The movie (and book) Hidden Figures came out in 2016 and is set in the early 1960’s follows the stories of three female African-American women working at NASA in the heart of the Space Race. The Space Race was the United States and the Soviet Union battling to make key discoveries about what was beyond our earth and sending people into space. The three women, Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson are brilliant and powerful women who end up making key discoveries within the predominantly white, male workplace. These women never took no for an answer and were able to show that they deserved just as good treatment as any other employee. They ended up excelling more than the other people in their respective divisions and were finally recognized in the end of the film for their intelligence, hard work, and dedication.

In this movie, the power that is addressed is toward men being superior to woman as well as white people having power over people of color (specifically black people in this film). I think that this dynamic in the film showed that all people regardless of sex or gender can excel in the STEM field and they have just as much brilliance and stature. The One in this example was the white people who oppressed these strong women who were seen as the Other. The movie shows that these people can do anything and can accomplish so many amazing inventions and innovations when they get the opportunity to excel. The big picture here is that people need be accepting of all people to be able to accomplish the most. There is no place for discrimination in the workplace, especially concerning something so important as NASA.

I think that the author of the book and then the director of the film wanted to make the viewer question the importance of race and gender and realize that being smart is something that goes beyond both of those things. The movie is uplifting which shows that the viewer is supposed to feel empowered and strong. I think that while this movie is appealing to any demographic of viewer, the target audience I believe is younger girls who can look up to these powerful women and aspire to be like them and fight all barriers including sex and race. I think that it inspires conversation about identity, power, and injustice because while this is a historical movie depicting real events, it is also entertaining which is a very important aspect of media today that sparks conversation and sticks with people.

When sitting down to watch a nostalgic movie, I always turn to Disney. In many cases, Disney does a great job illustrating different cultures and identifying struggles with power within the characters. One of the most impactful illustrations of a power struggle within different groups is in the movie Mulan. Mulan tells the story of a young girl in China that goes to war in place of her father. Women during that time were not allowed to fight in the war, so in dire desperation to save her father, Mulan dresses as a man and goes to war. Mulan was very successful in her attempt and even saves the Emperor from the Huns. This was the ultimate display of how women are wrongfully “Othered” by groups in certain situations.

Within the movie, it is a running theme that women are supposed to look and act a certain way to please men and if they don’t meet these standards, they will not bring honor to their family. Women during this time were “Othered” since they were expected to do everything for the One, which is men. In Mulan’s case, she didn’t meet the standards so she tries to find herself by fighting in the war, which was frowned upon by both women and men in society. She ended up outshining the other men and was trusted by General Li Shang. After they found out that she is a woman, she was no longer allowed to fight and did not receive the same respect. She even said to General Li Shang, “You said you’d trust Ping. Why is Mulan any different?”. This is a perfect example of the impact “Othering” has on women in particular. Women are more often than not viewed as Other which restricts their involvement in certain activities and the respect women receive compared to men. Throughout the movie, male characters would say that Mulan wasn’t worth anything because she is a woman, but when she was a man she gained a lot of respect due to her fighting abilities. This shows how women are perceived differently just because of their gender. Mulan proves that women are just as capable of being smart and strong fighters. Due to Mulan’s overall message, it has become my go-to movie when I need inspiration. It shows that women can do anything they put their minds to, even in the presence of adversity and “Othering”. What impact do you think Mulan had on young girls compared to other Disney Princess movies? After watching, do you believe “Othering” was portrayed in an effective way compared to some of the texts we have viewed in the course? For a mainstream movie, was it a risk for Disney to tell the story of “Othering” from a woman’s perspective (might lose male viewers)?

The 1997 film, Titanic, is one of the greatest romance/drama movies filmed to this day. After the movie was released it made a total of $2.195 billion. The movie is based off of a true historical event, but with a fictional storyline to go along with it. The actual Titainic wreck happened in 1912. Director, James Cameron, grew up having a fascination with ship wrecks, specifically the Titanic. Therefore, Cameron wanted to create a movie based on the disaster, but wanted to incorporate a love story in order to capture an audience. The film is about two people, Jack and Rose, from different social classes finding themselves to each be falling in love with the other person while aboard the ship, Titanic.

