The Bluest Eye

I’m not a middle aged black woman, in fact, I’m not a black woman at all, but realizing that this book was written to target that demographic made it easier to recognize the key issues the author was attempting to tackle.

Toni Morrison’s first book, The Bluest Eye, tells the tragic story of a young girl in Lorain, Ohio during the 1940s, Pecola Breedlove. Pecola’s trials throughout the book question power, love, and beauty, and show the difficulty her family has trying to survive in a white society.

Pecola could not find love at school or at home. The students and teachers at school do not treat her well or fairly, her father is an alcoholic and abusive, and her mother has fallen into the idea of “white privilege” by showing more love for the white girl she takes care of than she does for Pecola.

She also deals with self esteem issues. Like other black girls and boys, she has been taught from the society she grew up in that she is inferior and ugly. For these reasons, she is hates herself and believes she is ugly. Throughout the book Pecola can only speak of having blue eyes because she believes that would make her beautiful. Claudia, her best friend, challenges this and sees beauty in a black baby. The final lesson is that beauty, on the outside, does not bring happiness.

The illustrations of the society where Pecola grew up, the pressures and treatment from the majority group, and the ways in which they influence the lives of minorities are very vivid in this book. Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye was written with the intent to tell a story, and it does so in a very interesting way. In order to appreciate the book, the reader must realize the messages that Morrison was attempting to get across; the struggles minorities in our country face both internally and externally.

I AM SAM

Before class today, I did not really put a lot of thought into documentaries. Sure I researched them a little bit and wrote about them in my previous blog. However, class today sparked some images in my mind, or "pictures in my head," that I had not realized had been there before; I was reminded of the movies I am Sam.

Before I watched the movie, I am Sam, I had never really thought about a mentally disabled person having/parenting a child. Throughout the movie, Sam is fighting for custody of his 7 year old daughter because to avoid looking smarter than her father at her young age, she was holding back in school -- therefore, police took her away with thoughts that Sam was unable to properly care for his daughter. The lesson comes from their true love and affection for each other that Sam's cold-hearted lawyer begins to see, as does the audience.

I can remember crying the first time I watched this movie, as well as every time after that. Although Sam is not played by someone who is actually mentally retarded, the true story that the producers attempted to bring to life for the audience was portrayed very vividly. For me, a whole new view point on the capabilities of the "differently abled (Anne Fadiman)" were definitely changed by the message that was given. The focus, for me, was not on the actor playing the role -- but rather on the message of true love, family devotion, and overcoming obstacles to obtain those two things.

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."


See for yourself...

I Am Sam Clip

What is a documentary?

The Princeton Review defines a documentary:

• relating to or consisting of or derived from documents
• a film or TV program presenting the facts about a person or event
• objective: emphasizing or expressing things as perceived without distortion of personal feelings, insertion of fictional matter, or interpretation; “objective art”

I have always thought of documentaries as the boring, or what I classify as boring, shows my dad watches on the History Channel. However, this class has brought documentaries into a different light for me. I now know documentaries are a person’s way of educating an audience by putting them “in another’s shoes.”

While researching documentaries online, I stumbled upon a website that lists the best (in terms of money made) documentaries from 1982 – present. I was surprised at some of the movies on the list that I would have not considered a documentary; for example, The Girl Next Door was number 81 on the list. I also watched a preview of a documentary on HBO.com called The Bastards of the Party, which airs Tuesdays at 6pm. To me, it had all the things a documentary should have. The main character in the documentary, Cle “Bone” Sloan, was the narrator, but instead of focusing on him the whole time, there were a lot of cuts to pictures and videos that gave vivid illustrations of what he was saying. This documentary also taught me that the “crips” and the “bloods” were the “bastard offspring of the political parties of the 60s.” The Bastards of the Party did what a documentary is supposed to do, made the lesson it was attempting to teach its audience interesting.

