Perhaps one of the most human things we humans do is question what it means to be human. This is beyond asking what physical or phenotypical traits are necessary to consider a being human; it is a question of what behaviour constitutes being considered part of humanity. Bong Joon-Ho’s 2013 sci-fi thriller Snowpiercer is a movie about many things: progress, climate, class divides and, maybe in a subtler way, what it means to be human. As films so often have the power to do, it acts as a reflection of the audience’s own humanity. That is, it provides a channel for us to reflect on our own humanity. Bong depicts contrast between his characters, showing that perhaps some have retained more of their humanity than others. Conversely, no character …show more content…
This is apparent in the scene where Curtis and other revolutionaries reach the car where young children are being indoctrinated to worship the engine and fear the outside. One girl, upon seeing the tail enders, states, “I heard old tail sectioners were lazy dogs who slept all day in their own ***” (Snowpiercer). The upper class have been dehumanizing the tail enders and teaching their children to do the same. The dehumanization of the tail enders continues into the latter parts of the film, where it is revealed young Timmy and Andy are manually operating parts of the train to keep the engine going. The dehumanization of Timmy can also be related to his Blackness and the historical dehumanization and enslavement of Black people: “Life is disallowed especially with regards to Timmy… Recalling transatlantic slaveries from our world, Timmy’s “blackness” alludes to his occupation of the dehumanized position of a living instrument.” (Lee and Manicastri, 17). Despite this onscreen practice of dehumanizing tail enders, we the audience are made to see them as acting more humanly than their upper-class counterparts: they are concerned with the wellbeing of each other, are more compassionate and do not act like a sub-category of The Other. …show more content…
Unlike the others, he is not portrayed as subhuman, other than human or human; rather he is illustrated as a divine being above humans. He is illustrated as a god. The imagery and the vocabulary surrounding him contributes to this, such as “Wilford, divine keeper of the sacred engine,” “the benevolent Wilford,” “Wilford is divine, Wilford is merciful” (Snowpiercer). Some of the imagery includes the light and symmetry that surrounds him and the ritualistic hand movements. The idea of him as a god (primarily similar to that of the Judeo-Christian God) is further emphasised by his role as an omniscient presence and him being the creator of the train, which is often described in ways that parallel the idea of Mother Earth. He is also worshipped by the upper-class members of the train and his ideals are used to indoctrinate young children; actions that an audience might associate with religion and cultism. Wilford, however, is not as merciful as his followers would believe, and he displays an enormous lack of humanity despite claiming to be concerned with the continuation of the human race. According to Phillipe Rochat of Emory University, “The bottom-line of what it means to be human is the unique way we share resources to survive collectively. Brain size and mental capacities for language, self-conceptualization,
Over the past decades, Hollywood movies have brought out the representations of racial inequality through out various themes of racism and stereotypical ways. One frequent type of racial inequality is that there is a culture or race that is belittled, under-privilege and inferior while the other is superior and high in order. In “The Offensive Movie Cliché That Won’t Die” by Matt Zoller Seitz, He identifies the term “magical negro” as: “a saintly African American character who acts as a mentor to a questing white hero, who seems to be disconnected from the community that he adores so much, and who often seems to have an uncanny ability to say and do exactly what needs to be said or done in order to keep the story chugging along in the hero’s favor” (408) and in Mitu Sengupta “ Race Relations Light Years from the Earth” the author examines the movie Avatar as a racist film, and focuses on how it resembles the “white messiah” stereotype. The term “white messiah” is known as a white individual who hold superior power, according to David Brooks of the New York Times, “a stereotype that white people are rationalistic and technocratic while colonial victims are spiritual and athletic, and that nonwhites need the White Messiah to lead their crusades” (Sengupta 213). Both articles dwell and explain the two terms and how it portrays the themes of racism and stereotypes through two elements, known as author’s purpose and main idea. These elements effectively convey the theme because it prevents our thoughts from being scattered by a broad spectrum of ideas and instead, it tells you exactly what is going to be discussed throughout the article.
