The documentary film “The Garden,” by Scott Hamilton Kennedy captivates and captures the South Central Los Angeles farmers struggles and conflicts they faced trying to save the South Central Farm. The 14 acre garden grows fresh vegetables and fruits, such as: corn, beans, papayas, and etc. It was one of the largest community garden and became known as the urban garden. Doris Bloch, the founder of the community garden, said in the documentary that the land could be use to build a garden for the community residents to grow their own food. Bloch said “ very low income family that deserves to grow their own food… land, people, food, it's a pretty simple idea. happy days.” The farmers took an advantage to use that land to grow their own vegetables …show more content…
It was truly upsetting and heartbreaking to see that the South Central Los Angeles garden was to be tear down by bulldozer. During our discussion, my sister was shocked and angry at Ralph Horowitz, the owner of the land. Horowitz said that he would sell his land for approximately 15 million dollars, which the farmers and supporters were able to fundraise that money but he declined to sell it. What made my sister frustrated was the idea that he originally got the land for 5 million dollars, but he wanted way more money than he originally got. In addition, Horowitz sees the garden as “no good cause nor good conduct for it,” my sister opposed to his thinking about the garden because it was for a great cause. The garden served as a purpose to the local Latino residents of Los Angeles, they were able to grow crops to feed their families. Furthermore, the garden is a great idea because the crops are organic and does not damage the environment. In the documentary, the land Ralph Horowitz owned in 1986 was sold for 5 million dollars to the city to build a trash burning site, yet was not taken into action. Rufina Juarez, who is a South Central Farmer leader, discussed about how after the land was sold, it became an eminent domain. What my cousin and I was shock about was how the property was once a city owned land then become a property owned land without the farmers being informed about it. Jan Perry did a
Viva La Causa is a documentary about how hundreds of farmworkers fought for their human rights because they were treated poorly. This took place in the early 1960’s because the workers were not receiving their benefits and civil rights. A farmer himself, Cesar Chavez, spoke on behalf of the rest of the farmers saying why should they put up with the low wages and no benefits. After watching this documentary it helps me understand the functions of the legislative and executive branches of the Texas State Government by providing interesting concepts of how the government was back then and how they took action.
Ron Finley: A guerilla gardener in South Central LA is the TED Talk video selected for this reaction paper and the talk tells us how one man was resourceful enough to take what he called "home of the drive-thru and the drive-by" and a "food desert" and build food gardens for all to share and be changed by. On stage, Ron Finley is clearly a man with a sense of humor and knack for keeping his message real. For example, when city planners attempted to rebrand South Central Los Angeles to South Los Angeles, he simply went through his slides with photos of the neighborhood again, calling it South Los Angeles with liquor stores, fast food, and vacant lots. A great ice breaker for the audience that let us know that he knew that more than a simple name change was needed to fix what’s wrong with his food desert.
Years ago, there was once a small town called Chaves Ravine within Los Angeles, California and this town was a poor rural community that was always full of life. Two hundred families, mostly Chicano families, were living here quite peacefully until the Housing Act of 1949 was passed. The Federal Housing Act of 1949 granted money to cities from the federal government to build public housing projects for the low income. Los Angeles was one of the first cities to receive the funds for project. Unfortunately, Chavez Ravine was one of the sites chosen for the housing project, so, to prepare for the construction work of the low-income apartments, the Housing Authority of Los Angeles had to convince the people of the ravine to leave, or forcibly oust them from their property. Since Chavez Ravine was to be used for public use, the Housing Authority of Los Angeles was able seize and buy Chavez Ravine from the property owners and evict whoever stayed behind with the help of Eminent Domain. The LA Housing Authority had told the inhabitants that low-income housing was to be built on the land, but, because of a sequence of events, the public housing project was never built there and instead Dodgers Stadium was built on Chavez Ravine. Although Chavez Ravine public housing project was the result of the goodwill and intent of the government, rather than helping the people Chavez Ravine with their promise of low-income housing, the project ended up destroying many of their lives because of those in opposition of the public housing project and government mismanagement.
Before jumping into an argument, it is essential to detail the situation that occurred at Chavez Ravine and to define the common good. In his article “Housing, Baseball, and Creeping Socialism The Battle of Chavez Ravine, Los Angeles, 1949-1959” Thomas S. Hines gives a detailed history of Chavez Ravine. He writes that it was primarily settled by Mexican Americans who built their own housing and settled happily. Due to “’substandard’” housing though, the CHA chose the neighborhood as recipient of new housing by the National Hou...
An archetype is an image, ideal or pattern that is considered to be a universal symbol. They are found in literature, art and mythology and usually hold philosophical meanings. The archetype that will be discussed is this paragraph is the garden archetype, easily the most identifiable archetype. The garden is characterized as a place of solitude where peace and harmony coincide. In essence, it is paradise, a place where people long to go but are forbidden. The four common characteristics of the garden archetype is the garden is a perfect world, that there is temptation and the short term and long term consequences that will be inflicted on future generations.
The Secret Garden is a film based on Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic children's book bearing the same title. This movie is about a young girl who is literally shipped off to her uncle's English castle after her parents are killed in an earthquake. The main character, Mary, is played by Kate Maberly. She is tossed into a world where sunlight and cheerful discourse seem as rare as the attention she receives from the sour-pussed housekeeper Medlock, played by Maggie Smith. She helps her crippled cousin to see past his hypochondria and into the wonders of a long forgotten garden hidden beyond the confines of Misselthwaite Manor. While one critic dislikes the slight deviations from the book, another is content to relish in the imagery and scenery of The Secret Garden.