The luxurious Titanic was divided by social class. Rose was a teen girl from a wealthy family who was in first class on the ship. However, Jack won third class tickets in a game of poker right before the ship departed from shore. Throughout the movie, we see the differences in how each class is treated. First class were given better treatment from the staff, given better rooms, had higher quality food services, etc. First and third classes were rarely seen talking to one another. So, when Rose starts falling in love with the poor man Jack, her parents are quick to judgements about the relationship. They want their daughter to marry a fellow wealthy first class man instead. As being apart of first class, they look down on people within third class. They view them as worthless individuals. This however doesn’t stop the two from falling madly in love with one another.

These differences in first and third class can easily be related to the One and Other concept that we have previously learned in this course. The One would be the people in first class, whereas the Other would be the people in third class. When Rose’s wealthy fiancé finds out about Jack and her’s relationship, he has Jack locked away. This specific scene really shows the power a first class individual can have over a third class individual. If it were to be the other way around, they probably would not have locked up the first class person.

The film ends with the Titanic hitting an iceberg and beginning to sink. As the ship beings to sink, everybody panics and rushes to the main deck in order to get a spot on one of the few safety boats. However, there is not enough room for every passenger to get a spot on these safety boats. As a result, they prioritized the first class individuals before the third class, specifically women and children though. If you were in first class you were more likely to get a spot than if you were in third class. Although this is a fictional movie, it shows some of the important details on how socioeconomic classes differ from one another and how. These treatments are still seen in today’s society.

In the early 1900s, Germany colonized a country in southern Africa, which is now known as Namibia, resulting in the genocide of the Herero and Nama peoples. In the podcast, Tim Whewell with BBC travels to Namibia to see the effects of colonialism. Namibia currently wants reparation, primarily in the form of land since German descendants from the colonizers currently occupy enormous amounts of land.

Whewell travels with a citizen of Namibia who is striving to make a deal with the Germans. The pair first visit a German landowner who is completely closed off to the idea of any reparation. He does not even believe that the Germans committed genocide, despite documentations of hangings, concentration camps, and cruel conditions. The pair then visits another German landowner. This landowner does believe that the Germans committed cruel acts and that Germany should apologize but still is unwilling to give over portions of his land to the Namibian people. Currently, the Namibian government is trying to work with the Germans to make reparations, but people have little faith in the government because it is corrupt.

I think the podcast resembles two different works that we covered this semester: Things Fall Apart and Persepolis. In Things Fall Apart, the British colonizing the African communities is very similar to the colonization of Namibia by Germany. Two powerhouse European countries exploited African countries that are not as powerful. They showed little regard to the countries while accomplishing their goal of spreading their colonial rule. The story depicted in the podcast reminds me of Persepolis because mistrust for the government exists in both. In Persepolis after the Islamic Revolution, Marji’s family and many other Iranian citizens did not agree with the government’s stances and were fearful of their motives and actions. This fear is present in the citizens of Namibia, as they do not trust that the government will handle the dispute between the Germans appropriately.

Through the production of this podcast, I think that Whewell is attempting to shed some light on how horrific colonization was and how its effects last even over a century later. I think he also attempts to show how complicated it is for these countries to come to a compromise many years later.   

Author Diana Gabaldon published her first installment of the successful historical fiction series Outlander, on June 1, 1991. She has penned an additional seven novels with promises of two more to complete the series.  The success of these novels led to the production of the award-winning Starz show, also named Outlander, in 2014. The series follows Claire Fraser, a WWII combat field surgeon, who mistakenly travels back in time to the Scottish Highlands in 1745, where she meets the dashing and seditious Jamie Fraser; a high ranking member of Clan Mackenzie and Clan Fraser, who helps protect her from corrupt British officers and her “dangerous” contemporary thinking.  Outlander not only presents this emotional love story, but also presents it audience with Scottish history and other crisis of conscious that plagued the time period.