Over past decades, Hollywood movies have brought out the representations of racial inequality through out various themes of racism and stereotypical ways. One frequent type of racial inequality is that there is a culture or race that is belittled, under-privilege and inferior while the other is superior and high in order. In “The Offensive Movie Cliché That Won’t Die” by Matt Zoller Seitz, He identifies the term “magical negro” as: “a saintly African American character who acts as a mentor to a questing white hero, who seems to be disconnected from the community that he adores so much, and who often seems to have an uncanny ability to say and do exactly what needs to be said or done in order to keep the story chugging along in the hero’s favor” (408) and in Mitu Sengupta “ Race Relations Light Years from the Earth” the author examines the movie Avatar as a racist film, and focuses on how it resembles the “white messiah” stereotype. The term “white messiah” is known as a white individual who hold superior power, according to David Brooks of the New York Times, “a stereotype that white people are rationalistic and technocratic while colonial victims are spiritual and athletic, and that nonwhites need the White Messiah to lead their crusades” (Sengupta 213). Both articles dwell and explain the two terms and how it portrays the themes of racism and stereotypes through two elements, known as author’s purpose and main idea. These elements effectively convey the theme because it prevents our thoughts from being scattered by a broad spectrum of ideas and instead, it tells you exactly what is going to be discussed throughout the article.
Media such as movies, video games and television, in general, are all created to support some form of social context. This helps with generating popularity because people are able to relate to the form of media. In Greg Smith’s book What Media Classes Really Want to Discuss, he describes 6 different representational strategies that justifies people’s way of thinking. The trope that I will be amplifying is the white savior tactic. In addition, I will connect this strategy to the movie The Blind Side. There are clear examples throughout the film where racism and low-income cultures exist in which the white family is there to help. The Tuohy family from the movie “The Blind Side” serves as the white savior for the progression of Michael
When you look at yourself in the mirror, probably, you are wondering what is human nature, how does it affect us? We all say that men’s nature at birth is good. But the truth is we realize more and more darkness of humanity along with we grow up, and that changes us inattentively. Today, I would like to present human nature base on the transition of Charlie who is the main character in Craig Silvey’s ‘Jasper Jones’.
One could easily dismiss movies as superficial, unnecessarily violent spectacles, although such a viewpoint is distressingly pessimistic and myopic. In a given year, several films are released which have long-lasting effects on large numbers of individuals. These pictures speak
The film observes and analyzes the origins and consequences of more than one-hundred years of bigotry upon the ex-slaved society in the U.S. Even though so many years have passed since the end of slavery, emancipation, reconstruction and the civil rights movement, some of the choice terms prejudiced still engraved in the U.S society. When I see such images on the movie screen, it is still hard, even f...
In the blockbuster movie The Blind Side, director John Lee Hancock brings to light an emotionally charged and compelling story that describes how a young African American teenager perseveres through the trials, tribulations and hardships that surround his childhood. The themes of class, poverty, and also the love and nurturing of family encapsulate the film mainly through the relationship that Mrs. Tuohy and Michael Oher build during the entirety of the movie. This analysis will bring together these themes with sociological ideas seen throughout the course.
In order to illustrate the segregation of African-American, Lowe uses representation in her work. The characters in the story represent a social status based on race: the owners, Mr. Parsons and Kraft, represent the high-class and Mrs. Jackson represents the low-class. First, let’s discuss how Lowe shows the audience that Mr. Parsons and Kraft represent the high-class. For instance, the narrator frequently refers to Mr. Parsons and Kraft as “the proprietor” (Lowe 2) but always refers to Mrs. Jackson as herself. By using the word “proprietor” instead of their names, Lowe shows a separation between Mrs. Jackson and Mr. Parsons and Kraft. This use of word declares that the owners are a representation of high-class. They are different...
