More handpicked essays just for you.
Representation of minorities in american cinema
History of how hispanic and latinos are portrayed in hollywood films
Representation of minorities in american cinema
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
American History in Stand and Deliver
Since the beginning of cinema, a relationship has existed between history and film. Many films are made to reflect a certain time or event. The film Stand and Deliver is no exception. Directed by Ramón Menéndez, this movie was released in the year 1988 (IMDb). The star of this motion picture is Edward James Olmos, who portrays a math teacher named Jaime Escalante. Set in urban Los Angeles, Escalante teaches students in a low-income district. Most of his students are of color and of the Mexican race. This film revolves around a plot showing the rough life and discrimination against Hispanic teenagers in the state of California. Historically speaking, this discrimination once was a part of everyday
…show more content…
life for Hispanic students. Back in 1968, a phenomenon swept many high schools in East Los Angeles (Solorzano and Bernal, 2). A protest which became known as a "walkout" gained popularity in this area (Solorzano and Bernal, 3). The cause of this protest was unfair treatment of Hispanic students. America was still struggling to adopt racial equality, despite the progress made through the Civil Rights Movement. The film shows a variety of ways that these students grew up according to racial barriers. One student in particular, Angel Guzman, appears to be overly aggressive and unkempt. There is a suggestion here that Angel is a part of a street gang. Gang activity remains a problem in California, including a few gangs, which are notoriously Hispanic (Atkiss, Moyer, Desoi and Roland, para. 20). The majority of Escalante's students are completely apathetic towards their education and academic success. Through character development, the film reveals that many of the students come from broken homes and have parents who do not value education. These students were a product of their environment and did not intend to break the cycle in which they were raised. The students knew that many Caucasian people, especially professionals and school employees looked down upon them. This proves true in the film, when the principal and school faculty show no hope or support towards Escalante's students. Other teachers assume that the students are a lost cause and will eventually drop out or fail out of high school. This attitude towards Hispanic students played a role in the walkouts, which took place in the same area as Garfield High School, the setting of Stand and Deliver. Escalante, on the other hand, is committed to changing their outlook and is optimistic in his ability to make a connection with his students. Eventually, despite many obstacles and resistance he faces on the way, Escalante successfully makes an impact on his students. Students who wished to withdraw from high school were setting higher goals, such as applying to colleges. For once, they had an authority figure who believed in them and genuinely cared for their careers and well-being. This is another reference to the socio-economic issue of apathetic parents. All of the calculus classes Mr.
Escalante teaches lead up to the final AP Calculus exam which all of the students plan to take. When the results are processed, it is revealed by the Educational Testing Service that the results were impressively high. However, the success did not lead to a celebration. In fact, the students were accused of cheating and academic dishonesty. The characters of this movie make it blatantly obvious that the students were only accused because of their race and backgrounds. Had the students been Caucasian, no one would have questioned their successful scores. Ultimately, the ETS requires the students to take the exam again. This time, they are strictly monitored so that it would be impossible for any cheating to occur. When the second round of results come in, it is made clear that the students did indeed know their calculus. They passed the exam with exceptional scores. By the end of the film, many of the students become successful and are gearing up to take on a promising academic career. The film shows that this behavior from a Hispanic teenager is a rarity. Many of the students would be the first in their families and friend groups to graduate high school. Their ambition and hopes of going on to colleges were even more shocking in this society, as they were expected to fail
academically. Stand and Deliver does an excellent job of portraying the struggles certain socio-economic groups will face. It is a realistic depiction of life for Mexican youth back in the 1980's. To express the reality of this film a step further, it is imperative to know that Jaime Escalante is a real person. This film is based upon his life and career, which includes teaching the children that this film is based on. The film contains a title screen, which states that the film is based on real events. Based on a study by Olga Reyes, it is evident that the living situations, backgrounds and behavior displayed by Escalante’s students is accurate and a real problem for Hispanic communities (Reyes, p. 12-15). Menendez created a motion picture that brought a real issue to life on the big screen. This film displays issues that were at large in the 1900’s, and how they remained important in the 1980’s. From its depiction of clothing, language, family relationships and academic tendencies, Stand and Deliver paints a clear picture of the culture and life for a Hispanic student in the 1980’s.
