oppressionandidentitystudie-blog

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The Hunger Games-- Katniss, an icon of female strength or weakness?

For our last week’s segment, I have chosen the film/series Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

The series focuses on themes such as: racial and socioeconomic inequality, woman strength (gender inequality), and utopian/dystopian societies.

What are you opinions on some of the themes portrayed in the series?

Do you think that Katniss is a female icon? How do you think Katniss influenced females of this generation?

How do you think racial and socioeconomic themes played a role in the series such as the different districts, the segregated districts (either by race, occupation, money, etc.)?

Here is an interesting recap of the movie and how it possible relates to “V for Vendetta”, another film we looked at this semester: http://alzahmi03.blogspot.com/2013/04/analyzing-utopian-society.html

Do you think that the Hunger Games is similar to V for Vendetta?

-Amy ☺

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     During this discussion, our group will delve into the film “Contact” based on the novel by Carl Sagan. Sagan is renowned in the world of astrophysics and ventured into literature, thusly creating this depthy work that pursues a possible future in which we are reached out to by other beings within our universe. The novel, and movie, is told from the perspective of Dr. Eleanor Arroway, and how her monumental discovery and research lead to mankind’s first contact with extraterrestrial life. The greatest thing holding back Dr. Arroway within the film is her gender and her open denial that God exists. While the credit of the discovery is something Dr. Arroway herself possesses, others try to discredit her work on the basis of discrimination. 

     I believe that this reveals a hidden discrimination in our society. The fact that people, and the government, do not want Dr. Arroway to meet the aliens simply because she doesn't believe in God is a ridiculous notion. Cultures around the world worship many different gods, and are based in entirely different beliefs. To deny Dr. Arroway the fruits of her labor due to her not supporting the monotheistic views of most Americans is a major act of discrimination. I believe that this film shows a flaw in our political system. In a world where there is meant to be a separation of church and state,  individuals should not have to swear on a bible in court, nor should someone’s lack of religious beliefs be detrimental to them. 

     There are cases (http://millercenter.org/debates/religion/supreme-court) in which religion plays a major role. In some cases individuals have been denied rights simply due to different religious beliefs. With a “jury of your peers” one will find that a large percentage of jurors are of christian faith simply due to the percentage of Christianity in the United States. 

Is this truly a judgement free jury of your peers if religious differences could be used against you in court? 

These are the issues I would like to discuss in conjunction with “Contact”.

-Trenton

[oppressionandidentitystudie-blog]

V for Vendetta - Femininity as State of Dependence or Independence?

This week we are looking at V for Vendetta. This movie centers around the growth and fight of the main female character, Evey, and the leader of the anti-racism, anti-homophobic, and anti-sexism movement leader V. In this film, we also see gender vulnerability of feminism.

Here are two reviews that I really like: http://www.heroinecontent.net/archives/2006/07/v_for_vendetta_1.html

http://genderlitutopiadystopia.wikia.com/wiki/V_for_Vendetta:_Femininity_as_a_State_of_Dependence

Do you think this film truly present independence feminism or it is another film that falls into dependent feminism stereotypes?

[oppressionandidentitystudie-blog]

Wonder Woman, a feminist icon?

Read this article on the debate about whether Wonder Woman is a feminist icon:

http://www.geekexchange.com/editorial/wonder-woman-feminist-icon-sex-symbol-or-both/

And the origin story of wonder woman and its convoluted ties with feminism: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/09/22/last-amazon Watch: the two trailers of DC’s new Wonder Woman film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mrT2mqj0t4 Questions: 1. Which side of the debate are you on? Is Wonder Woman a feminist icon or not? 2. Does reading about the creation of Wonder Woman change your opinion on the debate? 3. How do you think Warner Bros. and DC Comics should present Wonder Woman to the audience? Based on her portrayal in Batman v. Superman and the trailers, do you think they are doing a good job?

[oppressionandidentitystudie-blog]

Luke Cage, Racist?

         This week, our focus was on the Netflix and Marvel collaboration Luke Cage. After former convict Carl Lucas was given superhuman strength he decides to go by alter-ego Luke Cage. The show is set in New York’s city Harlem, a historically black community. After the show was released in September 2016, reviews surfaced on how some viewers felt that show was racist because of the “lack of racial diversity”. Viewers stated the watching the show made them feel uncomfortable because the show was “mostly black”. Supporters of the show responded referring to shows that were “mostly white” and how no one thought that those shows were racist.

