shanai19

[shanai19]

@tpenaherrera @cciara2000 @drlombardi @directorschairtracyc 

Ray-Ban Sunglasses

[shanai19]

@tpenaherrera @cciara2000 @drlombardi @directorschairtracyc 

Ray-Ban Sunglasses

[shanai19]

Still in the Sunking Place

Watching the film Blakkklasman was very empowering, especially at the end it was very eye opening to see that basically nothing had changed. The end made me think of the Black Lives Matter Protest over the summer of 2020, but the film also made me think of the modern day white supremist and the storming of the capital in January of 2021. The film especially made me think about this post I saw on Instagram. The picture shows a cartoon that was meant to display a black woman of three different time periods and says “End This Cycle” a powerful statement. The picture shows that not much has changed just like the film is saying. The post also shows that women were always part of the movement and had a vital role in the movement.

[shanai19]

Get Out of the Klan

So this film kind of feels like Get Out I know it doesn't on the outside, but the inside like when you really try to think about it it kind of has the same wavelength, what I mean by that is the racism. The racism in Blackkklansman to the racism in Get Out just shows that racism just evolved but now just goes by a different name and isn't as vibrant. It's still here. In Blackkklansman it was very apparent It was very crazy to see how out there it was, because I've never experienced racism like that. Also both the main characters were underestimated. In Blackkklansman, Ron Stallworth was “code switching” and was on the phone pretending to be a white man. He even had the grand wizard himself fooled. Whereas in Get Out Chris was underestimated they didn't think that he would escape or even try to escape, but he did and was successful. In both films black people were seen as animals and second class citizens. The language of Blakkklasman played a lot on stereotypes, whereas in Get Out the language around race was white people trying to prove that they weren’t racist.

[shanai19]

BlaKKKlasman

Watching the Blakkklasman was very eye opening. It made me realize how deep racism truly is and the 1970s was not as long ago as it seemed. The movie was pretty historically accurate in the language that the actors used. It was crazy to see how openly racist people were, and it was crazy to see how things were in the 1970s, to actually visualize what actually happened. It was very eye-opening to see these modern day actors and actresses really embody their roles. The film and the way that it dealt with racism at the time was very interesting to see it play out. It's interesting because the language in the harshness of the N word that was used was probably the same way that was said back then. And it was interesting to see how women had a role in all of the film, especially in the white supremacist party, the Kul Klux Klan, because I thought they tended to believe women should not be part of the fight for the white patriarchy. It was also very nice to see a woman in charge of the student organization of SNCC because I didn't even know that could happen and it was so nice to find out that it was Angela Davis. Spike Lee films always force me to think and it was heartbreaking to see the end, when he merged the film with reality showing not much has changed.

[shanai19]

Traffic Stop could lead to death

In the scene after Rose hits the deer and the officer shows up made me uncomfortable. Because I knew there was going to be racial tension. Even though he was not driving the car and did nothing wrong I feared that things would escalate simply because Chris is Black. Chris did everything that young Black men are taught to do when being near cops, stay calm, show your hands, and be respectful. These are things Black children are taught as a young child, I was taught these things as a young Black girl, why because my parents feared what could happen if I moved an inch, I could lose my life. This is the reality for so many. Today nothing has changed. This week a young Black man was killed for having air fresheners in his back windshield. While watching this film I thought about how many traffic stops of young Black men lead to their final breath, sparking the Black Lives Matter Movement. I saw an Instagram post listing all the things all these young Black Men were stopped for that lead to their final moments. It is so hard to read this list, honestly it could have easily been a three minute movie. This list shows the simple things, that are daily things that lead to their final moments. This week three incidents happened concerning young Black Men, one included the final moments of Daunte Wright, video footage released from a traffic stop that lead to an Army Lieutenant being pepper sprayed, and a young Black man being assaulted by a U.S Sergeant for simply walking home. All of these were occurring during the George Floyd trial and Daunte Wright was killed only minutes away from where Floyd took his final breathes. This scene in the movie is reality for so many, and it breaks my heart to say that, that I in the future will have to give the talk that my parents gave to me to my children.

[shanai19]

Get Out The Help

The film Get Out and the film The Help do not appear like they have much in common. But when you look underneath the surface you discover that there is a lot more in common. In the film The Help, the maids were seen as the modern-day Mammy's at the time. While in the film Get Out, Georgina could be seen as the modern- day Mammy because she took care of the family. The both films had a thing about image, in the movie The Help the white families cared about their images. In the film, Hilly cared about her image. She was also the reason why Jolene got an outside bathroom, because she told her most people would not like that she would allow Abilene to use her personal bathrooms. Hilly also did not want Skeeter's book to be traced back to her especially since Mimi told Skeeter Hilly ate her feces, because that would ruin her. While in the film Get Out, they made a point to show how important the image was, for example Rose’s father cared a lot about what Chris thought of the family. He tried to not appear racist by saying things as Obama was his favorite president but he cared he also made a remark that he knows how it looks that the staff is Black. Both films featured the white savior complex.

