After the beginning scenes of the movie, the most important moments for Vinz come when he handles the gun. The police gun that Vinz holds throughout the film is a consistent plot point and touchstone for Vinz’s performative blackface. Whenever Vinz either feels diminished or wants to exude confidence, he finds his power in the force of his weapon. When he first shows the gun to Hubert and Said, Vinz says that he wants to “even up the score” and describes the gun as “special” because it was stolen from the cop in the riot. Yet when Said tells Vinz that with the gun he is now a “big man,” Vinz shows discomfort with holding the weapon. At first he decides to store the gun away in a safe but changes his mind at the last moment and brings it with …show more content…
him tucked into his jeans. Even though Vinz is trying to act tougher to fit in with the Black and Arab communities, Hubert says to his mother, “I’m sure Vinz helped torch the gym.
He’s going wild.” Vinz is trying to “black up,” but those that are Black see through his attempt. Hubert is consistently the check on Vinz’s wild behaviour throughout the film. Vinz is trying so hard to fit into a gangster mold that he puts himself in dangerous situations, and each time Hubert is consistently making the correct decision to save Vinz. After a skirmish between some kids from the neighborhood and riot police, Vinz, Hubert and Said are running away through an abandoned building when Vinz and Hubert are cut off by a police officer. Immediately, Vinz takes out the gun and points it at the officer. A potentially disastrous sequence is only avoided because Hubert pushes Vinz and the police officer aside, allowing both Vinz and Hubert to escape. Vinz, however does not learn the right lesson from this encounter. Later when Hubert is scolding Vinz for wanting to kill a cop, Vinz responds by saying that “without my gun back there, we’d have been history.” This continued fascination with the gun, Moscowitz writes, “describes how the Blackface fetish functions 'like the substitute phallus in Freud's analysis and like the commodity in Marx's'.” Vinz performs in blackface by substituting the black gun for the black …show more content…
mask. In addition to the use of the gun in framing the scene, this scene uses two framing devices that continue to show the reflection that Moscowitz identified.
The friends are all hanging out in a bathroom, and in one portion of the scene only Vinz’s reflection in the mirror is shown and in another portion of the scene Vinz and Hubert are placed face-to-face six inches from each other while they debate the value of killing a cop. Both framing devices reinforce the dichotomy between Vinz and Hubert while exploring the space between them, with Vinz acting the way he perceives a black person would act. Moscowitz continues to write of Vinz that “it is reflection that ultimately reveals his performance and further complicates his postassimilatory identity.” This complication manifests in the way that Vinz sees himself and how the world sees Vinz. A prime example of the world looking at Vinz differently comes when all three friends are exiting an apartment building together as cops arrive and begin to shakedown and arrest Hubert and Said. Vinz, who was a few steps behind the other two, is not checked as quickly as the other two and is able, for a least that moment, to pretend to be a nephew of a person living in the
building. Given that this apartment was in a White neighborhood, this excuse’s believability is predicated entirely on his ability to shift his identity based on his white skin. Whereas Hubert and Said are by the fact of their skin color immediately seen as threats, Vinz is able to shed his performative blackface when it suits his survival. While Hubert and Said are taken into custody and harassed for information in jail, the movie shows Vinz escaping and watching a movie in a movie theater. This episode is a critical exposition on the fluidity of Vinz’s identity. In regard to fluidity, Moscowitz writes that the director “displays Vinz's passive consumption as common, easy, and malleable, which highlights a kind of performative 'privilege' less available to Hubert or Said, the ability to choose between passing as White or performing as different.” The final transformative scene occurs when the three friends are roaming around Paris where they encounter a group of off duty cops that they had interacted with the previous day. After a brief fight, Vinz captures one man by pulling out the gun and then takes him into a back room. There Vinz wants to kill the man to avenge the death of Abdel, which was just reported over the news. The captured man is beaten up and crying while Vinz holds the weapon pointed directly at his head. After a minute where Hubert tries to prevent Vinz from shooting, by actually encouraging him to do