The objective for sharing this powerful film with you was so that you can reflect on human nature and more specifically draw conclusions about your personal connections to the characters and the events.
I urge you to expand on your thoughts either through a post on this blog or through a one page journal entry. Here are some questions (which you are not limited to) to inspire your thinking.
1. REFLECT ON THE CONVERSATION BETWEEN ANTHONY AND PETER WATERS AS THEY LEAVE THE DINER.
*CAN YOU THINK IN STEREOTYPES ABOUT YOUR OWN RACE? IS THAT ACCEPTABLE? WHY? WHY NOT?
2. REFLECT ON THE DISCUSSION BETWEEN JEAN AND RICK CABOT ABOUT DANIEL RUIZ, THE LOCKSMITH, WORKING IN THEIR HOME.
*CAN YOU EMPATHIZE/SYMPATHIZE WITH JEAN CABOT'S REACTION CONSIDERING HER CIRCUMSTANCE? WHY OR WHY NOT?
*CAN YOU EMPATHIZE/SYMPATHIZE WITH JEAN CABOT'S REACTION CONSIDERING HER CIRCUMSTANCE? WHY OR WHY NOT?
3. REFLECT ON THE CONVERSATION THAT RICK CABOT HAS ABOUT THE IRAQI WHO HE ASSUMED WAS BLACK.
* IS IT RACIST IF WE CANNOT DISTINGUISH BETWEEN RACES?
4. REFLECT ON THE PHILOSOPHIES OF LUDACRIS' CHARACTER ANTHONY.
*AT WHAT POINT DO YOU AGREE WITH HIM? DISAGREE WITH HIM? WHY?
5. REFLECT ON THE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN OFFICER JOHN RYAN AND SHANIQUA JOHNSON.
*SHOULD SHE HAVE HELPED HIS DAD?
*SHOULD WE BE TOLERANT OF THOSE WHO ARE NOT TOLERANT OF US?
6. REFLECT ON TERRENCE HOWARD'S CHARACTER CAMERON THAYER.
*IN WHAT WAYS IS HE A VICTIM? WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT HIS REACTIONS? WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT HIS WIFE'S REACTION TO HIM?
7. COMPARE AND CONTRAST THE CHARACTERS OFFICER JOHN RYAN WITH OFFICER TOMMY HANSON.
* WHO IS MORE OFFENSIVE? IGNORANT? DANGEROUS? WHY? CITE SPECIFIC EXAMPLES!
8. WITH WHICH CHARACTER DO YOU IDENTIFY THE MOST? WHY? CITE SPECIFIC DETAILS!
4 comments:
I don’t think Rick Cabot is being racist in this scene, he’s just being ignorant. I think his actions would have been more forgivable if he hadn’t had an ulterior motive for wanting to pin a medal on a person of color. Remember, he was just trying to ‘save the black vote’.
Generally, I do not think mistaking people to be another race is racist. My father is Italian, and has been mistaken for other races and ethnicities,including black and Indian.
Meanwhile, I’ve had someone ask me if I was Egyptian, and another ask if I spoke Arabic. My father does not find this offensive and neither do I; I think it’s pretty cool that other people think I resemble these other ethnicities.
1. I disagree with the fact that you can make stereotypes about your own race. Just because you belong to that group doesn't mean you can make fun of them. All stereotypes are disrespectful and can be hurtful to someone. Also the conversation when they were leaving the dinner was a little bit too much. It's almost like he's paranoid about the whole world. He defiantly has some issues with being black that I think he needs to sort out! He does this the entire movie! Just like the bus and why they have big windows.
2. I can empathize a bit with Jean, she was just car jacked with a gun to her face but she did take it over board. Just because she was car jacked doesn't mean she has the right to automatically judge people 24/7. I think i would have felt a little worse for her if after that incident for the rest of the movie she was a little better. But as the movie went on she defiantly seemed racist. Not just in the beginning. As we saw later in the movie, Daniel Ruiz was a great person and he didn't deserve to be judged like that. I also think that he statements should have been taken somewhere that he wouldn't have heard her.
3. I don't think its racist with we cannot distinguish between races but in the situation in the movie it did come of as racist because of his reasons and his actions. If we cannot distinguish between the races then I think we have a better chance to learn about that culture. It doesn't mean you're ignorant though.
4. I can't say that I agree much with the character of Anthony. To me all of his philosophies are ridiculous and he takes everything to an extreme. To me it's wrong to steal period. I don't care if you are stealing from your own race or not. I do think though that although he makes everything more then it is that he is right about some things. Today some people are still racist and I think that he has come across those people. The thing about how the put the windows on the bus to embarrass minorities is ridiculous. I do think by the end of the movie though, we see that inside he really is a good person. He lets all those people go instead of selling them to that guy. I think deep down he is a good person but he has a warped sense of reality sometimes.
5. Although I think John Ryan really needs anger management I do think Shaniqua Johnson should have helped his dad. Just because she didn't like him doesn't mean that his dad should have to suffer. After all John Ryan's dad did good things when no one else would for minorities, as shown when he told her the story. I think that story also showed why John Ryan is so mad at different races. I also do think that we should be tolerant of those who are not tolerant of us. I know that seems strange but if you aren't tolerant of them then you are basically going down on their level. If everyone wasn't tolerant to people who weren't tolerant to them then i don't think anyone would get along. Sometimes you just have to stand up and be the bigger person.
6. Cameron Thayer was a victim because he witnessed his wife being molested. I think her reaction was horrible. What can he do when its the police committing the crime? Especially when throughout the movie they emphasized how the LA police were "trigger happy". I do think he was being stupid with the whole scene when Tommy Hanson was trying to help him and he had Anthony in the car. I think all the stuff his wife had said to him just caught up and he couldn't take it anymore.
7. John Ryan is more blatant about his racist feeling but I think Tommy Hanson is more afraid of being called racist. I think thats why he wants to get his partner switched. Deep down I think there is a part of him that kinda is a little bit racist just by the way he acts, especially in the car. John Ryan is definatly more offensive because he just comes out and says how he feels but Tommy in my opinion is more dangerous. Since he just keeps these on the inside he is more likely to get himself into bad situations. Like the one in the car, and he ended up shooting him! But overall John Ryan is the more ignorant one.
8. Although I don't think I really identify too much with any one of the characters I think I'd have to pick the daughter of the Arab man or even John Ryan in a way. The reason why I picked John Ryan and the daughter is mostly because of my father. My grandparents were in the holocaust and lost all their family and then moved here. My dad growing up had so much resentment toward this and he also has a lot of anger for other races too. I think he feels as though its unfair. I can see why he's anger just as John Ryan was in the movie. Also I can see from the outside how this is a problem like the daughter of the store owner.
I thought that ludacris at first was correct but then became a huge hipocrat. As he explains that white people dont feel safe around black people, but then does exactly what he says by stealing sandra bullocks car.
It was also completly wrong of sandra bullocks character to make racist remarks towards Daniel Ruiz when she didnt really know how nice he actaully is
Reflection to Question 1:
You know a friend of mine made a joke about his race back in sophomore year and almost got in trouble for it. Personally I think it's acceptable to stereotype your own race/religion. If you look at something like "The Dave Chapelle Show" or the mocumentary, "Borat" neither would have been acceptable by society if they weren't jokes made by the same race/religion they were targeting. I think people shouldn't put themselves down but it's okay to joke about it sometimes if you're with appropriate company.
Andrew E.
Maximus
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