Wide Reading

Title: Get Out

Director: Jordan Peele

Text type: Film

Viewed: March 20th & Sept 20th 

I did not know that I could feel more disgusted about slavery and racism. Both are such dreadful aspects of life in the past and now, but the film ‘Get Out’ brings to light more horror  surrounding these themes by use of violence and visual interpretations of psychological trauma in the genre of thriller. The film begins innocently with a young interatial couple seemingly in love and ready to introduce each other to their families – something almost everyone can relate to. It is then revealed that in reality the white girlfriend, Rose is manipulating Chris, her black boyfriend. Bringing him to her parents’ house in order for them  auction off his body to rich white americans. Clearly a parallel to the slave auctions. The difference is, instead of just forcing the slaves to do as they say, the auction winners literally take control of their body from the inside. Phase 1: hypnosis, phase 2: mental preparation phase 3: transplantation, the white person’s brain is surgically implanted, the white person snatchs the ‘steering wheel’ and the black person now lives in as a passenger in there own body – from the “sunken place”. To me, and to anyone this narrative is completely terrifying. It is a bright flash which snaps the hypnotised black people out of their trance and that is the effect of the film as a whole: a fright that wakes us up from the trance of believing racism is dead. ‘Get Out’ is a horror/thriller film that educated me on the ‘post Obama’ racial climate in the United States. I learnt from this film that electing a black president absolutely does not equate to the end of racism, moreover voting for Obama does not make you ‘not racist’. To drum in this message, Peele uses an apparently progressive white family who voted for Obama to be the antagonist. The disturbing thing by doing this is that the american family, the armitages on the surface are quite similar to me and my family in the beginning. Both trying to seem progressive, modern thinking, not racist. Personally, I have not had a coloured boyfriend before but I believe if I were to have on my conversation would be so similar to Rose’s and Chris’s: “Do they know, do they know I’m black? “Should they?” “It’s seems like it something you know you should mention. I don’t want to be chased off the lawn with a shotgun” “My dad would have voted Obama for a third time if he could have. They are not racist” and the Dad, Dean says “How long has this ‘thang’ been goon’ on” and repeatedly says “my man”, exactly what my dad would say to a black person. It shows how much of a real issue racism is in how uncomfortable it still is mixing the cultures. But the similarities between our families rapidly diminish once it is releveled what the Armitiges do to black people. To get the message across to me, Peele’s effective method is shock, both with first creating seemingly innocent characters that I could relate to and then disclosing that they are psychopaths and the literal concept of a white person having control of your body while you are still in it. Both horrifying and a persuasive explanation to a person like me that there is a very long way until the racial divides will dissolve, if ever. 

Title: Black Man and White Woman in a Dark Green Rowboat

Author: Russell Banks 

Text type: Short Story

Read: Sept 23th 

This interpretation of an interaccial couple is so interesting to me. Usually when a couple remains together despite adversity it is because they really love each other but the ‘Black Man and White Woman in a Dark Green Rowboat’ has taught me that this is not always the case. The short story is set in the 1970s. This time period is not explicitly but solely judging on the clothing described “lime-green terry cloth bikini” and the emphasis placed on the black man being present “he ceased working and watched carefully as… came a young black man” it seems to be around this era. This happens to be the decade of two very important social milestones; 1967, interracial marrige became legal in the US and 1970 depression began to be diagnosed. Banks addresses these unitedly. There is a white girl and a black man at the center of the narrative, about the same age, 20 – 23 but always addressed as ‘the girl’ and ‘the man’. This is the first evidence to suggest the disjointedness of the relationship. ‘The Man’ is more mature from simply living as a black man in the racial climate and the 20-something year old woman is still referred to as ‘girl’ as she lives with her mother and so far the only thing she seems to be responsible for is “tanning” and “sweating”. By use of dialogue in the text it is evident to me that the couple don’t really understand each other; “I wish I could just leave you here” “What?”. It seems they are young and simply taking advantage of an available opportunity… Still at a time where it is quite taboo, this new couple seems to be together only for the thrill and for the sex. “I wish I could just leave you here”, the man only wants her for company and other things. The mother seems to realise this, the girl tells her mother about her relationship, “I told her that I love you very much” “How’d she take it? As if I don’t already know”. The mother accepted it because the girl is “fragile” (in other words, has depression). The relationship seems to be keeping her daughter content for the time being so the mother is happy for it to run its course, confident that this will not last. Even though the girl says she loves the man she does not want to commit to him. “I suppose you’d rather I just did nothing” “That’s right”. I understood that they have an unwanted pregnancy, the girl wants to get an abortion but the man is not agreeable with this. The whole story is set on a dark green rowboat which the man is rowing like “a galley slave” and I think that the motion of the rowboat is an extension of his thoughts. When the girl is talking about empty things like her love of lying in the sun “he pulled smoothly on the oars” but after they spoke about abortion “he started rowing again, faster this time and not as smoothly as before”. With all of these things combined, it is clear that Banks is illustrating a couple formed lightheartedly but because of the impact of reality, all of their differences, the main one being race, they simply can’t last. This is an interesting comparison to all of the stories of ‘true love’ between an interacial couple who struggle to remain together because of exterior societal norms, in this couple the difference because of race is the very epicenter why the relationship won’t work. Both people had been shaped by society so much that they cannot connect. From this text I learnt that interaccial couples face adversity, not just because of the disapproval of others but because societal norms are ingrained into us, change us so we are not just different on the outside, but on the inside too.