[shanai19]

Get Out

The movie Get Out is very strange at first, the movie makes you think and connect dots. The film seems almost kind of random at times and also emphasizes the anxiety of the film with the shaking camera. After watching the film through the second time, I realized there's a lot of symbolism, a lot that I just didn't get the first time. The film was released during 2018 during the Black Lives Matter Movement. The film talks a lot about racial tensions that that black communities face is especially in these interracial relationships and the anxieties that come with being in these relationships. The film about talks about this touchy subject and suggest that you can in fact be in an interracial relationship but still be racist. The film had also had a lot of racial microaggressions that Rose’s family would say towards Chris. The create a parallel about gender in relation to how each gender was perceived by white people when it comes to their slaves. When talking about race the film talks about how Black people were treated as animals and how Rose’s family continues to have this theme and narrative towards Black people in modern society. For example when Rose was driving the car, this shows she’s in control, she hits the deer who has a connection to Chris. The deer being killed foreshadows to Chris’s faith, he was the deer. Even after the incident and through the film Chis is seen given a deer in the headlights look as he enters the shrunken place. Rose’s brother even calls Chris an animal and throughs hints that he believes that Chris is an animal because he talks about his strength similarly to how slaves were talked about at slave auctions. The film even talks about how Black people are treated by cops, after the accident the cop was talking to Rose and she was driving but still proceeded to ask for his license even though he was not driving. Chris, used to the scenario, tries to diffuse the situation and acts calm while Rose gets riled up and starts hinting at her white savior complex. Rose also represents the in-between what I mean by that is that she comes across as she was not racist and was the white savior complex but in the end she was no better than the rest of her family

[shanai19]

Films about books that sparked change

The film The Help reminded me of another film that I like, not because the film The Help talks about racism but because the book sparked change. The film Freedom Writers takes place in the 1990s, features a teacher Erin Gruwell who begins to teach in an inner-city school. Her goal was to educate these students who were told they would never be able to read at their grade level and are unworthy having books. She begins to try to open them up and try to educate them. She uses her own money to get them supplies they deserve and even gets them inspired by taking them on trips and bringing a Holocausts survivor to speak with them. She gave them an assignment to write journals and then turn it into a book. She showed them that they are worthy of learning and worthy of a better life for themselves. Through their book they were able to express themselves and let their voices be heard. The film is based on a true story and shows everyone is capable of learning and everyone deserves a chance. Both films show how a book could spark change.

[shanai19]

Gook vs. The Help

The film The Help and the film Gook both have a lot of racial tension in them. They both also shortly talk about brutality towards Black people. In Gook the film talked about the Rodney King riots that were going on at the time in 1992, the film aslo talked about the riots and racial tension between Black people and white people, but also Black people and Asian Americans as well. Whereas in the film The Help a Black man was shot and killed by the KKK, this resulted in Aibileen and the Black man having to leave the bus and find their own way home. Aiblileen was basically running for her life to Minny’s house for safety. The films also do a really good job of portraying these racial tensions between African-Americans and other races. In the movie Gook it is between Asian Americans and Black Americans. In the film The Help the tension is between white Americans and Black Americans. But both films show the inhumanity between all these racial exchanges such as name calling and physical fights, these films show why people are just people of every skin complexion and should be treated with respect. The films even showed the responsibilities of young women in each film. In the film Gook, Kamila felt that she had to stand up for everyone and be the olive branch for change and had to explain why Asian Americans deserve to be treated like humans she carried that weight until she died trying to save Eli and Daniel she was trying to be a hero. In the Help, Skeeter was the hero trying to spread light on these racial tensions and mistreatment of Black people in the South. Minny’s daughter also like Kamila had to take on extra responsibility after Minny lost her job by bringing in extra income by getting a job.

[shanai19]

The Help through new eyes

I have seen the film The Help multiple times before observing it through this newfound perspective gained through this course. The film executes the time period very well but has a white savior complex. Skeeter’s character is always trying to help them, but never took no for an answer, because she saw the book as doing more good than harm even though she would never deal with most of the backlash. But she was also the only character that was actually trying to create change, but the film makes it seem like without her there would be no change. The film has a lot to do with race and racial tensions of the time and especially since it took place in such a small town in Mississippi. The film also mentions the assassination of John F. Kennedy and what's happening with Martin Luther King. The film also talks about class in America, African American women are working to make ends meet on one end of the class system while the upper white class who can afford a maid, treat these poorer Black women inhumanly. The film also shed light on racism in the 1960s through these women especially Hilly who believed Black people were beneath them. The film also talks about a more modern version of a Mammy and having these women be like family and enjoying their jobs but yet show that they're not part of the family. The only character who was “part of the family” was Minny’s character when she worked for Celia, when Celia cooked for her and Minny got to eat at the table, or when Celia would eat with Minny, or even took care of her black eye.

