Master of None Review Essay
Within the recent years there has been many changes occurring in our nation that had never happened before. Well defined social understandings such as gender, race, sexually as well as other self-identifying terms that had been previously well understood were starting to change and evolve, no longer fitting the social mold that it once had. A great illustration for my previous statement of change can be seen in the article “The Year We Obsessed Over Identity” by Wesley Morris, which highlights specific major events that had occurred in recent years till two thousand and fifteen. One case discussed in the article was the idea that race was defined by your skin color and other biological characteristics that landed
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Another example from the article is how the gender assigned roles are merging. Both males and female’s stereotypes are starting to be brushed away with the cries of equality and protests. Another source that depicts the change that has occurred in this country is “Master of None”. MON to me seems to be the most “up to date”, in terms of normal everyday life in the U.S... Master of none is a Netflix original American comedy series that tells the story the main protagonist in his late twenties and how he goes by and deals with his everyday problems. Now with that out of the way we can get to the main point, i.e. my review of the series its self “Master of None”. I will be reviewing it by making connection to Wesley Morris`s terminology and by its actions …show more content…
It addressed many real life issues that many other series don’t really mention at all, it almost seemed like it was an “uncensored” a version of friends or stein field. The two main episodes that I focused on were the “Ladies and Gentlemen” and “Parents” episode. Within the Ladies and Gentlemen episode the main focus of the episode was to discuss the issue of inequality and the problems that everyone seemed to be going through at the time. There were some scenes that gave obvious depiction of binaries and conversation that were pretty much just examples of appropriation during this episode, which is why I ended up picking this as one of my episode to talk about since It was pretty much a freebie. Now for the other one, it was by far my favorite episode. It pretty much tells the story of both the characters in this episode and shows how much they had to do just get started and to get to where they were in the current time of the show. Just like how gender, races and sexual orientation are starting to be less defined, it seemed to me that this also occurs in a more complex way. Such as how they grew up to be much different than their parent and the life they live right now is apparently new and wasn’t really there before. Also how the parents act by the end of the episode compare to the begging is quite
One of Beverly Tatum's major topics of discussion is racial identity. Racial identity is the meaning each of us has constructed or is constructing about what it means to be a white person or a person of color in a race-conscious society. (Tatum, pp Xvii) She talks about how many parents hesitate to talk to their children about racism because of embarrassment and the awkwardness of the subject. I agree with her when she says that parents don't want to talk about racism when they don't see a problem. They don't want to create fear or racism where none may exist. It is touchy subject because if not gone about right, you can perhaps steer someone the wrong way. Another theory she has on racial identity is that other people are the mirror in which we see ourselves. (tatum pp18) 'The parts of our identity that do capture our attention are those that other people notice, and that reflects back to us.'; (Tatum pp21) What she means by this is that what other people tell us we are like is what we believe. If you are told you are stupid enough you might start to question your intelligence. When people are searching for their identity normally the questions 'who am I now?'; 'Who was I before?'; and 'who will I become'; are the first that come to mind. When a person starts to answer these questions their answers will influence their beliefs, type of work, where they may live, partners, as well as morals. She also mentions an experiment where she asked her students to describe themselves in sixty seconds. Most used descriptive words like friendly, shy, intelligent, but students of color usually state there racial or ethnic group, while white students rarely, if ever mention that they are white. Women usually mention that they are female while males usually don't think to say that they are males. The same situation appeared to take place when the topic of religious beliefs came up. The Jewish students mentioned being Je...
These categories often include our race, class, gender, income and our educational level. More often than not we are generalized by what category we fall under. However, these categories are the ones that society sees us as, but it’s not what defines us as a person. “A friend argues that Americans battle between the ‘historical self’ and the ‘self self.’” (Rankine 104). We can say that our “historical self” is what people view us as. Not only is it the category we fall under it’s the stereotypes that have managed to travel time and stick with us regardless of us not having lived during the time they were initially created. Our “historical self” is how we are perceived by people who don’t know us. On the other hand our “self-self” is the person we initially are. It’s the person who our family and close friends know us as. It’s our personality, our attitude and who we really are as a person. Nevertheless our “self-self” doesn’t have the power to protect us from what we are genuinely seen as. “however, sometimes your historical selves, her white self and your black self, or your white self and her black self, arrive with the full force of your American positioning.” (Rankine 104). We can tell ourselves that society isn’t what defines us but there’s going to be times where you realize that people see you as nothing more than the label society puts on
There is a specific meaning to race and how its role impacts society and shapes the social structures. Race is a concept that “symbolizes social conflicts and interests by referring to different types of human bodies” (Omi & Winant 55). In other words, Omi and Winant get down to the crux of the issue and assert that race is just an illusion. Race is merely seen as an ideological construct that is often unstable and consisting of decentered social meanings. This form of social construction attempts to explain the physical attributes of an individual but it is constantly transformed by political struggles. The rules of classifying race and of identity are embedded into society’s perception. Therefore, race becomes a common function for comprehending, explaining, and acting in the
On September 20, 1984 a show aired that changed the way we view gender roles on television. Television still perpetuates traditional gender stereotypes and in reflecting them TV reinforces them by presenting them as the norm (Chandler, 1). The Cosby Show, challenged the typical gender stereotyping of television, daring to go against the dominant social values of its time period. In its challenge of the dominant social view, the show redefined the portrayal of male and female roles in television. It redefined the gender role in the work place, in social expectations, and in household responsibilities. The Cosby Show supported Freidan in her view of “castigating the phony happy housewife heroine of the women’s magazines” (Douglas 136).