Title: 20th Century Women

Director: Mike Mills

Text type: Film 

Viewed: June 9th & Sept 24th

20th century women are the first of their kind; feminists. Surprisingly after reading the title, ‘20th Century Women’ the central character of the film is actually a teenage boy, Jaime, who is growing up in the 80s and his relationship with his mother. The story gives a very gentle and polite perspective on the new difficulties in trying to be a ‘good man’ in this time of female empowerment. It made me feel more empathetic towards the young men who must become adults in this new era. “I think history has been tough on men. I mean, they can’t be what they were, and they can’t figure out what’s next.”, said by Dorothy, the mother of the teenage boy. I do agree with this statement. Of course these difficulties are not akin to the ones females face, but they are difficulties nonetheless. Jaime desperately wants to fulfill the ideals of a man for the women in his life; his mother, flatmate Cindy and best friend Julie. Ironically, this is one of the significant struggles females face: being the women men want them to be. Completely flipping the old narrative of girls being raised to cater for men. He is taught lessons such as; “Men always feel like they have to fix things for women when they’re not doing anything… Just be there, somehow that’s hard for all of you.” and “I think being strong is the most important quality. It’s not being vulnerable, it’s not being sensitive, honestly not even being happy. It’s about strength – durability against the other emotions”. This is how women want men to be – unrealistic human beings. The very expectation women are trying to escape. I can understand the effect this is having on young men; by trying to take on all of these lessons, a mountain of emotional strain is placed on Jaime. “Life was very big and unknown”, no one knows how to raise a child properly, they just do it the best they can. And now, I have a little more sympathy for the kind modern teenage boy.