[shanai19]

Stop Asian Hate

When I first saw the film Gook, I really started to think about what's happening in the world today. Xenophobia is on the rise due to coronavirus and people blaming Asian people for Coronavirus. The Stop Asian Hate movement has really opened my eyes to all the hatred that has been going on around me. I didn't realize how much hate was in the world until the summer of 2020. t I didn't realize how much hatred every person of color must face in their daily activities. People have described not being able to leave their homes without sunglasses, a mask, and a hat to hide their facial feature so people don't recognize that they're actually of Asian descent. A lot of social media advocates and influencers have started speaking out about growing up Asian. Which brings me back to things I felt as the kid of growing up Black. Either way both experiences are different, but they carry the same weight .

[shanai19]

Gook vs. Moonlight

Both films Gook and Moonlight take place in rough areas of the United States. Although the films are talking about different time periods, both films talk about the struggles within the Black community. Both Moonlight and Gook talked about the dynamics of their neighborhoods at the time. The films talked about the dynamics of the cities that the outside world would have not known about. For example in Gook there was severe racial tensions between the Asian community and the Black community. While in the film Moonlight there was tension within the Black community concerning the gang violence and drugs, the drug dealer versus the drug addict. Both films also contain violence against the main characters, they were beaten because of who they were. In the film Gook, Eli and Daniel were beaten because they were Asian, while Moonlight Chiron was beaten up because of his sexuality.

[shanai19]

Gook

The film Gook really spoke to the racial tensions that were exhibited in America after Rodney King’s brutal beating. These same tensions are seen today, with coronavirus and the rise of xenophobia, the Stop Asian Hate Movement is making treadway. The film really displayed the tensions between the Asian and the Black community in Los Angeles, after the brutal beating of Rodney King, who was pulled over by the police and was pulled out of his truck and then brutally beaten. This caused a huge outcry by the Black community which was followed by a bunch of riots . These riots also displayed the hate between the Asian community and the Black community. The film talks about racial tension not only between the Asian and Black community, but between the Asian Community versus the world, and in the Black community versus the world. The film even talks about tensions in each race's own community. The film used the two main characters Eli and Daniel's friendship with Kamilla to show that race is not a big deal, but also showed the danger of race relations at the time.

[shanai19]

Out

The film made such a powerful statement and really spoke to accepting oneself and becoming accepting of one sexuality. It reminded me of a short film from Disney that recently came out called Out. Where the main character is in a relationship with a man and has a whole life with him but never told his family. It wasn't until his parents surprised him, by appearing at his doorstep that they found out the truth. He did everything in his power after switching places with his dog to hide who he truly is but in the end he had no choice but to come clean. He did not know if his parents would have accepted him. But he realized he needed to accept himself completely as well. I feel like Chiron was really having trouble accepting himself completely and allowing himself to explore his sexuality and explore who he truly is and I feel like the main character was also struggling to completely and utterly accept himself not caring about what others think of him.

[shanai19]

Questioning of Who Am I?

Moonlight and We the Animals actually have a lot in common. The first thing that they have in common as the main characters are actually trying to figure out their sexualities. In We the Animals, the little boy, Joel, goes in between his reality and escapes into his imaginary world. He slips into the in between while exploring his sexuality. He is trying to figure out his sexuality and learning to accept himself. While in Moonlight the main character Chiron is actually not sure about his sexuality and he comes awakened as a young kid similarly to that of Joel of We the Animals. He often questions his sexuality and how he feels about Kevin from a young age. He asked his father like figure, Juan, how do you know your sexuality and was met with the response you know when you know. Chiron questioned his sexuality into adulthood. He always felt that something was missing it was not until after seeing Kevin after all those years that he realized what was going on.

[shanai19]

Moonlight

Moonlight is a layered film, the film talks about a lot of challenges many face. The main character Chiron grows up with a single mother who is a drug addict. But he is somehow saved by the drug dealer who becomes his father figure. Chiron was able to ask him questions that most people are uncomfortable answering, questions about sexuality, Juan answered them honestly. Chiron always kind of knew he was different and I feel like that's what makes the film so relatable. He was constantly trying to figure out the missing piece of the puzzle, but when he does his inner child is at piece. This film talks about gender identity and sexuality, it also talks about race. It talks about all these things through Chiron and his journey to try to discover himself. This film tackles class by talking about a community where drug dealers are in charge of the town. Chiron becomes the person he was angry at, the drug dealer in charge, but he still is not satisfied because a piece of him was missing and he ultimately discovered that after seeing Kevin after all these years .