In the episode, “Do No Harm,” Claire and Jamie travel to his Aunt Jocasta’s North Carolina plantation for a visit. Jocasta suffers from glaucoma and has been rendered blind from the disease. Shortly after their arrival, Jocasta announces that she will be willing her property and estate to her nephew, Jamie.  While they both agree that it was very generous on Jocasta’s part to leave them the plantation, Claire cannot accept owning slaves.  Jamie is also extremely forward thinking, and having been a prisoner and a tortured slave, also conveys that he has no desire to “own any man.” Suddenly, a messenger appears with urgent news that one of Jocasta’s slaves has struck a white man.  Claire and Jamie ride down to the lower part of the property to find that the superficially injured white man has impaled a young slave named Rufus in the abdomen with a meat hook and is suspending in over a tree branch. Claire’s disdain is very apparent as she orders the white man to lower Rufus and quickly takes him back to the mansion to operate, while simultaneously refusing to tend to the white man who just has a small cut on his ear and will make a full recovery.  She successfully removed the hook from Rufus’ abdominal cavity but then an angry mob starts to gather outside of the home, insisting that if Rufus is not turned over to the group by midnight, they will enter the home, take Rufus, and burn Jocasta’s property to the ground. The mob is adamant that Rufus pay for his crimes by hanging. Jamie and Claire come to the realization that regardless of their feelings about the treatment of Rufus, that he is going to die. They decide instead of him suffering more than he already has, they will give him poison that will help him succumb peacefully into death.  Claire administers the medicine telling Rufus it will help him sleep and the deed is done. Jamie takes the boy’s body to the mob to prove he has died, and they still tie his body and drag him behind wagons and lynch in him front of the property.

This episode conveys a very powerful message that we have explored in this class all semester. The discrimination and mistreatment of people of color and “the other,” is woven into the very fabric and foundation of our country and society.

Hi everyone! I am writing my text review assignment on the Hulu teen drama series: Love, Victor. The series is a spin-off of Love, Simon, which told the story of Simon Spier’s feats with his sexual identity as a gay individual. Similarly, the main character in Love, Victor, Victor Salazar, faces many obstacles during his teenage years. In season one, Victor moves from Texas to Atlanta and is the new face in Creekwood High School. As he starts high school, he faces injustices as a half Puerto Rican and half Columbian-American in a predominantly Caucasian school and is bullied by his basketball teammates for his socioeconomic/ “poor” status. On top of that, Victor struggles with his sexual orientation and personal identity and lacks support from his “traditional” family.

Throughout the season, Victor remains conflicted between his two love interests, Mia, who is a straight female, and Benji, who is openly gay. Early in the season, Victor is dating Mia, yet is easily distracted by Benji at work in the coffee shop. At this point, Victor is very uncertain of his gender identity and sexual orientation. In the following episode, Victor flirts and sneaks a kiss with Benji at his 16^th birthday party. To his surprise, his traditional grandparents witnessed the kiss and are appalled, which causes even more turmoil amongst his separated parents and broken family. Many instances test Victor’s identity and orientation, such as failed intimacy with Mia and his growing crush on Benji. Due to Simon Spier’s support (from Love, Simon), Victor gains confidence to identify himself as gay/ homosexual and comes out to his parents, Mia, and Benji.

One can compare Victor’s character to “other” in society. As we have read in Hegel’s and de Beauvoir’s works, the idea of otherness marginalizes groups based off of traditional identities. Victor’s gay identity and sexual orientation are considered untraditional to his family and he is demeaned for his personal beliefs.

The film director, Amy York Rubin, wants the viewer to understand the universal message of authenticity and acceptance within Love, Victor. As we know, many individuals belonging to the LGBTQ community face daily injustices and conflicts amongst their families, within society, and in personal feats. With this being said, Rubin is aware of otherness and injustices regarding identity and makes it the reoccurring theme throughout season one. Rubin inspires a conversation around love and being authentic to yourself, regardless of “other” labels and societal identities. Although Victor struggles in season one with his relationships and identity, he learns in season two that there’s a life beyond high school and his family, which he slowly blossoms into his true identity.

Victor and Benji

Series Poster for Love, Victor

Here is the link to the first season on Hulu:

https://www.hulu.com/series/love-victor-3cb4c446-d459-41a2-97d2-2ea9ed164ab7

Works Cited:

Gawley‍ Paige. “’Love, Victor’: 7 Inspiring Life Lessons We Learned From Simon.” Entertainment Tonight, Entertainment Tonight, 20 June 2020, www.etonline.com/love-victor-7-inspiring-life-lessons-we-learned-from-simon-148167.

Lennon, Mads. “When Is Love, Victor Season 2 Going to Premiere on Hulu?” Show Snob, FanSided, 26 Feb. 2021, showsnob.com/2021/02/26/love-victor-season-2-premiere-hulu-june/.

“Love, Victor.” IMDb, IMDb.com, 17 June 2020, www.imdb.com/title/tt10166602/.