Title: The Help

Author: Kathryn Stockett

Text type: Novel 

Read: March & April 

The idea I learned by reading ‘The Help’ is that “kindness don’t have no boundaries” and it is integral to ‘smile in the face of adversity’. Despite all the racial prejudice of the 1960s, tense climate of the black civil rights movement, the awful way the white women especially treat the help black women are still so loving towards the white children and continue to lead lives with humour and joy. In Jackson, Mississippi, african american maids Minny, Aibileen and Constantien continue to act as warm caretakers for the children of privileged white families. Unexpectedly, I felt optimistic after reading this novel. The message I took from ‘The Help is the kindness of the black women, while being treated so disrespectfully, they still do their best to raise the white children as “kindness has no boundaries”, more they really seem to love the children the care for. Mae Mobely is one of the white children included often. She is a chubby young girl at a time where a female’s beauty is her most important trait, so is constantly ridiculed by her mother for not measuring up. “You is kind. You is smart. You is important”. These are the reassuring words of Aibileen. Aibileen is doing her best to form Mae into a sweet woman, as she has with all of her ‘babies’, when she could easily just turn a blind eye and no matter the struggles she has to endure to have the job. She is paid next to nothing, has walk lengths to and from the bus and must constantly keep her mouth shut around the ‘superior white employers’. I believe that if I was put in this situation I would become significantly more bitter. I noticed the kind and caring qualities are not just shown in Aibileen but consistent with every member of The Help I read about. “The first time I was ever called ugly, I was thirteen… ‘Well? Is you?’ ‘Now you look a here, ‘Ugly live up on the inside. Ugly be a hurtful, mean person. Is you one a them peoples?’ ‘I don’t know. I don’t think so,’ I sobbed.” Constantine, a black nanny, consolidated Skeeter on this occasion for example and many other times. So many patient lessons Skeeter is adamant that Constantine raised her, which as a reader, I agree with. “All my life I’d been told what to believe about politics, coloreds, being a girl. But with Constantine’s thumb pressed in my hand, I realized I actually had a choice in what I could believe.” Constantine’s influence created a major impact on the woman Skeeter became. Out of context, this just doesn’t make sense to me. In the 1960s black people were treated as less than human. Having to be segregated, being humiliated by having to use separate toilets as is often mentioned in the novel. Kathryn Stockett is proving through showing these characters how valuable it is to remain positive even facing all the adversity that a black woman in the 1960s does. Their optimism is evident in the way ‘the help’ treat the children and in the quote; “That’s what I love about Aibileen, she can take the most complicated things in life and wrap them up so small and simple, they’ll fit right in your pocket.”. Meaning that Aibileen can always put negative things in perspective and is able to bring hers and ‘your’ attention back to the things in life which are loved. As well as a message about racial prejudice (“Wasn’t that the point of the book? For women to realise we are just two people. Not that much separates us. Not nearly as much as I’d thought.”), to me this book was quite inspirational. These strong, amazing women faced so much everyday, and it was unclear to them if it would continue indefinitely, so absolutely more than I will ever have to deal with. The lesson I learned from reading ‘The Help’ is to try the most to feel optimistic in any situation I find myself in. If these laboriously oppressed women can still be kind, I can too. 

Title: The Hate U Give 

Author: Angie Thomas

Text type: Novel 

Read: February 

Children get shot in the ‘neighbourhood’. 16 year olds get shot for being immature and ‘looking intimidating’ by no fault of their own. I learned of the privilege I have from reading “The Hate U Give”, the privilege of growing up however slow I felt and to be treated as innocent. Because of prejudice against black people, african american children are forced to learn harsh lessons about the world before their time. Unfair prejudice and a smaller importance placed on their lives leaves young black children in america so vulnerable to being shot. This novel is a snippet of the life of a teenage black girl, Starr who grows up in a poor black neighbourhood in the USA. She witnesses both of her best friends get shot, one at the age of 10 and one at the age of 16. Both had no reason to be shot. The novel follows Starr on her journey of standing up for herself, her innocent, dead friends and her community including themes of racism, police brutality and bravery. In reading this I learned about the difficulties that come with living in such a neighbourhood with such a skin tone, and how lucky I am to live where I do. “Once upon a time there was a hazel-eyed boy with dimples. I called him Khalil. The world called him a thug. He lived, but not nearly long enough, and for the rest of my life I’ll remember how he died.” Starr’s best friend Khalil was shot by a police man right in front of her. This was a boy she’d known her whole life, who she’d “taken baths with at his grandmother’s house at 5 years old”, to her a completely harmless sixteen year old boy. In stark contrast, the policeman saw a fully grown black man, in a car bought with drug money and reaching for a black handle. A ‘thug’. Reading this, I felt pain in my heart imaging myself in this situation. The truth is that it would never happen. Driving home in Wanaka, two sixteen year olds, that would end in a fine if anything. So unfairly, these black children have to learn how to act responsibly because the risk for them is getting shot, by someone in the community or even law enforcement officers. “When I was twelve… Momma fussed and told Daddy I was too young for that. He argued that I wasn’t too young to get arrested or shot. “Starr-Starr, you do whatever they tell you to do,” he said. “Keep your hands visible. Don’t make any sudden moves. Only speak when they speak to you.” Starr is taught by her father to act around police before she is even old enough to go to highschool. “I hope somebody had that talk with Khalil” At 12 years old I was learning about planets and elephants not how to avoid getting shot. For me, this is a lesson I have never learned and never will have to learn because the assumptions made about a middle class white girl is always innocent. These are the implications of hundreds of years of bigotry, assumptions are made about black people who are even too young to understand what bigotry is. “Pac said Thug Life stood for ‘The Hate U Give Little Infants Fucks Everybody’.” This means that the way we are raising african american children, treating them as a potential criminals turns them into a criminal. Angie Thomas made it explicitly clear to me through the novel ‘The Hate U Give’ is that the treatment of african american youth is so unjust. “I’ll never forget. I’ll never give up. I’ll never be quiet. I promise.” By reading this enabled me to again realise my privilege of growing up in a safe community and being treated innocently. More, the novel helped me see how difficult it still is for black people in the USA, how much more they have to prepare themselves for, just living in the same world. 