so, Vinz pulls away from the man, looking visibly shaken and beginning to vomit. This scene transitions into the final one of the movie. The three friends are back in their suburb, and Vinz is seen giving the gun over to Hubert. Only thirty seconds later, Vinz and Said are accosted by a group of off duty cops who recognized them from the previous day. One cop takes out his weapon and places it next to Vinz’s head. In similar imagery to the Russian roulette scene in the apartment building, Vinz is held at gunpoint, but this time the weapon accidentally discharges, killing Vinz instantly. The movie ends with the cop and Hubert pointing their guns at each other, a final bang and fade to white. These dramatic last few minutes of the film elicit a rollercoaster of emotions: fright, joy, fear, and sadness. Vinz realized that his desired appearance was unattainable and took off his blackface when he gave the gun to Hubert. This act, however, does not spare Vinz as, within a minute of his recognition, he is killed because of his prior actions. With this tragic ending and cliffhanger, the main question to be answered is how Vinz’s actions in the scope of the movie reflected his internal struggle with how he would be viewed by others. Moscowitz writes that, for Vinz, performative blackface was both about “social and personal affirmation” and “an attempt to talk to his self.” Vinz’s identity is shaped by the duality of both internal and external value from blackface. For this Jewish character, putting on blackface allowed him to enter into an in between space where he was able to feel out his own identity. While on one hand acting like a gangster, brandishing the weapon and acting tough, Vinz simultaneously clings to his Jewish and White identity by continuing to wear a necklace with the star of David and utilizing his whiteness when advantageous. Vinz’s identity arc throughout the film correlates with the intensity of his performative blackface. When Vinz finally drops his veil in the final scene, he can be seen as relinquishing his grasp on the middle space, retreating back into his Jewish/White sphere. His nearly immediate death serves as a somber forewaring of the perils of his attempted identity transformation. For all that Vinz wanted to fit in the predominantly Black and Arab community, he never could. This message has important implications for the Jewish identity in France today. Reports in the last year reveal that Jews living in the suburbs of Paris are fleeing what they see as a dangerous and hostile community, a community whose demographics are rapidly changing. For the Jewish director and Jewish character in the film, the application of blackface teaches a valuable lesson about the inability of blackface to provide a method for integration and its propensity to alienate one from a community.
This initial stage is followed by a realization of loneliness. Truman reaches out to the girl at college whom he sees at events, but with whom he is never able to speak because, subconsciously, he realizes that she is more substantive, and as we — the omniscient viewer — learn, she is a window to the reality. Truman longs for reality, although he does not know it. He only knows that he is not totally happy in "paradise." She is a
His observations of surrounding nature changes after a few ironic incidents occur. The role he plays reverses itself and he finds that he is merely a scared child who is lost and alone in a big scary world. While at Greasy Lake, he is involved in a terrible fight where he almost kills another person, and attempts the heinous crime of rape onto an innocent girl. As he begins to gang rape an innocent victim he is forced to run for his own safety when more people show up at the scene. Ironically, within minutes he converts from being the bad guy, forcing himself on an unwilling victim, to becoming a scared kid hiding in the woods from attackers. While...
Throughout most of the movie, Bunz is in heavy shadow. This represents the underground and evil nature of his way; He deals in drugs and money, with quite a bit of killing involved. The fact that the audience almost never sees his face is a representation of society never seeing the actions, or faces for that matter, of real hard core criminals. For instance, while Bunz is in jail, his face is barely seen while he talks on the phone. His mouth is the only part of his face that actually enters the light in the segment. Hype Williams, the director, is drawing specific attention to the nature of this character: Bunz is a bad person, who is in jail because of illegal dealings, and a blanket of darkness has been cast over him. Society has turned its back on him, and he sits in its shadow. In another scene, Bunz is in the light; he is in a drug dealer's house, and the sun is shining through onto Bunz. However, his back is to it, like he is...