        Most people are conditioned in a way that white faces are the norm regardless of where the shows or movies takes place. For example, in 2014 the movie Exodus: Gods and Kings is set in Egypt, an African nation, during 1300 BC starring Christian Bale a white male portraying a person of color. However no one felt the need or expressed thoughts explaining the lack of diversity in the film. Just in 2016 the #OscarsSoWhite was a trending topic attempting to shed light on the lack of diversity in Hollywood. When the diversity was a lack of people of color being portrayed and nominated for roles; no one felt that, that it was an issue. 

      Luke Cage is simply an accurate depiction of the city of Harlem, New York a predominantly black community. Many of the people who would say “why does Luke Cage lack diversity?” would never find themselves in a ghetto like Harlem. 

           After watching a few episodes of Luke Cage and reading the article written by Complex, what are your opinions on viewers feeling that the show is racist? Do you agree or disagree with the critics?

-Amy

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Amy Response to Cloud Atlas

I agree that it was nice to see a woman of color play such a strong role when now roles that were meant to be played by people of color are now played by white actors. The connection to “yellow face” is something that can be frustrating to watch by someone like myself who enjoys watching movies and thinking of the realistic abilities and a person of color. I think with Hollywood’s decision to whitewash roles, it gives the message that people of color are not even qualified enough for roles meant for them. Now with people more aware than ever before, Hollywood still casts white actors for cultural roles. Asian characters is one of the most roles that I’ve seen portrayed by white actors followed by Black characters.  Emma Stone was written as an Asian woman for her film Aloha, and in Matt Damon’s new movie  he plays a warrior in China before the west settled. The film Exodus: Gods and Kings was set in early Egypt yet all the characters were European. Newer and more forms of entertainment are representing people of color. Televison shows like Fresh Off The Boat and Black-ish are just two shows that portray characters of color in a well-lit role played by the appropriate actors. The characters are not written in negatively (dumb, lazy, fat, poor) and are relatable to people of all races and still tackle the issue of “why roles written for people of color played by white actors”.

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Yusi Response to Cloud Atlas

I enjoyed your discussions about how the science fictions have brought attention to the issue of gender inequality and sexuality discrimination. I like the storyline and things you talked about earlier. However, did the film accurately bring out what the author intended to express? In the film, the film producer uses a white actor for an Asian character. To look more like Asian, or to mater the original character in the book, the white actor did weird eye make-ups, which demonstrated another stereotype that all Asians have the same narrow long eyes. When I saw that fake “yellow face”, I was like “ seriously? How hard would it be to find a Asian actor in Hollywood?” The character of Sonmi, which was meant to criticize the gender discrimination and oversexualization of female, again reinforced every stereotype of Asian women: being submissive and quiet, looking the same, and having no personality. Probably this is a plot that was supposed to criticize racism, but well, the film did not do a good job presenting that. As an Asian, all I saw was a reproduction of Hollywood racial stereotypes. Can’t deny that the book was really good, aiming to present the issues of gender and sexuality inequity. I think the film was nothing but another mass-produced Hollywood movie geared towards mostly white audience.

Using white actors or actresses for Asian characters is not uncommon at all in Hollywood. Here is a link to Michelle Villemaire’s project “correcting yellowface”: http://www.homemademimi.com/get-picture-adventures-correcting-yellowface/

She reproduced some characters that were supposed to play by Asian actresses to resist the Hollywood’s whitewashing tradition (see pictures).

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Chuyun Response to Cloud Atlas

I totally agree with your thoughts on gender and homosexuality in the film. These aspects reflect the reality in contemporary society, in which women and LGBT people are still confronted with prejudice and unequal opportunities in work.

The storyline of Sonmi is also interesting. In New Seoul, Sonmi, as well as other fabricants, are objectified. They are used as slave workers, and are often sexually harassed by male customers. After they are terminated, they are “recycled” to make “soap” which feeds later fabricants. The film does not indicate whether there are male fabricants in that world, but the choice of cloning women to serve tables at restaurants is somewhat reminiscent of reality. Waiting tables seems to be a gendered field of work, and there are places such as Hooters, where women are hired because of their sexual appeal to male customers.