Title: The Story of OJ 

Songwriter: Jay Z

Text type: Song lyrics

Read: In Feb & Sept 25th 

I found the ‘The Story of OJ’ very powerful as a vessel of understanding the real world implications of racism – unfortunately money is so important for living and I understood the message of the song lyrics were that ‘black people will always be black but if they have enough money they will be able to lift themselves up in society’. From reading these lyrics II was again faced with the reality that money does solve problems. Even racism. The message portrayed by Jay Z in the lyrics is saddening and potent to me, especially because every word seems to be true: african americans cannot escape their blackness, the only plausible way to leave behind the struggles that are attached to being black is to become rich. The chorus throughout the song is “Light nigga, dark nigga, faux nigga, real nigga. Rich nigga, poor nigga, house nigga, field nigga. Still nigga, still nigga”. Using the word ‘nigga’ repetitively is quite jarring, especially to a person such as myself, a white person. So in choosing this word I felt the song became significantly more impactful – offensive and pointed, each word seemed to force me to acknowledge it. This places more emphasis on the different types of ‘niggas’ Jay Z was describing and finally the words ‘still nigga’. The order of the people described is important too, they are sung in pairs and every second title is related (light n*, faux n*, rich n*, house n*) compared to (dark n*, real n*, poor n*, field n*). This brings attention to the history surrounding the privileges of lighter skinned negroes, as they had a portion of white genetics they were raised in status, to work inside and so received better opportunities. Even with these differences, they are all ‘still nigga’. Every person with darker skin than Europeans’ (“my skin is black… skin is yellow”) faces prejudice. More, I think this line signifies how each ‘nigga’ is connected to their past/anscestors no matter who they have become. This includes Jay Z, every black american and so of course the infamous OJ Simpson who says “I’m not black I’m OJ”. These are simply facts but by the way they are being delivered it makes me feel helpless and hopeless. By reading these lyrics I became more aware of my privilege how I am not part of a community or a race as a whole that is struggling. According to the songwriter, for black people “Financial freedom my only hope”. The underlying purpose of this text is the truth that to get away from becoming the embodiment of negative black stereotypes you need money. “Take your drug money and buy the neighborhood. That’s how you rinse it”, meaning that the only real way to lift the black communities out of poverty and rid them of crime is to support them financially. This is a sad reality to me. From these lyrics I found that all of this effort and volunteering put into inspiring underprivileged kids is only half the battle. With a sliver of exceptions, children can only grow to achieve highly if they are supported by their families. “I can’t wait to give this shit to my children”. In relating to the title of the song, OJ really was meant to be proven guilty in this racial climate, but he had money. Jay Z could be still dealing drugs but now he has money. To me, it is so upsetting that the root, if we want to change lives, make a difference we always need money. Your own money, someone else’s money, we rely on that. Racism at its core seems like such a social issue, simply individual pieces of bigotry that collate into a large issue, but the truth is it’s bigger than that. A mass lack of finances and property belonging to the slaves way back in 1865 effects the following generations to this day. Now there is a significant problem with african americans involved in crime because they just need an accessible way to get an income. “You wanna know what’s more important than throwin’ away money at a strip club? Credit” Do you know what’s more important than getting fast cash? Credit. From reading the lyrics of ‘A Story of OJ’ I became more educated on what one of the giant barriers affecting the progress of equality is, sadly it is money.