Valenzuela utilizes various compilations of research to construct her exceptional argument regarding the issue of subtractive schooling with regards to 2nd generational immigrant students. She thoroughly analyzes and assesses the multitude of differences between 1st generation and 2nd generation students and their affinity for education. She divides the topic into 3 categories and asserts how each one adds to the issue of inadequate education for Mexican/Mexican-American students in the US public school system. Her research is conducted at Seguin (pseudonym) High School in Houston, Texas. She examines the effects of substandard education in regards to the students and their academic performance. She uses quantitative and qualitative research
Both 1984 and The Handmaid’s Tale are dystopian novels, however, these books are a lot more complex than mere portrayals of dystopia, it can be argued that they are explorations of dystopia rather than mere portrayals. In order to explore dystopia, many themes must be considered, such as; feminism, love and repression. Nonetheless, it is apparent that human characteristics are the driving point of the two novels, predominantly, the depiction of human resilience. In an imperfect world, it is important to have certain qualities which, if plentiful, it can mean success, whereas if it lacks, it can mean failure, this characteristic is resilience. The protagonists in each novel, Winston in 1984 and Offred in The Handmaid’s Tale face situations which leave them both in disarray, and both even consider suicide. The authors tentatively highlight human resilience, its limits and most importantly its strengths into the two novels.
2. “Mexican Americans as a group fail to achieve well on standard tests of academic achievement, and they do not do as well as their Anglo counterparts in the more subjective evaluations of achievement.” (Carter, 17).
“‘They score! Henderson has scored for Canada!’” Foster Hewitt wordlessly described” (Pelletier) when Paul Henderson scored the series-winning goal. This allowed Canada to win the 1972 Summit Series, a moment that no one would ever forget since it all happened during the climax of the Cold War. Prior to this, the Soviets had won the previous three Olympic gold metals since Canada could not use its NHL players. Thus, this provided Canada with the chance to play hockey against the USSR using its best players. This raised the question: if Canada were able to send its best players, would it still be enough to beat the Soviets? Everyone in Canada was certain that the Soviets would not win a single game, but little did they know they underestimated the extent of the Soviets abilities. Tied in the last few minutes of game eight, Canada had to score or they would lose the series. However, when Paul Henderson scored the game-winning goal, never before had a single sporting event meant so much to Canadians. Therefore, Paul Henderson’s goal is a defining moment for Canada in the twentieth century becauseit provided Canada with the opportunity to evolve hockey, proved that Canada and our democratic society were superior to the USSR and their communist society, and brought citizens together to unify Canada as a nation.
The Hunger Games was a critically acclaimed movie when it came out; however, some critics would argue that the movie can be sometimes too violent for its intended audience. In this essay I would dissert Brian Bethune’s essay “Dystopia Now” in order to find its weaknesses and compare the movie Battle Royale with his essay.
“Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson presents Melinda’s (a teenage girl) life as she drifts through her adolescent years, where she struggles to overcome internal depression, as well as typical issues, involving her social life. Melinda’s life in an obscure world, where enigmatic challenges constantly clog her path towards a normal and healthy life, she feels lost and betrayed. Likewise, the boy that raped her attends the same school as her, causing her to have constant memories of the event. Thus, Melinda’s defective life compromising of rape, lack of communication, and depression mirrors the lives of many teens around the world. In addition, this book revolves around the dominant theme of adolescence, resulting to an effect of a realistic- fiction novel.
Students were grouped by IQ, those who had an above average or higher were helped to go to college and those who had a low IQ’s were not given the support or the push needed to get them into college. Educators allowed low education standards and refused to see students as equals. The advisors set students sights low for the future by encouraging how service jobs were a practical choice for us Mexicans. Cleaning houses were the normal thing to do for Mexican-American females. Students were tired of the inadequate staff and the staff's lack of concern for their students. The students sent out a survey among the other students to see if they were satisfied with what they were getting from their education. The result was that the schools and instructors were not meeting the needs of the students’ more so of the Chicano students.