In today’s society, pre-existing assumptions and stereotypes of other ethnicities and individuals play a large part in the way we see others. This social construct of stereotypes has placed restrictions on many people’s lives which ultimately limits them from achieving certain goals. In this sense, stereotypes misrepresent and restrict people of colour to gain casting within the Hollywood film industry. The issue of how casting actors to certain roles and how these actors are forced to submit and represent these false stereotypes is one worthy of discussion. White Chicks (2004), directed by Keenan Wayans, illustrates this issue through the performance of Latrell, performed by Terry Crews, and his performance of the hyper-sexualised “buck” will be a prime example in this essay to discuss the racial politics and stereotypes in Hollywood casting.
In The Marrow of Tradition, author Charles W. Chesnutt illustrates examples that signify the thoughts that whites had of and used against blacks, which are still very much prevalent in public opinion and contemporary media. Chesnutt writes, “Confine the negro to that inferior condition for which nature had evidently designed for him (Chesnutt, 533).” Although significant strides have been made toward equality, the media, in many instances, continues to project blacks as inferior to whites through examples observed in television shows, music videos, films and newscasts.
Over the course of approximately one-hundred years there has been a discernible metamorphosis within the realm of African-American cinema. African-Americans have overcome the heavy weight of oppression in forms such as of politics, citizenship and most importantly equal human rights. One of the most evident forms that were withheld from African-Americans came in the structure of the performing arts; specifically film. The common population did not allow blacks to drink from the same water fountain let alone share the same television waves or stage. But over time the strength of the expectant black actors and actresses overwhelmed the majority force to stop blacks from appearing on film. For the longest time the performing arts were the only way for African-Americans to express the deep pain that the white population placed in front of them. Singing, dancing and acting took many African-Americans to a place that no oppressor could reach; considering the exploitation of their character during the 1930's-1960's acting' was an essential technique to African American survival.
We, the audience, are entertained and interested by the interviews, the balls and the featured persons. bell hooks sees audience enjoyment as exploitative and says, "...It is this current trend in producing colorful ethnicity for the white consumer appet...
Often racial injustice goes unnoticed. Television tries to influence the mind of their viewers that blacks and whites get along by putting them on the screen to act as if interracial relationships has been accepted or existent. “At the movies these days, questions about racial injustice have been amicably resolved (Harper,1995). Demott stresses that the entertainment industry put forth much effort to persuade their audience that African Americans and Caucasians are interacting and forming friendships with one another that is ideal enough for them to die for one another. In the text, Demott states “A moment later he charges the black with being a racist--with not liking whites as much as the white man likes blacks--and the two talk frankly about their racial prejudices. Near the end of the film, the men have grown so close that each volunteer to die for the other” (Harper,1995). Film after film exposes a deeper connection amongst different races. In the text, Demott states “Day after day the nation 's corporate ministries of culture churn out images of racial harmony” (Harper, 1995). Time and time again movies and television shows bring forth characters to prove to the world that racial injustice has passed on and justice is now received. Though on-screen moments are noticed by many people in the world it does not mean that a writer/ director has done their
The article, “White” by Richard Dyer explores both sides of the black and white paradigm in mainstream films –while addressing racial inequalities. Dyer talks about the “…property of whiteness to be everything and nothing [and that this] is the source of its representational power…the way whiteness disappears behind and is subsumed into other identities…”(Dyer 825). Also, according to Dyer “…stereotypes are seldom found in a pure form and this is part of the process by which they are naturalized…”(Dyer 826). Through the application of binarism to the film, The Green Mile, this essay will critically analyze the identities of black and white people. For instance, specific examples of the films mis-en-scene will serve as evidence to show the visible binarism and racial symbolism that exist in this
In the Following essay I will explore and develop an analysis of how the movie Twelve Years A Slave produces knowledge about the racial discourse. To support my points, I will use “The Poetics and the Politics of Exhibiting Other Cultures” written by Henrietta Lidchi, a Princeton University text “Introduction: Development and the Anthropology of Modernity” and “Can the Subaltern Speak?” by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak.