In the movie “Green Book,” Tony is an Italian-American living in a lower-class neighborhood in New York. Like most whites at the time, Tony and his relatives also discriminated against blacks.But Tony is actually a passionate person who dares to love and hate. He will be addicted to Dr. Shirley’s performance, and be able to rescue Dr. Shirley who was illegally arrested.
On a rainy night, Tony and Dr. Shirley were stopped by a white policeman on the road. The police caused them trouble because Dr. Shirley was black. Without leaving the normal life, it is difficult for people to experience another life, and it is also difficult for people to communicate with others with sadness and happiness. If Tony had always lived in a neighborhood in the Bronx, New York, he would indeed “know who he was,” and he might have always thought he was a non-discriminatory white man. But he will never encounter police officers who discriminate against his Italian descent and classify him as half-black, nor will he encounter the pain of Dr. Shirley as a minority. It was just that on the rainy night facing discrimination, Tony was no longer white, and survived discrimination and bullying. From that moment on, he realized his prejudice against blacks, and Dr. Shirley’s heart was real. Only from then can they be seen as a community, and Tony can understand Dr. Shirley’s confusion and pain.
The “Green Book” may try to tell us: the ancestral culture was passed down silently. It is these cultures that make us become us. Only when facing scars and pain, understanding and accepting it, can you clearly understand your true and complete self and reach a reconciliation with your own life and destiny. No matter where you are, no matter what your skin color, everyone can experience the differences and pain caused by history, understand each other, really sit together and enjoy a piece of equal fried chicken.
Through this movie, we can see that black pianists in the upper class and white people struggling with food are discriminated against. Both types have identity confusion and life troubles. Their identity reflects not only the issue of skin color and race but also the issue of society as a whole. This reminds me of the concept from class, “the others”. The essence of this movie is that he realized from a deeper point that Tony and Shirley belonged to “others” in society at the time. Tony is white but he is impoverished and has half Italian ancestry. He is at the bottom of society; Shirley is a top musician who can play in the White House, but because of his skin color, he has to be bullied by others everywhere in his life. Perhaps we also subconsciously have a prejudice against different skin colors or different behaviors in our lives. But I hope people will have some new insights after watching this movie: it is the same planet we are living on, there is no need to discriminate against other people. There should be no “Others” among us.