Although I have had to watch many documentaries, such as A Class Divided, in my psychology courses, I never took a distinct interest in them. However, the more I am exposed to documentaries, the more I find how educational they are. In every documentary that I have watched, I have been taught a lesson and been dumbfounded by either my own or others’ ignorance to certain issues. Cle Sloan decided to produce his documentary to “make a powerful call for change.” Not all documentaries are calling for change but they all contain a powerful message and, while not containing any of the authors/producers opinions, the attempt to enlighten the audience.

So, in search of my definition for a documentary, I came up with this:

A factual film or TV program that captures and captivates its audience while providing educational information in an interesting way.

Its raining, its pouring...

Sweet summertime. It’s supposed to be sunny and relaxing during the day and warm with clear skies at night. However, if you experience the weather as I do in my part of the country, you probably find yourself stuck inside on the couch, watching the television, for at least half of those summer nights; have to love the rain.

My proposal: instead of watching MTV’s Road Rules or the Real World, or watching a movie that you have seen 500 times before, expand your horizons and watch a reality show that is unscripted and explores authentic “societal differences that Americans face today” (FX Website; “30 days”). During the summer months, Wednesdays at 10pm, FX presents their original reality TV series “30 days.” Morgan Spurlock, the creator of the series, who is best known for his movie “Super size Me” for which he received an Oscar nomination, “places an individual in a living environment that is antithetical to their upbringing, beliefs, religion, or profession.” It is his as well as his crew’s hope that this show will reach numerous people from all demographics. While airing in the United States on FX and used on the Oprah show, it has also been publicized in 15 countries.

The episode “Immigration” is the story of a minuteman, Francesco Jorge (known now as Frank George), who will be moving in with a family of illegal aliens. Walter Lippman states: “the people who change their names....mean to change themselves, and the attitude of strangers toward them.” I found this true for Frank. It seemed to me that he felt more American with an American sounding name, rather than the one he had when he entered this country. Frank, although he is an immigrant from Cuba, believes he is a very patriotic man and that illegal aliens are “a plague to our country.” . Frank also feels that if they can not enter this country legally, as he and his family did, it will lead to strife in the United States and the only right illegal aliens have is to be deported back to their home countries.

In order to fully understand the feeling of being an illegal alien, Frank had to leave behind his Id, work as a day laborer and share a very small apartment with the family. He spent 30 days with the Gonzalez family, all of which are illegal aliens except the two youngest children who were born in the United States. It helps tremendously that Frank is fluent in Spanish as many of the conversations that he has with the parents are in Spanish. His days are spent eating, talking, and working with the family. There are days when he goes to work and sees the “dirty” jobs that Rigoberto does because no one else will. He also sees the work that Patty does separating recycling for $5 total. It was Patty who broke the ice for Frank, but his trip to Mexico to see Rigoberto’s family and the place they fled really put things into perspective for him.

Armida, the oldest daughter played a very integral role in the show. She was a well educated young lady with high hopes to reach the “American dream.” She often got into debates with Frank, but in the end, Frank said that he learned something from her, as she did from him. The two were even able to put aside their differences and Armida taught him how to play golf. Although he gets into many different arguments with the family about his work as a minuteman and the stance he has on illegal aliens, they win a place in his heart and he finds that he can call them friends.

While some may argue that the gatekeepers manipulated certain aspects of the show, I believe that everything shown was fact and very, very real. The struggle for Frank was to overcome the preconceived stereotypes and pictures he had in his mind, changing any version of the places he went or the experience that he not have adequately conveyed the message. Sure the gatekeepers cut out certain parts of the 30 days that he actually spent, but isn’t that what all documentaries do to make you see the “true” picture in the allotted time!? The filmmakers do a great job of getting their point across in the 1 hour they have to air the show.

This episode of “30 days” brought out my emotions in a number of different ways. I was at times angry, sad, happy, and confused; in fact, at one point, I cried thinking of my own grandparents who are immigrants. I believe that any good movie or show should have the ability to do these things. So as you are sitting around in your house on those rainy summer nights, be sure to watch this gripping, edge-of-your-seat series.