Over the last decade, the prejudices displayed by law enforcement towards African Americans have caused a great deal of pain and suffering towards people of this community. Earlier this week, Derek Chauvin was held accountable for killing George Floyd. For the first time in Minnesota history, a white police officer was charged for killing someone of color. It is a shame that the verdict left many surprised. This nefariousness played out by the police system has been mentioned frequently in music. For this assignment, I will be deconstructing one of my favorite albums, Cilvia Demo by Isaiah Rashad. Cilvia Demo is a loose concept album that, according to Rashad, sums up his emotional struggle from his teenage to adolescent years. The project is characterized by its personal themes such as substance abuse, fatherhood, coming of age, and police brutality. The foundation of the project revolves around the crookedness the system has constructed within the African American community, and the implications of being black in the 20^th century. The third song off the album, “R.I.P. Kevin Miller” mentions that the police are hunting people of color. Relations between the African American community and law enforcement are extremely tense, and the issue has become more publicized than ever before. By the time this song was released, the world had already witnessed the infamous deaths of Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, and other unarmed African Americans. The next track, “Ronnie Drake”, describes the dodging of ongoing policies that everyone in Rashad’s community is targeted by. Constant police surveillance makes it difficult to go about day-to-day life as a black individual judged from stereotypical perspectives and bias. As we wrap up the semester, a common theme that I gravitated towards is how systems of power are intertwined with individual identities and experiences. The purpose of Cilvia Demo is to paint the picture of young man struggling to find peace within a racially discriminated community. The idea of the underrepresented “Other” can be drawn as a theme throughout the album as well, as voicelessness is extremely apparent in communities that face discrimination. Cilvia Demo will go down as one of my favorite works of music throughout my lifetime due to the impact it has left on the music industry and society.

The film Hidden Figures is set in the 1960’s during which racial segregation was still heavily in place. People of different races did not mingle, did not share the same spaces, and were seen as having very different lives. Within the film, these rules start to bend, starting with three very intelligent Black women working for NASA. While working for NASA, they worked on computing numbers in order to help compete with Russia in putting a man in space. Throughout the film, Catherine, among her two best friends, fight against racial injustice in order to do their jobs effectively and prove they belong. Although the film is heavily related to the topic of racial injustice, there are also many instances of gender inequality and injustice within the film as well. There was a point where Catherine was not allowed in meetings, not only because of her race, but her gender as well.

Hidden Figures displays multiple comparisons to lessons related to the coursework from this class, the main relation is the concept of the One and the Other. There are several different aspects shown in this film regarding this concept, the first could be that the Black characters could be depicted as the ‘Other’ and the white as the ‘One’. Throughout the film, the white characters acted superior to the Black characters and showed hated when they wanted equal opportunities as them. Through the whole film, the white characters were the leaders in charge. Another example of this lesson would be of gender, males would be the ‘One’ as females would be the ‘other’. In the film, it was predominately male characters in the roles of power and when a female wanted to be an engineer, disregarding the fact of her race, they said it wouldn’t be possible because she was a female.

This film raises many questions for me, and I think the creator of Hidden Figures wants you to walk away from the film feeling empowered from this film. I think the creator wants you to reflect on your life and how you live your life much like how our diary of systemic injustices challenge us to look at the world, to make sure you are respecting all humans regardless of race, gender, age, etc. The film makes you wonder how diversity has changed throughout the years and I’m very curious to see how the world will continue to change throughout the years. How do you think the world will be in the next few years in regard to diversity? The next decade?

The novel State of Wonder, by Ann Patchett, is a compelling novel that’ll stir up a lot of questions for readers.  The main character, Marina Singh, is sent to Brazil to investigate the progression of Dr. Swenson’s malaria drug, as well as the death of a coworker.  What Marina finds instead is a confusion of ethics, morality, and humanity that forces her to consider her own positions and ask the readers to do the same.  When Marina makes it into the Amazon, she is shocked to find out that doctor Swenson is not only working on a Malaria drug but is working on a fertility drug that is causing the women of the Lakashi tribe to have children into their seventies. Marina faces struggles with the ethical and moral questions that arise from doing research on native cultures.  These women are poked and prodded daily to help researchers understand this wonder.  Marina recognizes that if they were back in America everything they are doing would be unethical.  Marina’s time with the Lakashi tribe teaches her that sometimes medical interventions should not be used to improve on nature, and that simply because something can be done, doesn’t mean it should be.  

Marina is the daughter of a white mother and an Indian father.  As someone with darker skin living in Minnesota, she is often asked, “Where are you from?”  While in Brazil, a country she has no connection to, she feels more included due to the color of her skin.  Her darker skin enabled her to pass for Brazilian, allowing her to avoid the question, “Where are you from?”  This reminded me of the concept of othering.  Due to Marina’s darker complexion, people see her as being “other” and don’t believe that she is American.

