Author: mehling.33

Text review assignment- Green Book

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The movie I chose to write about is Green Book starring Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali. This movie is set in1962 and follows a black professional pianist. During this time it is dangerous for black men and women due to racism and segregation. Due to this the professional piano player hires a white man to drive him around and protect him. This is interesting because during this time white men usually had black men working for them because black people were suppressed and treated unjustly. During their time on the road these men bond and learn about the hardships in each other’s lives which gives viewers an interesting insight that has not been seen before in other media. It also highlights that even when people are wealthy, the color of their skin will hold them back because of racist people and injustices. For example one scene in the movie the professional player cannot eat dinner in the hotel that he is supposed to play at because they do not let black men and women eat in their restaurant. This infuriates his white friend but he is not as phased as one should be because he is used to this treatment and expects it. This insight into the injustices faced by black people during this time is told in a very unique way and touches the hearts of all viewers.

I believe that this movie has many important themes, but the main one is that friendship can form between anyone if people forget about what makes them different and focuses on how they are similar. This is what the two main characters due and this causes the separation of them to go away. Eventually leading to the ending of the movie where the black piano player attends Christmas at his white drivers house.

Diary of Systemic Injustices: black families in predominantly white neighborhoods

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For my showcase of systemic injustices I will be expanding on the injustices faced by black families in predominantly white neighborhoods. Systemic injustice is deeply ingrained racist thinking and actions embedded in the core foundations of American society that have persisted and continue today. My hometown is majority white families with a single black family. No one in the neighborhood looks down upon this family but it is strange to see how people from neighboring towns “act” around them when they come to visit for sports games or other events. This really shows how people’s idea of wealthy neighborhoods have a picture of white families and a black family does not fall into their schema of how these neighborhoods should look. This relates to the topic of De Beauvoir’s theory of the self and the other because the black family in my neighborhood is viewed as the other to the people that come visit for sports games and other events.

Classifying people into different wealth groups and assuming the neighborhood they live in based on the color of their skin is an example of systemic injustice that needs to be stopped. This is also prominent in the media today in shows such as ‘All American’. “In telling stories of the Black youth experience in America, All American balances the good and the bad. ‘It’s the Black boy joy and then the slap back to reality when they have a run-in with a police officer'” ( https://ew.com/tv/all-american-black-youth-in-america/ ). In a scene the main characters Jordan and Spencer, two black young men, get stopped by the police when eating ice cream for being in a white neighborhood. In reality they both live in this neighborhood which emphasizes the issues being faced by young black people in the world. The movement Black Lives Matter is also emphasized in this show to get more much deserved support for this movement.

The categories of identity that are in play in this example are race, and socioeconomic status. To change this issue, first people would need to start educating themselves and those around them on statistics about the present day that black families and white families can be equally as wealthy. People’s deep rooted views of the past need to be altered. When I did more research on why wealthy areas are thought to be white areas a surprising article came up. In a study by Elizabeth Delmelle she looked into nine distinct types of neighborhoods that form the modern metropolis. These nine types included: “1. Wealthy, white, educated, 2. Newer single-family homes, largely white, high socioeconomic status, 3. White and Asian, multiunit housing, educated, recent in-movers, high-home values, 4. Older homes, white, some Hispanic, blue-collar workers, 5. Hispanic and black, higher poverty, deteriorating, older, single-family homes, 6. Black, high poverty, vacant homes, 7. Hispanic and foreign born, high poverty, single-family homes, 8. Mixed race, average socioeconomic status, renters, 9. Asian, foreign born, multi unit homes, high poverty, recent in-movers” (Florida, 2019). All the white neighborhoods are considered educated and wealthy, while the black neighborhoods all revolve around poverty. It is because of this that many people have a hard time picturing black families in wealthy neighborhoods.

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-19/once-distinct-by-race-and-class-cities-are-fragmenting

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/03/19/upshot/race-class-white-and-black-men.html 

 

 

 

 

Context Presentation: Persepolis

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Marjane Satrapi’s story “Persepolis” provides readers with insight into Marjane’s life while living through the Isalmic revolution.

In the introduction of “Persepolis” Satrapi explains why it is so important she shares this story with the world. As an Iranian who has lived more than half of her life in Iran she does not “…want those Iranians who lost their lives in prisons defending freedom, who died in the war against Iraq, who suffered under various repressive regimes, or who were forced to leave their families and flee their homeland to be forgotten.”  

Women in Iran began agitating for increased rights in the late 19th Century. But the advent of Ayatollah Khomeini and his conservative revolution in 1979 caused a drastic reverse in the progress of Iranian women. Yet their dedication to full equality has remained high.  

The Isalmic revolution started in 1979, and only a year later in 1980, when Marjane was only ten years old her and her fellow female classmates had to wear veils in school. Young girls hated this; they did not understand why they had to do this. This sparked the beginning of protests for freedom.  

Before the revolution women had the right to be educated and had the  chance to make choices, such as if they wanted to wear a hijab or not. 

Her mother attended protests and her photograph was published in many European newspapers. Although Marjane was proud of her mother, this photo scared her mother and caused her to dye her hair and hide her true identity. Women in Iran began agitating for increased rights in the late 19th Century.  But the advent of Ayatollah Khomeini and his conservative revolution in 1979 caused a drastic reverse in the progress of Iranian women. Yet their dedication to full equality has remained high.  

Marjane Satrapi always was  hopeful for a positive future even with all the death and protests she had witnessed as a young girl. This makes me wonder how we can learn by her example and stay positive with everything that is going on in our world today?

 

References:

 

https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/reconstructed-lives-women-and-irans-islamic-revolution 

 

https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2014/2/11/iran-1979-the-islamic-revolution-that-shook-the-world