Day: April 14, 2021

Contextual Presentation- A Small Place, Kincaid

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(Contextual Presentation) A Small Place, Kincaid

 

Within the book “a small place” Kincaid mentions the prevalence of corruption in Antigua. Kincaid speaks on the fact that the government ministers run brothels, steal public funds, and participates in broker shady deals. I researched this article “ the effects of political corruption on Caribbean development” by Michael W Collier and it mainly touches base on the same points on corruption. It states “Every state in the Caribbean is affected by the illegal drug trade. Some states such as Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, St Vincent, and St. Lucia are drug producers growing local marijuana crops. The larger role of Caribbean states are as drug transshipment points for illegal cocaine and heroin shipments bound from South American drug producing countries to markets in the United States and Europe. The mixture of corruption and drugs creates a vicious cycle of crime and violence that is engulfing many of the small Caribbean states. Corruption is what allows the illegal drug trade to flourish. Drug money payoffs to government officials, police officers, and justice system officials cause these officials to “look the other way” as the drug gangs go about their business on many Caribbean states.”

Kincaid also dives into the ugliness of tourism and points out the loveliness of the places that tend to attract tourists is often a source of difficulty for those who live there. For example “ the sunny, clear sky of Antigua, which indicates a lack of rainfall, makes fresh water a scarce and precious commodity.” To compare this article “the impact of tourism in the Caribbean” covers the same topic as Kincaid does in the book, it states “Damage to the physical-biological environment will occur with increasing densities of both tourists, and local residents. Unfortunately most rainforest in the smaller islands is already in a state of dis-equilibrium, so that unless the movement of people is very strictly controlled, this most valuable resource will degenerate very rapidly. Where a large tourist resort is allowed to extend a beach artificially the new promontory may interfere with local currents in such a way that other beaches will be eroded. New hotels mean more effluents, more pollution, more deterioration of valuable coastal waters.”

Citations:

  • Matthews, Harry G. “Radicals and Third World Tourism: A Caribbean Focus.” Annals of Tourism Research, Pergamon, 6 May 2009, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160738377800066.
  • Author links open overlay panelTheo L.HillsJanLundgren∗, et al. “The Impact of Tourism in the Caribbean: A Methodological Study.” Annals of Tourism Research, Pergamon, 30 Sept. 2002, reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/0160738377900986?token=1773AECBADE381606449A2893541D4E608C0EA0E08D214E72C1C615DFB69430EBFE4622E969C506C2C9E3D43DEF54996&originRegion=us-east-1&originCreation=20210415021523.

 

Text Review Assignment: The Hate U Give – Abby Favorito

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A few years ago, I sat down to watch the movie that I had heard was pretty good. Two hours and thirteen minutes later, I was sobbing my eyes out texting my friends that they needed to stop what they were doing and watch this movie. This movie was called The Hate U Give and it’s one of those films this is absolutely gut wrenching, powerful, and that leaves you speechless. The film is actually based on the novel by Angie Thomas, but I broke my cardinal rule and watched the film before reading the novel. The story follows Starr Carter, a teenage black girl who attends an all-white preparatory school. Starr is constantly switching her persona depending on which environment she’s in. Soon into the story, her childhood best friend Khalil is murdered in a traffic stop by a police officer while Starr is in the passenger’s seat. After this traumatizing experience, Starr observes how both communities react and faces challenges with her identity and those she considers friends. Starr talks about having two identities based on who she’s around and the stigmatization she faces from both groups. She feels like the “other” in both environments because at her prep school she’s “Williamson Starr” who is one of the only black students and, in her neighborhood, she faces criticism and jokes about not being truly from the hood. I attached a clip below and from 00:05:58- 00:07:00 where Starr talks about her “Williamson Starr” identity. The systemic injustices of police brutality and racism also play key roles in this story while the trial for the police officer who murdered Khalil is taking place. Starr faces conflict with friends from her school who fail to understand her perspective. Starr’s altercation with her friend Hailey reminds me of Toni Morrison’s Recitatif and the relationship between Roberta and Twyla. In both relationships, the girls start off as great friends, but when issues of injustice and racism arise, a feud begins because opposite sides are taken. I think Angie Thomas wants readers of all races and identities to hear her story because everyone can learn something. Those from the African American community can learn to appreciate and express their true identities. Non-Black communities can also learn from this story about how to support Black friends and how to be an ally. Through her characters, Ms. Thomas inspires the conversation about identity and through the trial and riots that follow Khalil’s death, she also sheds light on many injustices faced by the Black community. This is a story of Starr regaining the power of self and through her growth, everyone who reads or watches The Hate U Give can learn a valuable lesson.

 

Link to “Williamson Starr” movie Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONQT4WT44YE

 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5580266/

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32075671-the-hate-u-give