 Later in the book, white tourists confuse Marina as one of the Jinta Indians.  They take photos of her and want her to dance like the other tribe members. After this experience, Marina notices the considerable impact tourism has on the behavior of the tribe, the tribe members cater to the tourist, making trinkets and crafts, and transforming their traditional ceremonial dances into public entertainment.  Rather than having an authentic encounter with another culture, these tourists are given what they want, a spectacle, and a few exotic pictures they can show to their friends back home.  It seems that Marina and Jamaica Kincaid have similar feelings towards tourists.  Kincaid too feels that tourists are ignorant to the lives of natives.  Overall, the novel does a great job at bringing up instances of injustice, causing the reader to evaluate their morals.

In the movie Legally Blonde, we meet a girl by the name of Elle Woods, she is blonde and beautiful, she is also a fashion major and a sorority girl. At the time of her enrolling in college she was dating a guy by the name of Warner, he was pursuing to be a politician and go to Harvard Law School. As Elle and her boyfriend went out to dinner one night, he broke up with her because he believed “she wasn’t serious enough” about the life he wanted in college. Elle later believed she could win her boyfriend back if she pursued a career in law, she earned a 179 on the LSAT and got accepted into Harvard. At the end of the movie, Elle worked on a case, sent the defendant to jail and Warner asked to get back together. After Elle realized her worth and what she could accomplish, she rejected him.

Throughout the whole movie, Elle Woods was overcoming stereotypes made for women trying to pursue careers where it was male dominant. Not only was she criticized due to her looks and blonde hair, but people also just truly didn’t believe she could accomplish high levels of education. Her own father in the movie tried to talk her out of it by saying law school is a place for people who are “boring, ugly and serious.”

I chose this movie not only because it relates to me personally, as I am pursuing a career in law but because this related great with one of our class materials. One of the materials we read in class was “Can the Subaltern Speak?”, we see throughout that reading the author touches on how women will never be on the same level or seen the same next to a man. Whether that is in society or in a work setting, the movie Legally Blonde relates to that reading so well. One of the famous lines of the movie was when Elle ran into her ex-boyfriend in the Harvard school halls and Warner asks if she’s here to see him, she responds, “No I go here,” Warner responds to her with remarks like “You go where?, You got into Harvard Law?”. Elle responds with the famous line, “What? Like it’s hard?”. That scene is a clear representation of how Elle’s ex-boyfriend believed she would never even make it into a school that he got into because she was never on the same level that he was, when in reality she was and broke many stereotypes. This movie is a great example to young women that no matter what someone tells you or how many times you get told you can’t do something, you most certainly can.

The novel by Indian author Aravind Adiga tells the story of the Indian social class system and how Indian society affects the choices one makes. The book takes place during an interesting time as India is one of the fastest growing economies and the novel excellently captures the demographics of a society where the people and infrastructure are rapidly changing. The White Tiger is an exciting read that includes many surprising events which distinguish the plot from existing stereotypes about Indian society.

The story is told from the perspective of a cab driver, Balram, who finds himself working for an Indian-American couple and gets a taste of what life abroad is like. Balram comes to learn that the husband is extremely corrupt and has a number of side deals with several of India’s top politicians. Balram sees his opportunity to leave his former life behind and find success for himself. The novel follows his journey as he starts a taxi company called White Tiger Drivers.

After reading Interpreter of the Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri, I was instantly reminded of this novel. Even though the plot points differ, the context of both the stories are very similar: they both feature an Indian-American couple and an Indian taxi driver and part of the stories are dedicated to illustrating the differences between the two cultures. Both texts also illustrate the concept of ‘othering’. In Interpreter of the Maladies, the taxi driver, Mr.Kapasi’s view tends to be overshadowed by the couple he is working for seemingly because of his social status. Similarly, in The White Tiger, Balram’s point of view is undermined by the people he works for. The novel also extends this to include all people of India’s working class as a group that is overshadowed by the rest of society and the novel aims to reclaim their voice.

Get Out is a 2017 horror/ psychological thriller directed by Jordan Peele. The plot involves Chris Washington an African American photographer who prepares to meet his girlfriend’s family at their house. His girlfriend Rose who is white has been dating Chris for a couple of months and the parents of Rose don’t know that Chris is African American. When Chris meets the parents of Rose, the mother is a psychiatrist and the father is a neurosurgeon. Chris notices the family have black servants in their secluded wooded house.  Chris soon realizes the sinister secrets of the Armitage family. Jordan Peele brings together a film with many twists and turns but hints at many key important messages like race, slavery, and labor.

Symbolism I noticed that the movie connected with the ideas of race. In the beginning of the movie Chris and Rose hit a deer on the way to Roses parents’ house. Chris notices it and feels remorse for it.  When they arrive at Roses parents’ home the parents act different towards the thought of killing of deer’s.  The father mentions the deer’s taking over their land and the only way to stop is to kill them. As we learn later in the film the family doesn’t just hunt animals, but Chris and other African Americans that Rose brings home.

Another symbol was slavery in the film. We know in history that many slaves were sold through auction. There would be bidders deciding which slave to choose for their property. In the film, there is a huge photo of Chris where the crowd bids on Chris. Jordan Peele does this to compare the Armitage family to slave owners. The showing of the past and how its seen in the present in society is depicted in this part of the film.