Grey Gardens is what is known as a documentary about two women Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale, is known as big Edie, and Edith Bouvier Beale her daughter is known as little Edie. I think these two women appear in what could be known as a first reality show, the lives of these women are shown unscripted and without any narration of the documenters. These women could also be viewed as the first documented hoarders. They appear to be comfortable inside their tiny junk filled room within their deteriorating mansion. These women depend on the companionship of each other, the cats, the raccoons and the open air of the land and ocean. It is mentioned that these women are the aunt and first cousin of first lady Jackie
It is true that growing foods on a farm show that there 's no bad “chemicals” added in the food which starts all out as seeds. If only it weren’t for the fact that again, college students just don’t have time. Along with that, some students live alone in an apartment complex and, I’m sure not too many apartments have an outside area big enough for a private garden. As a college student myself, I find it easier just going to the grocery stores and farmer’s markets to get my food; then again, I still live with my parents and they pay for the groceries. Thankfully, I don’t have to travel to the real farms to get farm-fresh produce; the food comes to local places like the hospital and downtown on certain dates. I suppose a tip for college students; in reality, traveling to the grocery store is easier because it’s a once-per-week-deal while keeping watch over a garden is an every-day-deal and students have things to keep up
The coming of age of any girl is a very important and significant moment in their life. In Sandra Cisneros’ “The Monkey Garden” the character of the story has a coming of age experience which will changes her life forever. In the story Cisneros describes the character as a child who enjoys playtime in the abandoned Monkey garden. As she is lost in the adventures of the garden she finds herself changing. Like in every other child who transitions into adulthood, this moment marks a new path in her life. Coming of age is a significant and emotional event in anyone’s life. Not only does it mark the beginning of adulthood but it also means losing your childhood games.
In trying to implement this program, laws were created that allowed the government of Guatemala to “expropriate private and government-owned land,” that was then allowed to be divided among farmers and peasants who had no land of their own. This land reform program was created after looking at a land consensus in 1950, the consensus showed that “2.2% of all landowners possess 75% of all land privately owned, and 76% of them own only 10% among them.” This meant that most of the land were owned almost entirely by 2% of the population while the majority of the population only owned 10% communally. This program called for the “Guatemalan government’s “seizure” of more than 200,000 acres of the company’s land on the west coast of Guatemala.” After having dispersed this land among the peasants, the United Fruit Co. appealed to the Guatemalan government to give back the land. The company argued that since the land was theirs, the government had no right to distribute the land, especially because that land would help for emergencies… Arbenz denied this appeal and United Fruit Co. later moved to appeal to the Guatemalan Supreme
In David Wagoner’s poem, “My Father’s Garden”, the speaker describes his father’s job as a fruitful gardener that his father find very productive but does not finally yield anything of value. Through the use of vivid imagery, we are presented with two contrasting outlooks on life. In four stanzas, Wagoner’s use of imagery and metaphors shows us what he thinks of his father’s job, his education and subsequently, the choices his father has made throughout his life.
According to McDonnell (2009) “Consider Livia’s garden. Here is a roman house where an entire wall is covered with a huge mural whose purposes are manifold.” This art project served multiple purposes for the owners one of the most significant purposes to display the wealth status of the owners. Additionally, the paintings on the walls of this large room even made the room appear larger than it was. Further, it brought “nature” inside the house. This is an excellent example of the intension having art projects like paintings in Roman homes was to display the wealth of the owners of the home.
Changing the messaging of their argument to racial discrimination moved the focus from the polluting facility to the people who would be victimized by its presence. This communication method is further explored in the case of The Ancient Forest Rescue (AFR), a group of concerned, mostly white, young activists fighting against a mining operation in the heart of the San Luis Valley, a mostly Latino populated region. The AFR was against a toxic mining operation that would cause tremendous amounts of soil erosion, which would nearly destroy that area’s watershed. These activists were well intentioned, but local residents had to make them aware of the historical and cultural context of discriminatory environmentalism (Westra and Lawson 2001). The Chicano community needed a safe space for themselves in order to communicate about the cultural significance in preserving their land.
Wendell Berry’s “The Art of the Commonplace” is a collection of essays that cover a wide variety of social issues that the author has experienced. Berry focuses his visions of agrarianism into a lot of the arguments discussed in his essays, wishing for a society that recognizes the need for farming, reducing waste, and preserving the environment among other things. Although “The Art of the Commonplace” is divided into five sections, Berry remains consistent in the themes and beliefs he writes about in the essays, even expanding upon them in future essays later in the book.
“Everyone is kneaded out of the same dough but not baked in the same oven”(Yiddish Proverb). These words apply to Katherine Mansfield’s short story, “Garden Party” as she touches on some very controversial points about the social inequality of the Sheridan family with its surrounding neighbors. A great internal and external quarrel over social class rises in the Sheridan family as Laura Sheridan, the daughter, sympathises with the less-fortunate neighbors while her mother, Mrs. Sheridan is the opposite. Mansfield illustrates to her readers the conflict within Laura in various ways, namely, using foil characters between Mrs. Sheridan and Laura, using multiple symbols and appealing to emotion to emphasize her main message of social equality.