The motion picture A Few Good Men challenges the question of why Marines obey their superiors’ orders without hesitation. The film illustrates a story about two Marines, Lance Corporal Harold W. Dawson and Private First Class Louden Downey charged for the murder of Private First Class William T. Santiago. Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee, who is known to be lackadaisical and originally considers offering a plea bargain in order to curtail Dawson’s and Downey’s sentence, finds himself fighting for the freedom of the Marines; their argument: they simply followed the orders given for a “Code Red”. The question of why people follow any order given has attracted much speculation from the world of psychology. Stanley Milgram, a Yale psychologist, conducted an experiment in which randomly selected students were asked to deliver “shocks” to an unknown subject when he or she answered a question wrong. In his article, “The Perils of Obedience”, Milgram concludes anyone will follow an order with the proviso that it is given by an authoritative figure. Two more psychologists that have been attracted to the question of obedience are Herbert C. Kelman, a professor at Harvard University, and V. Lee Hamilton, a professor at the University of Maryland. In their piece, Kelman and Hamilton discuss the possibilities of why the soldiers of Charlie Company slaughtered innocent old men, women, and children. The Marines from the film obeyed the ordered “Code Red” because of how they were trained, the circumstances that were presented in Guantanamo Bay, and they were simply performing their job.
Tom is running full speed, maybe even for his life. It is a perfect summer night in San Jose, and Tom and his work partner just left work minutes before. They were walking through a “bad neighborhood” when some thugs started hassling them, and yelling obscenities at them. Tom and his friend walked by them quickly soon to be chased by the thugs. The thugs were threatening Tom and his friend’s life. Tom and his friend continue to run till the reach a busy intersection where Tom pulls out a semi-automatic handgun from his backpack and points it towards the thugs. As soon as the gun is leveled the thugs retreat leaving the two men alone. If there had been no gun Tom and his friend would have been seriously beaten or even killed. Tom did not have a permit for the gun, and might have not been able to get one without a special reason (Rauch 731). People like Tom need to be able to get gun permits, but it is so difficult because of all the criminal activity in America. Gun control laws are pointless and are only binding on the law-abiding citizens.
...ferent from their peers has isolated Bernard, Helmholtz, and John, it has also deepened their individuality. This scenario, at a lesser level, often plays out in modern day. People possess a natural desire to fit in and often are willing to forego individuality in order to do so. Though one may gain a facade of happiness as a result of fitting in, being truthful to oneself and expressing one’s free will allows for honest expression of individuality, a concept much greater than such a facade. A society without unique individuals is a society without humanity, and, as demonstrated through these characters’ experience, does not function. Ultimately, people must realize that individuality, knowledge, and raw emotion is more important to society than superficial happiness.
The change in the setting made the teacher more relax but difficulties still continues in the silence. However, further on in the walk, Dellis start to share things about herself and that she likes red. This show that what is takes for people to connect was to walk together. The conversation continues to unfold as the two young women walk through the town to the
When Jess first meets Leslie he doesn’t quite understand her and is somewhat jealous of her. Jess is the fastest runner in the fifth grade until Leslie comes along. Leslie beats Jess in a race which makes Jess really angry because he lost to a girl. Jess wants Leslie to stay away from him as he thinks that she follows him home. Jess realizes that Leslie is his new neighbor which makes him even more upset. The conflict is later resolved when Jess and Leslie become friends when Jess stands up for Leslie. Leslie one day goes to sit on the back of the bus where the seventh grade bully Janice Avery sits. Janice doesn’t like it when younger kids try to sit in the back of the bus and will bully all who try. Jess stands up to Janice for Leslie and makes fun of her weight. This is when Jess and Leslie become friends and the conflict is resolved. The other conflict is Jess and the bully Janice. Through the book Janice bullies on Jess and other young students because she is upset with her own life. Jess and Janice have many altercations on the bus and at school. The conflict between Jess and Janice is resolved when Leslie is no more and Janice feels sorry for Jess and decides to be nice to
Although close friends strengthen one against the troublesome events in life and provide a release for the protagonists' thoughts, they have their drawbacks. Friends need attention and support of their own. In many instances all that they can offer is their judgment and criticism. Portia, one of Zora's close friends in Disappearing Acts, explains the need for independence from advice by sa...