As a European immigrant in the USA, I have encountered many new cultural phenomena in the last 4 _ years that have challenged me to perceive who I am differently. This experience has been even more polarized by the fact that I have lived most of that time in Los Angeles, a melting pot to be reckoned with. Coming to America, I expected these adaptations to my Irish self but the intensity of becoming cognizant of my label of 'whiteness' has mocked the limitations of my anticipations.
Following the 1890’s, the world began to undergo the first stages of globalization. Countries and peoples, who, until now, were barely connected, now found themselves neighbors in a planet vastly resembling a global village. Despite the idealized image of camaraderie and brotherhood this may seem to suggest, the reality was only discrimination and distrust. Immigration to new lands became a far more difficult affair, as emigrants from different nations came to be viewed as increasingly foreign. In the white-dominated society of the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the only way to truly count oneself as American was to become “white”. For this reason, the idea of race, a socially constructed issue with no real physical basis, has become one of the most defining factors which shape immigration and assimilation in the United States.
Race, in the common understanding, draws upon differences not only of skin color and physical attributes but also of language, nationality, and religion. Race categories are often used as ethnic intensifiers, with the aim of justifying the exploitation of one group by another. Race is an idea that has become so fixed in American society that there is no room for open-mindedness when challenging the idea of racial categories. Over the years there has been a drastic change with the way the term "race" is used by scientists. Essentially, there is a major difference between the biological and sociological views of race.
Racial Identity Theory consists of five assumptions: Every member of society belongs to one or more groups of people; Belonging to a group influences a person’s worldview; The United States is a race centered society and operates on a hierarchy of racial groups; A racist social environment influences the process of racial identity development; As one develops socially, one grapples with racial identity (Brown et al., 1996; Helms, 1984, 1990, 1995; Parker, 1998; Ponterotto, 1993; Pope-Davis & ...
In the relevant course, CRD 2, I was made aware of a few different theories of social identity development, particularly pertaining to race. As I began to examine these theories, I sought out similarities, something that would catch my eye and make me think, “That applies to me.” Beverly Tatum’s ideas caught with me most easily, and I will elaborate on them shortly, but for the most part, I had to struggle to find one that seemed synonymous with who I am and how I see myself. The closest likenesses I could find were for the most part milder versions of the theory’s anecdotes, and I found it unnecessary to make myself conform to a theory exactly. While the theories are excellent material for reflection, and possibly even enlightenment, I assert that, considering the individuality of each person, it’s illogical to assume that every person can be categorized into a theory.
That is where we see that the state and government have enormous power when it comes to defining what race actually is. The state can fundamentally shape your social status within their means. They have all access to one’s economic opportunities, including employment, and they also can control your political rights. The government pretty much has control of how you look and define yourself, but more importantly the control how others will define you. The state controls medical and research facilities and can influence all that fall under these categories, creating things such as race based
Broadly speaking, race is seen or is assumed to be a biologically driven set of boundaries that group and categorize people according to phenotypical similarities (e.g. skin color) (Pinderhughes, 1989; Root, 1998). The categorical classification of race can be traced back to the 16th century Linnaen system of human “races” where each race was believed to be of a distinct type or subspecies that included separate gene pools (Omi & Winant, 1994; Spickard, 1992; Smedley & Smedley, 2005). Race in the U.S. initially began as a general categorizing term, interchangeable with such terms as “type” or “species”. Over time, race began to morph into a term specifically referring to groups of people living in North America (i.e. European “Whites”, Native American “Indians”, and African “Negroes”). Race represented a new way to illustrate human difference as well as a way to socially structure society (Smedley & Smedley, 2005).
Reflecting directly on the cultural attitudes and sociocultural messages explained throughout this course, it is clear that race, gender, and sexuality are all socially constructed in one way or another. Contrary to popular belief, race is actually almost completely socially constructed, it is not biological. Further, a human’s DNA does not differentiate at all to create any specific race. However, society has categorized certain things, such as skin color, to determine the race of individuals. In simpler terms, there are not specific genes that parents pass on to their offspring that determine their race; society categorizes people into specific races when they are born based on their
?A definition of race might rely on an outward manifestation such as color or some other physiological sign. Race and ethnicity (and to some degree nationality) also imply a shared socio-cultural heritage and belief system. Finally, race and ethnicity harbor a physiological self-identification. Indeed, this factor is perhaps the most important in defining the identity of an ?ethnic? or ?racial? individual. It implies a conscious desire on the part of a person to belong to an aggregate of people, which possesses unique cultural characteristics, rituals and manners and a unique value system.
Being able to identify with a certain group has been an issue that individuals hesitate with daily. Am I Black, are you a girl, what religion do you practice? These are all common questions that society has forced individuals to concentrate on. Should an individual have to pick a side or is it relevant to the human race to identify with any group? One may believe not, but for others having and knowing one’s own identity is important, because it is something that they have been developing their entire life. Along with how their identity influenced their life chances and their self-esteem. This can also affect how society interact with whatever identity an individual chooses to live. Which is why it was important to recognize how identifying
THESIS: Scientists and other intellectuals recognize the modern concept of "race" as an artificial category that developed over the past five centuries due to encounters with non-European people. Even though people still attempt to organize humans into categories according to their race, these categories have been shown to have no scientific basis.