One thing I really like about this film is how it foregrounds people from marginalized groups and makes them the heroes. Homosexuals, women of color, ex-slaves and old people accomplish noteworthy deeds. The homosexual lovers, Frobisher and Sixsmith, are pivotal figures in the stories. Kupaka, the slave, seeks help from Ewing and finds his way to freedom, and ultimately saves Ewing’s life. The cowardly Cavendish escapes the confines of the nursing home with other old people deserted by their family, and accidentally inspires Sonmi. Sonmi, after being rescued by Chang, volunteers to broadcast the ideals of freedom to the world, and faces death with calmness. Luisa Rey is the brave and intelligent journalist who saves herself from a drowned car and stops the scheme of Lloyd Hooks, with the help of another African American man. Meronym, the prescient woman, ventures into the world of Native people and saves her people from extinction. Both women, played by Halle Berry, an African American actor, are representative of strong and smart women who are not dominated by male characters. We rarely see such portrayals of women, let alone women of color, in mainstream Hollywood science fiction films, which tend to cast white men as protagonists who save the day with their bravery and/or wisdom.

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Issues of gender and sexuality inequality are prevalent in society. Entire groups of people are oppressed due to inherent characteristics without due reason. In works of science fiction this unjust representation of populations is often expressed and/or challenged. One novel of critical acclaim by author David Mitchell is Cloud Atlas, whose movie adaptation came out in 2012. Within the novel the story follows souls being reborn again and again throughout the ages as they face the injustices of their time. Some of the issues presented are those of gender and sexuality.

        Within the novel Luisa Rey, an investigative journalist, is faced not only with endangering circumstances due to her career, but also to sexual discrimination. One such example is in her questioning of a man in charge of Hydra, the antagonist of her storyline, Lloyd Hooks. During their interview Hooks says that he would be much more interested in politics if all reporters looked as good as Luisa did. Rather than seeing the efforts of her work and the dedication it must have taken to get where she was, Hooks ignores everything except for her beauty as a female, almost as if this is the reason that she made it to where she was. This isn’t the first time that her looks had an effect on her work either as with the scene with Rufus Sixsmith in which we see Luisa running to an elevator to get away from a man she was investigating who was hitting on her. This oversexualization presented within this science fiction novel exemplifies that of the real world. Women everywhere find that the fruits of their labor are often overlooked and can be summed up to their looks. This injustice against an entire gender is still a major issue in the world today, regardless of the efforts of feminists and allies the world over.

        Another storyline within Cloud Atlas delves into the story of a homosexual couple in the 1930’s. The relationship between Rupert Sixsmith and Robert Frobisher is seen as heinous by people at the time, so much so that they are kicked out of a hotel and Robert is forced to flee. This act of “sodomy” according to those at the time was a crime great enough to make both disreputable towards society. The sexuality of Frobisher even leads to his father disowning him, and plagues his work in writing the “Cloud Atlas Sextet”. This storyline was meant to show the inequality towards those of different sexual orientations present within modern society as well as to discredit the idea that a gay relationship has no deeper value or connection. It is apparent to all viewers of the film that two men, or in any case all homosexual couples, are capable of all human emotions and connections witnessed in heterosexual pairings. The negative societal views of homosexual relationships are still present in society even though there have been momentous jumps in human rights around the world. Even in advanced societies with stronger human rights there are still injustices experienced by these oppressed groups and there is less legal protection and rights than that of heterosexual couples. In other areas of the world homosexuality is still illegal to the point of imprisonment and gays are still beaten and/or killed in other areas of the world. The issues presented here are still as prevalent as ever.  

        Works of science fiction often present social issues in society at the time, or in the past. There are cases where aspects of culture are found in works without intentionally putting them there simply due to the fact that society has a significant impact on ideas and beliefs. There are authors, however, who use their works to highlight these inequalities intentionally, to show injustices at a heightened level so as to bring attention to underlying societal issues. David Mitchell used his award winning work Cloud Atlas to exemplify inequalities of gender and sexual orientation present in the world today through stories of the past. Regardless of who accepts this message or not, it is still presented to a large audience and there is the possibility that any viewer, especially younger viewers who are more malleable in beliefs, may use the message of such a work to see and correct these social injustices. The most effective way to get rid of inequalities in society, after all, is for people’s opinions to change.

-Trenton