks Vivian is doing drugs in the bathroom because of her recognition of being a prostitute, though, Vivian is just flossing her teeth. This example shows how Edward othered Vivian based on her identity of being a prostitute and the stigma that surrounds her line of work.

Following this scene, the next day, Vivian is told by Edward to go shopping for an outfit for a business function that night. On Vivian’s trip for clothing, she encounters a rude saleswomen and is turned away due to her appearance. Although Vivian had the money to be able to purchase clothing items from this store, the saleswomen othered her as less due to her appearance and used her power against Vivian. This is another example of othering based on Vivian’s socioeconomic class and people using their power against her. An image below shows this encounter in the story. 

Later in the movie, Edwards’ attorney Phillip suspects that Vivian is a spy. Edward reveals to Phillip that she is not a spy and is a prostitute. Following this conversation, Phillip is rude to Vivian, doesn’t treat her as an equal, and forces himself onto her for her services without Vivian’s consent. This is an additional example of Vivian being othered by Phillips’ thought of their power indifferences and how he believes he can take advantage of Vivian because of her identity. Although she is a prostitute, this is not who she is as a person. While Vivian is equal to Phillip, the saleswomen, and Edward, she is othered and overpowered because of her identity, the way she dresses, the amount of money she has, and the stereotype that is placed around her job and her socioeconomic class. 

In the image below, we can see Vivian dressed as a prostitute and also dressed up to go to an event with Edward. This film does an excellent job of showing Vivian being othered as her character on the left, though treated as an equal while dressed up as her character on the right. This difference in treatment can clearly show the audience the difference of treatment between one character with two different identities, closely showing us the value of identity, othering, and power.

The series Outer Banks is a newly popular Netflix Original TV Series. There are two seasons, and each have about 10 episodes in them. The show focuses on John B and his friends. They live in the Outer Banks in North Carolina. The Outer Banks residents are divided between the Pogues and the Kooks. The Pogues are on the lower end of the social ladder, most of them are working for the Kooks. They live in the cut. They are not seen as equal people to the Kooks. The Kooks are on the higher end of the social ladder, most of them being very wealthy. They live in Figure Eight. In the introduction of the first episode, the main character introduces the Outer Banks as a place where you either have two jobs, or two houses. The Kooks look down on the Pogues.

John B and his friends are Pogues. John B is a teenager who lives on his own, after his mom left them when he was a kid and his dad was lost at sea on a mission to search for the Royal Merchant treasure. One of the Pogues, Kiara is actually a Kook. Her dad was born a Pogue, but her mom was a Kook. So, she was born into the Kook family. She feels more comfortable with the Pogues as the Kooks are very dividing. Every interaction that the Kooks and the Pogues have always end in the Kooks talking down on the Pogues. They always throw John B’s dad missing in his face. Every disruption the two groups have, the Pogues are the ones who always pay for it. The Kooks never get any proper punishment because of their wealth and status. The Kooks always did whatever they wanted, if the Pogues had a party, the Kooks would should up, but if the Kooks had a party, the Pogues were not allowed to attend.

There is a clear divide within the socioeconomic status in this show. The divide continues throughout both seasons as you see the injustices the Pogues go through, as they suffer through many different punishments due to the Kooks. This can be comparable to the “Othering”. The Kooks are the “one”. They have the status and power, and think they are better than the Pogues. The Pogues are the “other”. They do not have the status and power, and they less fortunate and are not treated fairly. This can spark a conversation with how lower status class people suffer due to their social status. They are seen as troublemakers, and people categorize them and do not want to deal with them. So, a lot of the time, they get the short end of the stick, or are used as scapegoats for the higher status groups.

Squid Game is a new Netflix series that has taken the world by storm. The series was released September 17^th 2021 and has been record breaking. The series has had over 110 million viewers and continues to add to its own record. The show depicts the big disparities that take place in Korean life. The authors goal in the show is to show the socioeconomic separation and how the rich can control the poor. The basis of the show is a group of rich people going around the city recruiting people who are in severe “debt”. The person who was in charge of the game recruited 500 players who were in debt bribing them with a cash prize. The winner of the games would receive all the money and every person who was poor and in debt could not turn it down. What the participants did not know was that this competition would be a fight to the death, with only the winner surviving and no ability to back out. This depicts not only the rich controlling the poor, but how their lives are not valued as equal through using the poor only for their enjoyment. The players didn’t even goby their own names they were just given a number and that was it. This show perfectly depicts the current issues in the wealth gap in the Korean countries and the control that people with money have over the normal individual. This is reminiscent of Spivak’s subaltern and the silencing of marginalized people by those with more power, which in this case is money. Overall, I believe the author does a good job at getting the message across. When the show first premiered fans were skeptically due to the violence factor in the show but then realized the message that the author was trying to get across. I believe it gives an inside on the wealth gaps and current economic issues with the citizens in the Korean countries.

The movie Another Cinderella Story is about a talented orphan girl, Mary whose dream is to go to a performing arts school. She lives with her evil stepmother and stepsister. As her stepmother and stepsisters enjoy the luxuries of life, she is forced to be a maid and slave for them, despite her inheriting the money her father left her when he died. As the movie progresses, she found herself falling in love with the pop star, Joey who came to high school to have a normal life. Joey for the longest time didn’t know who she was as she didn’t reveal herself at the party to avoid getting in trouble with her stepmother, Dominque. At the end of the day, Mary leaves her stepmother while she’s sick to pursue her dreams and never looked back. The movie discusses the topic of the power dynamic and identity struggle, subaltern, Master-Slave relationship.

The master-slave concept is seen between Dominque and Mary. Mary being the slave is abused by Dominque and told to clean her room and the rooms of her stepsisters. Once she finds out the mp3 player that was lost at the party was Marys’, she forced her to teach her stepsisters the songs so they can dance with Joey. Dominque’s money and power made life hell for Mary and fall victim to the verbal abuse and slaving because she had no other option. She was treated as a subaltern where a voice and opinions didn’t matter to her self-centered stepfamily and were considered insignificant. She struggled with her identity as she is seen wearing a mask at the party to avoid being recognized as she wasn’t supposed to be at the dance and her not able to tell Joey it was her to avoid getting in trouble. She had to hide who she was from the guy she loves to avoid being seen as Dominque’s maid and change his perspective on who she is.

I think the movie Another Cinderella Story wanted the audience to know the effect of power abuse, and it affects the person who falls victim to it. Mary who once was rich becomes a slave through a power shift. It also shows us at the end how you use your power leads to your faith. If you use it for evil at the end of the day, you’ll be neglected just like Dominque and Okonkwo. It makes one wonder the injustices they caused towards people realize what they did was unacceptable.