Although the California Department of Education (CDE) would argue that the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) is an effective way to evaluate student progress, based on recent interviews with parents, teachers, California public high school graduates and even the leadership of the CDE, there is no doubt this test creates a better education system and hinders a student’s performance. According to the state Department of Education figures for the class of 2014, 19,679 students did not pass the exit exam by the end of the senior year. Those alternatives included using the results of the eleventh grade Smarter Balanced Assessments; using results of other exams, such as the SAT, ACT or Advanced Placement tests, as a “proxy” for the exit exam; or using course completion in high school as a measure of proficiency. When asked if the exit exam was now abolished, Superintendent Torlakson hesitated, but explained that he, along with Mark McLean, CDE Assessment Development and Administration Division Director, look forward to forming a panel of students, parents, teachers, and education administrators to develop a more thoughtful approach to high school graduation requirements.
Stern, G. M. (2009). The 'Secondary'. Why Latino students are failing to attend college. Education Digest: Essential Readings Condensed for Quick Review, 75(1), 46-49. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.
The importance put on education often comes from parental involvement. Many Latinos come to this country in hopes of giving the opportunity to their children to have more open more doors to success while enjoying freedom. The freedom that some possibly do not have at home. “A number of factors contribute to the translation of a family’s social capital to schools capital, including parental income and educational attainment, English language proficiency (ELP), parental beliefs and educational aspirations for their children, and parental involvement in schools (Zambrana 62).” The need to aspire is an individual motivation, however the family structure has much to do with the ambitions. The Latino community according to the book Latinos in American Society written by Ruth Zambrana ran a study on the Average SAT Scores for Twelfth Grade Test-Taking Population, by Race and Latino Subgroup, 1996-2006. In this study, it was found that the second-generation students that are of college-educated Latino families contributed the most to the rise in the total Latino student
Exam Essay Historically, women have been excluded from combat roles. On the surface, it is because men, who have always thought of themselves better and stronger than women, believed that females could not handle the responsibility of holding a combat position and women are rupturing the socially constructed gender norms that were set in place. According to Nicole Dombrowski, “no other topic concerning women’s role in war creates as great a debate as the question of women’s active participation in combat units.” The benefits of the expansion of women’s roles in the military advantage not only the women but the military as well. In comparison, the drawbacks of expansion of women’s roles are usually disadvantages to the men within the military.
Stand and Deliver, a 1988 film directed by Ramon Menendez follows the true story of how teacher Jaime Escalante, played by Edward Olmos in his Oscar nominated role, takes a group of poverty stricken students in a run down school and defies the odds by not only getting them to learn but want to learn. Throughout the whole movie is the proof that being underprivileged does not mean less intelligent, Stand and Deliver shows that with hard work, the proper push, and desire, anything can be accomplished.
Stand Up is a program developed to promote good posture and physical activity to high school students. This means encouraging them to use all available resources and educating them on the benefits of being active and practicing good posture. Sitting for extended periods is common among high school students. This is due to having long school days and being an electronically oriented age group. Two CDC risk addressed in my program are behaviors that result in intentional injury and physical inactivity. I plan on implementing this program to help improve posture and physical activity among high school students to hopefully reduce possibility of lower back pain and obesity in this population.
I have the fortunate position of being able to say that my career, for the most part, has allowed me to invest my time in the places that both interest me and have had a beneficial impact on underserved and low-income communities. Through my work I have been able to respond to societal needs in healthcare and, my passion, community development. At the same time I realize that to have the greatest impact in the community development field requires me to further my formal education, deepen my policy expertise, develop my leadership skills, enhance my management ability and learn from the leaders in the field.
Every year many students are kept from graduating high school because of these exit exams. This makes students and parents very angry. Students who have had high passing grades throughout high school do not understand why they cannot pass exit exams. Sometimes the student blames him or herself by thinking that he or she did not learn enough, when in fact there is nothing wrong without heir knowledge. These students do not realize that they lack good test taking skills. Parents are angry that their child was kept from graduating because of a single test, even though the child had all the he credits required. This situation occurred to Lee Hicks, another student from Paris (texas) High School. Had he lived 14 miles away in Oklahoma, which has no statewide exit test, he'd have received a diploma and would now be serving his country in the Navy. Instead Hicks severs customers in a Paris supermarket; he won management's Aggressive Hospitality Award for 1996. "He's a great employee, a bright young man--extremely hardworking," says store director, Larry Legg.