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Socially conscious films
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It lurks outside the city walls, striking fear into the hearts of the community and the people band together united in opposition to this abomination. What is this figure that grips an entire city with fear enough to bind them together? This would be the foreigner, or the representation of the foreign figure. By foreigner, I am not specifically referring to a person from a foreign place, but instead I refer to the idea of a foreign character that dominates all societies throughout history. Every community has a fable, or person that embodies all their fears and imperfections within society. The witch in the dark forest, the hermit in the run down home, or the monster that lurks through the night, all of these figures serve as scapegoats for the imperfections or fears within society that prevent them from uniting as a community. The figure of the foreigner is used by authors and directors to serve as a model with which to develop a political or social commentary. Within both Waggner’s classic film The Wolf Man and Cervantes’ The Dialogue of the Dogs the figure of the foreigner is depicted in two parts. The first part of the foreigner is scapegoated by society in an attempt to unify the people through transference of societal imperfections thus making the foreigner embody all the negative aspects of society. The second component places the foreigner as a threat to this unity when it enters into the confines of the society which forces the citizens to face their imperfections leading to the foreigner being hunted in attempt to restore that unity.
Waggner’s The Wolf Man has a very straightforward depiction of the foreigner through the character of Larry because the two aspects of the foreigner are represented within two separate phy...
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... a very straightforward manner to provide a commentary on the dissolving of the sovereignty that rules over society. The film becomes an American statement about the importance of being free from oppressive rule which is symbolized through terrorization of the wolf-man and his eventual defeat. Cervantes uses the figures of the foreigner to provide a social commentary on the lack of unity present within Spain during the Inquisition. He uses the dialogue to reveal that the entire society is composed of foreign figures that are imperfect, but the only way to overcome a truly foreign force is by uniting together. These pieces use the common theme of the dreaded foreigner that has persisted throughout history, because people are driven by fear. Without something to fear or fight against, society would dissolve into utter chaos and the foreigner fits that role perfectly.
One, he gives us a point of reference for someone in his difficult and turbulent time period. He was a (presumably) rich Mexican that saw the injustice of how the white American settlers treated the Mexicans that lived near them. He shows us another side of the story, beside the story that the victors would’ve shared.
Conclusion: In all, racial oppression and identification is a concurrent theme in Butler’s works that have been discussed. Butler’s examinations involving the sense of pride and passion towards uniqueness and individualism are evident in many different perspectives. In Butler’s works, the passion the main characters have towards themselves in an alien world teach the reader important values and lessons against negativity and racial discrimination.
Nero Wolfe novels are remarkably known for their theme of good versus evil, rich versus poor, and powerful versus weak. The Golden Spiders by Rex Stout was remade into made for television movie, the plot of the movie very closely follows that of the novel. Wealth, inequity, and mistreatment of migrants are central themes within the novel and it is also prevalent in other Nero Wolfe novels. It is the very typical proletariat versus the bourgeois, the primary argument for Marxist thought. The oppressed poor being manipulated by the rich upper class. It is undoubtedly evident that Wolfe had a soft spot for other immigrants and it would be essential to question if this was because Wolfe was an immigrant himself. This essay will discuss how the movie plot adheres closely to Marxist thesis, how the movie compares to the novel, and if Nero Wolfe’s status as a immigrant affected how he treated other immigrants within the storyline.
In America, it is a common misconception that all foreigners are similar; it is believed that they all have similar dreams and each of them end up chasing after the same jobs. However, this is not the case. Not only do immigrants from different countries hold different dreams, but those with a shared background even have varying hopes and dreams for the future. This is evidenced in Bharati Mukherjee’s essay, “Two Ways to Belong in America.” She utilizes several rhetorical strategies in order to show that immigrants have the ability to be assimilated into the American culture, but that they should not be deported if they choose not to conform to said culture.
A subculture can consist of any small group outside the central or key majority group. The groups can range from an organized crime group, to an Asian American group, to a religious group, to even a hippie commune. The main focus of this unit is the immigrant subcultures. The immigrant subculture that is becoming more commonplace every day in the United States is the Mexican Americans. Mexican Americans have many religious traditions, ceremonies, customs, as well as art and music forms. There are also various cultural traditions. Mexican Americans have their own identity on the contrary they still have distinct American characteristics.
The "American dream" is different for every person. To some it means financial success, to others it means freedom of expression, while others dream to practice their religion without fear. The "American dream" is a complex concept providing immigrants with the hope of better life. The U.S. government provides the environment and resources for everyone to pursue their dreams. Each year millions of people around the world apply for the Diversity Visa lottery program provided by the U.S. government, however only a few thousand people are lucky enough to come here. America is the place where people are judged by their achievements instead of having references or connections. Even though the American economy is in recession and the achieving of the American Dream is harder, many immigrants still achieve religious, political, financial, and sports dreams here in the U.S.
Stories have an opportunity to leave the reader with many different impressions. When you look a different characters within the stories the ones that leave the greatest impressions are the ones that tend to scare us. The figures in Bob Dylar’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have you been?”, in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown”, and Stephen King’s “The Man in the Black Suite” all instill a bit of fear in the reader. They are symbols that represent the devil or devil like attributes in people and the uncertainties of human nature.
The creature’s embodiment of the non-European, the outcast, the alien and the other stems from the incompleteness of the monster ability to engage in cretin perceptions of the world he was brought in. Unlike the Europeans, the monster was brought to life with no concept of value, or cultural norms. T...
The main characters in the film include Sebastian and Costa, who happen to be lifelong friends. Sebastian is a compulsive visionary who strives to direct controversial a film about one of history’s most influential figures, Christopher Columbus. He is determined to escalate the “myth” that western civilization's arrival in the Americas was a force for good. Instead, his story is about what Columbus set in motion; the hunt for gold, captivity of, and penal violence to those Indians who fought back. His story is counteracted by the radical priests Bartolome de las Casas and Antonio de Montesinos, the first people to ra...
The American Dream is that dream of a nation in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with options for each according to capacity or accomplishments. It is a dream of social stability in which each man and each woman shall be able to achieve to the fullest distinction of which they are essentially competent, and be distinguished by others for what they are, despite of the incidental conditions of birth or stance. People consider America the land of opportunities, a new beginning to a new life in which they can strive and succeed. America is known as the land of the free where if you have the perseverance you can achieve what you want from life. However does the American Dream apply to even those of color equally? Does the American Dream favor those who aren't Caucasian but of different pigments and ethnicities? Throughout history, immigrants and people of color have been cut short from certain carriers or occupations due to their race or ethnicity. An example from history was when The Irish migrated to the United States during the Great Irish Famine in the 19th century and they were banned from finding jobs or careers. When the Americans saw the Indian citizens who became citizens based off marriage back in the day succeeding in their business careers they passed on a law that stopped the Indians from marrying Americans which made the Indians lose their land owning right and businesses. When the African American slaves were first brought onto US land, they had no other option yet to be a slave and work under the command of Americans while the Americans set out to fulfill their American dreams. Have things changed around however throughout history? In my opinion, it is more unrealistic than realistic today...
Since the start of the twentieth century America has attracted people all over the world to relocate and start a new life. For many coming to America was a chance for a better life and new things. They all had something in common, they all had a dream, that dream was the "American Dream". In the present day the desire to achieve the dream hasn't changed. However, the idea of the American Dream, brings up a lot of questions. What is the American Dream? Who defines it? Can it be achieved? Lastly, should everyone have a chance to achieve it?
Ronald Regan describes America as, “…a place in the divine scheme that was set aside as a promised land” (“Loosing the American Dream”). Do Regan’s words have any truth to them? How can America be a promised land when immigrants are still fighting for the chance to pursue the American Dream and social acceptance? Immigrants have different motives for coming to America some may seek citizenship for political freedoms that they once did not have due to uprising civil wars in their native country. Others may come for social freedoms that they were not awarded in their home country due to sexual orientation. Others may come for economic freedoms that allows them to go from rags to riches. No matter the reason, immigrants risk everything for a chance to pursue the American dream. So why is it so hard for immigrants to earn a spot as a citizen of the United States of America? Why are immigrants still facing narrow-mindedness criticism for being foreign? It is time for Americans to change their prejudice views of immigrants.
Several years ago, America was taught to be a 'melting pot,' a place where immigrants of different cultures or races form an integrated society, but now America is more of a 'salad bowl' where instead of forming an incorporated entity the people who make up the bowl are unwilling to unite as one. America started as an immigrant nation and has continued to be so. People all over the world come to America for several reasons. Most people come to America voluntarily, but very few come unwillingly. For whatever reasons they may have for coming they all have to face exposure to American society. When exposed to this 'new' society they choose whether to assimilate or not. Assimilation in any society is complex. Since assimilation is not simple, people will have negative experiences when assimilating into American society.
Love/hatred, redemption/forgiveness, power/faith are only examples of what the film represents. It shows that religion and politics definitely do not mix what so ever. Both can either empower or bring doom to a country and its people. The film kept me on my toes for which the Portuguese and the Spanish viewed the natives as “animals” and as slaves while the Jesuits didn’t. The Jesuits viewed the natives for what they are, humans. Since both views of both parties did not correlate, there was a lot of tension that kept me intrigued with the film. Another aspect that made the film interesting is the fact that the Jesuits live for love and peace while the Portuguese live for power and wealth no matter the cost. Even in our own current time, nothing has changed when it comes to that. I’m very glad to have had the chance to watch the film and get a glimpse into
...director did not limit the film to its historical context but extended the same to romance and fantasy. From a different angle of view, the director made use of the theme to communicate with the viewers and the fictional characters can be considered as his tools. Besides, ample importance is given to historical and fictional characters. In short, the amalgamation of history, fantasy and romance constituted much to the film’s importance as a historical/fictional masterpiece.