Spivak’s “Can the subaltern Speak”, is another connection you can take from the film. There were many examples, but one most prominently was Walter and Georgina in the film. They were the laborers to the Armitage family and was a connection to the oppression and inequality of African Americans. They weren’t able to speak for themselves since they were in a trance by the mother controlling them and their actions. This action is connected to many slaves in history who couldn’t speak for themselves and were controlled by slave owners. It was also a motif nod to the upper class choosing lower class individuals. Overall, Jordan Peele the director of Get Out brings many different ideas, symbols, motifs that tell a deeper and darker meaning onto the big screen for viewers to watch.

Many of us are familiar with the popular ‘90s sitcom, Friends. It is a comedy about six White, straight best friends who live in New York and the integration of their lives as they struggle through relationships, jobs, fights, children, and other dramatic experiences. As a fan of the show, I can say it is very funny and entertaining when you need a laugh. However, as you may predict, the show also contains many problematic themes that are hard to miss when examining the show’s content with a critical eye. For the sake of this project, I will focus on just one problematic theme that is evident across the entire show: the transphobia and stigma around trans people. 

There is one main trans person that is featured in the show and that is the father of Chandler (Chandler is one of the six best friends) who has come out as a transwoman. During the entire show, Chandler is mocked by his peers, even his close friends, for having a father that is not a man. He claims that he has been traumatized by the experience of witnessing his father, Helena Handbasket, transition into becoming a woman and instead of receiving proper help or communicating with his father, Chandler uses his experiences for comedic purposes, and his trauma is a running joke. Additionally, when Chandler and his friends are around his father, they act as if she is some type of character, not a person. When they speak about her, they use he/his pronouns at times, and the phrase “gay dad” at other times, completely disregarding her preferred pronouns. 

I would argue that the obvious issue concerning transness in Friends is a direct result of clashing identities between straight men/women and a transwoman. The interactions between the straight best friends and a trans woman was something new to them, and it was difficult for the friends to interact respectfully. During the ‘90s, the straight friends were in a place of privilege and failed to put themselves in the shoes of a trans woman. The overall production of this sitcom always reminds me of Spivak’s concept of the subalterns and the lack of voice subalterns possess. Friends was produced and released during a time in which producers were less educated on transness and representation in pop culture, and while this is no excuse, I feel as though they did not know how to handle this theme. The subalterns in this example are trans people who were left out of the conversation regarding the production of this show. Their exclusion from the discussion is evident considering the transphobia and offensive content in the show. Even the woman portraying Chandler’s father is a ciswoman which further proves how trans people have been positioned as the subalterns. 

From this show’s content, I don’t think the creators were trying to be offensive on purpose, but their lack of education on the topic was surely evident and as a result, their show displayed problematic themes. While the content in Friends doesn’t completely deserve to be celebrated, I think we can examine the sitcom with a critical eye so as to understand how certain time frames and identities shape certain content and how important it is to avoid creating a subaltern group.

Driving Miss Daisy: Movie/Text Review 

The movie Driving Miss Daisy is a movie about an African American man named Hoke Colburn, who drives a wealthy white woman named Daisy Werthan. The story takes place during the time of of the freedom marches of Dr. Martine Luther King Jr. Over the course of the movie we get a glimpse into Hoke Colburn and his longing to be an “educated” and working American in order to be independent. Hoke cannot read or write, but earns his income as being a charismatic and kind taxi driver. Yet, he is stuck with no other way out then driving Miss Daisy for his form of income. During the course of the movie we see Hoke and the way that he is treated in comparison to Miss Daisy and her friends. We also learn on the opposite side of the spectrum that the only reason Miss Daisy can gain her independence as an elderly single woman is through Hoke, which creates an interesting parallel. Although the two unlikely candidates become friends in the end, there are several instances in the movie when Hoke questions why he is treated inferiorly to a white individual.

After watching this movie recently, it made me think back to Spivak’s “Can the Subaltern Speak?” The character Hoke played by Morgan Freeman, had a lot of brilliant ideas and suggestions in certain scenarios but was put down or rejected completely due to his race and the color of his skin. Miss Daisy being from the opposite side of the spectrum, as a wealthy white woman, had the final say in everything (wether it was the right or wrong answer). Further, this shows the systematic injustice of power loss just due to the color of one person’s skin. Just because Hoke was a person of color, Miss Daisy refused to listen to his ideas or give him any sort of power, creating this subaltern position for Hoke.

Even though the movie points toward serious issues Martin Luther King Jr. was protesting against, there were still often scenes in which humor was involved. I think the overall point of the movie was to get the audience to understand where each character was coming from and also show how each individual’s background created the divide between the main character’s of Hoke and Miss Daisy. I also believe the movie wanted project to the audience the feeling of being inferior as a black person to that of a white person, especially during the particular time in history in which the movie took place. All the more it brings to light and makes audiences reflect on how African Americans are being treated in today’s world.