Sunday, May 23, 2010

Crash

1. In the film, it's very obvious that people's stereotypes get in the way of truly getting to know other people. In the scene where the Hispanic locksmith is working for the Persian man, we can easily tell that the Persian man sees the Hispanic differently because of his race. This is ironic though, because we have seen the Persian man get treated differently for the same reason when he was trying to buy a gun. In this situation, he doesn't realize how he's be hypocritical; his racism overshadows it. It's extremely obvious too, because the locksmith is completely cordial to the Persian man, even though he's yelling at him, saying that the locksmith is trying to cheat him. Later however, when the Persian man goes to the locksmith's house with a gun and tries to shoot him, he seems to realize that maybe he was wrong. This act could have had dire consequences, but he was lucky, and he only has to live with the guilt of what could have been.

4. One of the most prominent stereotypes in the film is the two black men. They essentially create this stereotype for themselves, like when they steal the District Attorney's car. They are aware of how they are viewed, and complain about it, but they only perpetuate this stereotype because of how they act. In the beginning, we view them as criminals for stealing the car. But as the film goes on and we get to know them a little better, we can almost sympathize with them. I think the real "twisting" happens with one of the black men gets picked up by the cop, Ryan Phillipe. It seems as though because the man is black, the cop is more cautious, and gets extremely nervous when they start to argue. And when the man reaches into his pocket, the cop automatically assumes he's pulling out a gun, and he shoots him. I think this is one of the most surprising parts of the movie. It makes the viewer realize that you really can't stereotype people, no matter what, because you never know when someone can surprise you.

Friday, May 14, 2010

What Would You Do?

When we were watching the clips in class focusing on racism, what struck me the most were the clips from ABC News about how people handled racism in an upscale store and a restaurant. I was shocked that more people didn't respond to the blatant and uncalled for attacks on the African American women by the store worker. So many people were too consumed looking for things to buy than to help someone who was being verbally abused. It seemed like many of them had the same attitude as the worker, that the woman had done something wrong or deserved to be harassed. Many people seemed too distant, uninterested, or too intimidated to react. This is unsettling, as civil rights have made so much progress, and yet an African American woman can still be abused in a store, and no one will do anything about it. The same goes for the Hispanic day laborers at the restaurant. There were a lot of people who automatically assumed that the men were illegal immigrants, and told them they didn't have a right to be there, or order food. The fact that people wouldn't even give them a chance because they didn't speak English shows so much intolerance. However, the people who did stand up for the men provided a better outlook. They didn't seem to be concerned with the fact that the men could have been in the country illegally, they were just human beings. In our world today, we sometimes forget that we are all people, and deserve to be treated with the same respect and equality as everyone else.

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Fair Treatment in Schools

I went to a middle school where there was a high population of Hispanic students. To me, it was obvious that the people I hung around with were many times separated in higher classes. I was in accelerated classes, and it was rare that a Hispanic student was in one as well. However, I still got to know some of these students in classes like gym and art, and knew that many of them were capable of doing the work that I was doing. Granted, some of them just didn't apply themselves, but in a lot of cases, I thought, it was because of the kids in their classes. The students who could be smart, but weren't in the right classes, were hindered because of the fact that they were distracted by the other kids in these core classes. I believe that if they were in the classes they should have been in, they would have succeeded. It also seemed difficult for them to be put into higher classes in the first place. It was always just recommended what classes they should take, which didn't give them a chance to improve their skills in any way. The activity we did in class reminded me of this, and how these types of problems still happen today. Everyone should have the right to be treated fairly when it comes to their education, because it truly is what you make of it.