“Johnny Got His Gun” elicits emotions including fear and sorrow and thus enables people to avoid hostilities and violence. For instance, while serving in the military, Joe witnesses severe atrocities against humanity. At one point, he remembers disturbing images of individuals who had been brutally murdered. Thus, he requests his damaged body to be displayed in the public in order to sensitize people on the dangers of war. The book also centers on capitalism and the elements of modern warfare. For instance, the war had led to the class struggle between the poor and the rich. The middle class is deployed on the frontline while the elites order them around. Hence, Joe is a victim of the social oppression since he was deployed into the battlefield unwillingly. For instance, at one point Joe questions the purpose of the war; Joe asks, "What the fight was all about” (Trumbo
He is always angry at Josh and lashes out at him. Powerless to provide for his family, Stefan takes his anger out on Josh. Hungry with no job, Stefan is exhausted. To support his family, the man of the family has to work hard. He sees Josh that should be the one to provide if he cannot, as useless because he plays the piano. Stefan does not consider that to be a hardworking man’s job. Additionally, Stefan becomes impatient. He becomes impatient with Josh because he believes work should be of a higher importance. He does not want to wait around to see his family helpless. Correspondingly, Stefan becomes more stubborn. When he lashes out at Josh he does not want to apologize to him. He does not want to admit his behavior is irrational. His rages become more frequent and they go without an apology. In addition, Stefan acts unloving to Josh. His attitude towards Josh decreases because of the loss of his savings and of the loss of being a proud man with a job. Stefan was a hardworking man, but with the loss of his pride he has changed
If you had a gun, you basically had power. When a lost gun from the riots was in Vinz’s custody, many internal as well as external conflicts arose. Hubert and Vinz, numerous times, had arguments and tensions arising between them two. Vinz wished to take a life of an officer to avenge the death of his friend, Abdel. Hubert felt that was a terrible idea and wouldn't make a difference because killing one officer wouldn't have solved the issue. Although Vinz never did get to execute an officer, despite his desires to do so, ultimately an officer executed Vinz accidently. Furthermore, in one riot, a group of men who were close to Abdel shot at cops, infuriated. Where there were guns, there was violence in the movie. Guns and violence were a huge theme in the
During the confrontation during the poker game, which immediately ends it, readers are exposed to the reality of Stella and Stanley’s
“One of my neighbors in the apartment building across the street spends a lot of time at her mirror examining her pores, and I can see her doing it, just as she can undoubtedly see me sometimes. But our respective privacies remain intact as long as neither of us feels seen.”
Image this, your job is to help dying people, then you're forced to send them back across the Border . Are you "good" or "bad"? What about if you are being paid to bring illegal immigrants over the Border , then halfway it's too hard to bear so you are forced to abandon them. Are you "good" or "bad"? Now imagine you live in Mexico and the economy is completely shot, in desperation to help your family you illegal cross the American Border . Are you "good" or "bad"? Immigration policy has been a topic of profound debate throughout the American political system for many years. Like all arguments there are different sides and beliefs on who the “good guys” are and who the “bad guys” are. Luis Alberto Urrea’s book The Devil’s Highway describes the journey of the Yuma-14, immigrants who illegally crossed the Border in 2001 through the Arizona desert; also know as the devils highway. Urrea presents different perspectives on who the “good guys” and “bad guys” are in illegal immigration. The many groups in The Devils Highway support and complicate the debate about illegal immigration. There are not always clear “good guys” and “bad guys” but I have concurred who they are. There are clear “good guys” in the Border Control and clear “bad guys” in the Coyote gangs. Then there are also those who could go either way, good or bad, those people would be the illegal immigrants themselves.