El Norte (1983), or The North, follows the story of two indigenous Mayan siblings looking for a new life in the United States after ethnic and political persecution brought on by the Guatemalan Civil War decimates their home. Terrible working conditions for the native people under the strict control of governing bodies forces the village to attempt to organize. The Guatemalan army murders the people involved in a secret meeting which includes Arturo Xuncax. In the following hours, his wife Lupe is arrested, and their teenage children Enrique and Rosa are determined to escape their impending death by the army by illegally crossing the US-Mexico border.

Film poster for “El Norte”

The film portrays a fictional, yet very true, perspective that most people cannot see. The struggles and motives of immigration as seen in works like El Norte and The Leavers by Lisa Ko are hard to come by. El Norte visualizes racism and classism in Latin America and the United States. For example, Enrique and Rosa experience “Othering” long before leaving their village. The native people of Guatemala are called “Indians” derogatorily and are forced to work on farms under the control of harsh foremen. The two siblings must overcome racism in their home and subsequent journey through Mexico. They encounter unsavory characters in Tijuana who try to rob them and kill them. However, they eventually manage to cross the border into California. Their encounter with Othering increases exponentially after their first look at the lights and cars of San Diego.

In Los Angeles, their worth as humans is measured by their skin, work skills, work ethic, and ability to speak English. They work hard to learn a new language, run from immigration officials, work for pennies, and compete for work. Their identities as native Guatemalans is less than that of the Mexican immigrant or the Mexican-American (Chicano). Rosa and Enrique begin to learn that the American Dream is harder on their lives and physical body than they were told. They do not belong in their home village, poverty-stricken Mexico, or the United States. Without a social security number or a “green card,” Rosa is denied medical care for Typhoid she developed by the sewers they used to cross the border. Her illness inhibits Enrique from taking a job in Chicago that offers the opportunity to gain residency and eventually citizenship.

El Norte helps those on the other end of the conversation on immigration understand the motives and lives of those who illegally immigrate. Immigration systems, systemic racism, classism, and many other factors plague the lives of many in various regions. Immigrants make the journey to the USA to escape these factors. However, these same issues are heightened once they arrive. The interactions in the film prompt the audience to question the reasons behind immigration and if they themselves are contributing to these harsh realities. Are you the patron of the restaurant in which Enrique must run from immigration? Are you the consumer who wears clothes from the sweatshop that Rosa makes 30 cents per garment? El Norte helps us question how power, identity, and injustice function throughout the world in ways that contribute to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s idea and danger of a “single story.”

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is a novel about the friendship of two Afghan boys and the lifelong implications it has because of their social and ethnic differences. The book as a whole is riveting, and I found myself engaged throughout its entirety. Taking place in Kabul, Afghanistan, the story is told from the perspective of Amir, who is the son of Baba. Baba has two servants that work at his home compound, Ali and his son Hassan who are of the ethnic minority group known as the Hazaras. Amir and Hassan form a good friendship, despite their differences, and spend lots of time playing together as well as flying kites. Their friendship takes many turns as Hassan is persecuted for being Hazara. Amir must make many tough decisions when it comes to Hassan. His peers assault Hassan and are not too kind to Amir because he is close with a Hazara. At the end of the day, Hassan is always looking out for Amir, but not always the other way around. The second half of the book sees Amir take action to try and right his wrong doing of Hassan which still haunts him. 

This book displays both injustice due to ethnicity as well as power dynamics. There are instances in the novel where Ali and Hassan, being Hazara servants, have little to no choice because the system is set up for them to be second class citizens without power. Not only do Ali and Hassan have little power and say in what they can do because of their servitude status, but because they are an ethnic minority. Throughout the story it becomes very evident that the Hazara are the Other in Afghanistan. The forms of injustice they are a victim to brings intersectionality into the picture. Because Ali and Hassan are servants and Hazaras, the things they experience are a result of those two aspects combined.

Overall, The Kite Runner is a phenomenal story that takes social injustice into account while telling the story of two friends and the lengths they go to for each other. I thought that the author did an excellent job giving the reader a feel for the differences between Hassan and Amir while still maintaining the fact that they were childhood friends. Although the book is roughly 375 pages long, I did feel like Hosseini could have dove deeper into the systemic injustice that was occurring outside of just Ali and Hassan’s experiences. There is also a film of this story which is also a good watch. Ultimately, this novel is a great read for anyone who is interested in a friendship story that does well at highlighting discrimination that occurs in Afghanistan.