Analysis Of Seeing And Making Culture: Representing The Poor By Bell Hooks

Bell Hooks makes the claim that the poor are misrepresented in the mainstream, which bolsters a low value on our self-worth which we assign to ourselves. In the essay Seeing and Making Culture: Representing the poor by Hooks, we see how there is misrepresentation of the poor through the perspective of the author, she often weaves her personal narrative into the evidence and observations of the general population. One of the things Hooks mentions early on is that "When contemporary Left intellectuals talk about capitalism few if any attempts are made to relate that discourse to the reality of being poor in America."(Hooks). The statement sets a foundation on which the rest of the essay is being built upon, because even if the liberals are not

Hooks introduces us to her life during her childhood, quickly painting the picture of her background, she says that "...we were working class, because my father worked as a janitor at the post office, however the fact that there were seven children in our family meant that we often faced economic hardships in ways that made us...think of ourselves as poor." This statement very hastily sets up our sympathizes for her, we see that she has come from where she writes about. We instantly give her some credibility in the topic because of her personal experience. The personally history is helpful in some ways but is more damaging in that with seven kids in the family there is some blame on the parents for their situation. While I would agree with most people in saying that family choice is a personal one, which everyone has the right to decided for themselves, I believe that one needs to take a look and analyze their situation before deciding on such a large family. Because a large family is helpful within a farm but is probably less helpful and a greater burden in an urban setting. Hooks continues with her child hood in saying that

For instances, there is the reality of home and the reality of everything outside of that. At home she was taught that there is no implication of lowered value in being poor or from a lower class. This sets up the reality that everyone is morally and socially equal. This is the reality she grew up in until she transitioned into another one which was college. Hooks says that she "began to see myself as poor when I went away to college." And this is the second reality, the reality in which the popular culture stats to make poor people feel devalued. Hooks even writes that the Untied States misrepresents the poor often not exhibiting them as having integrity and dignity. This creates a sort of dichotomy within her life, of the two realities, one is of the home and her learned values growing up and the other is leaving small town America and joining the bigger world. She gives evidence in this by saying that "Television shows and films bring this message home that no one can truly feel good about themselves if they are poor."(Hooks) we see here how fully she believes that a part of the negative self identity of being poor is a social construct. She points to films that represent the poor and their struggling to do anything to escape their situation, one of the films is Menace II Society, and while I believe it is important to discuss how so many films represent the poor