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Tumblr Entry on Blackish

In this final Tumblr entry I would like to talk about the show Blackish. A summary of the tv show is “A family man struggles to gain a sense of cultural identity while raising his kids in a predominantly white, upper-middle-class neighborhood,” (IMDB). It has 5 seasons and is planning to continue filming. This is impactful because there are not a lot of American tv shows that focus on minority family. Another impactful piece of information about this show is that the writer and creator of the show, Kenya Barris, is also African-American. I believe that this tv show has added diversity to America’s entertainment industry. Having a tv show portray the struggles of an African-American family growing up with discrimination can give a very small insight into what it’s like to be “the minority”. This also helps show African-American culture. The writer/creator and cast being African-American allows another insight of the life at home. When talking looking at if it is a contentious subject or not, I believe it is not because it is showing a culture and a events that could happen in their lives off set.

 References

“Black-Ish.” IMDb, IMDb.com, 24 Sept. 2014, www.imdb.com/title/tt3487356/.

[jaidt]

Tumblr Entry on #BlackLivesMatter

In this Tumblr entry I would like to focus on #BlackLivesMatter. The impact on this specific hashtag has been big I think, especially for the Millennial and Generation Z. I remember first hearing about this hashtag when police brutality became a huge subject on the news. After doing some research on when this specific hashtag really took off I found that, “In 2013, three radical Black organizers—Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi—created a Black-centered political will and movement building project called #BlackLivesMatter. It was in response to the acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s murderer, George Zimmerman”. The beginning of this hashtag exploded on Twitter and other social media sites and even influenced other hashtags such as “#BlueLivesMatter” and “#AllLivesMatter”. I believe that this hashtag has brought a lot of people to a common ground either against or with the views set behind it. I have even discussed in a class of my own about how the Black Lives Movement has become a remake of the Civil Rights Movement in the 60’s. But, with a mix of both Malcolm X and MLK Jr’s views. Another conversation that comes up is the inequality and mistreatment of African Americans. This being a New Age social segregation of races. As for if this is a contentious subject or not, I believe it is because there are radical views on both sides of the argument. We have the side of white supremacist and neo-Nazis and then we have the side that believes in the equality and rights for all races. Even in 2018 this hashtag still has its relevancy. It can be tied back to all of the materials discussed in class about African Americans and the inequality that follows.                                                    

 References

https://blacklivesmatter.com/about/herstory/

[jaidt]

I have chosen to discuss Gran Torino for my first post. Gran Torino made a big impact on the Asian population. This film specifically focuses on the Hmong population. For any who have not seen this movie a summary is that it focuses on a Vietnam War veteran, Walt who catches a young Hmong gang member, Thao trying to steal his Gran Torino and the story that follows their relationship. I can speak from this personally as the town I grew up in was a big hub for Hmong people who were escaping during the war and coming over to America. I have learned through history classes at my school about the racial discrimination that happened to the Hmong people and my mom even worked for a Hmong resource center. I think this film brought a little more clarity on the culture of Hmong people. Specifically, a scene where Walt is invited over to Thao’s house for a celebration. In this scene you get an insight into what their gatherings consist of. Something I have also experienced in my lifetime. I think there is a misunderstanding of the different cultures within the board name of the Asian population and this movie brought light to the different countries and races that reside within the huge continent.

As for if this movie is a contentious subject or not? A Hmong heritage writer made comments on a specific part of the movie where Walt is given gifts for helping his young neighbor become a better person and not involving the police. He states, “An early draft of the script even had names misspelled and referenced Chinese surnames, sloppy mistake that was easily corrected, but what remained unchanged was the confusion of Asian customs. For the record, Hmong people do not use favors as a method of atonement nor do they endlessly shower individuals with gifts out of gratitude,” (Her). About the movie itself there was not a lot I could find about it specifically being controversial but for the Hmong actors that were involved, Clint Eastwood and the writer Nick Shenk were said to have been racist or been culturally insensitive with the material put into the movie.

              This can relate to concepts we’ve talked about in class because it can be criticized because it had a sense of “Whiteness” with the producer, main character and writer all being white and how a “racist” war vet was portrayed as being the hero of the young Hmong teenager who was getting into too much trouble.

 Reference

Hoffman, Kevin. “Gran Torino Is Racist and Insensitive, Says Hmong Writer.” City Pages, City Pages, 7 Jan. 2009, www.citypages.com/news/gran-torino-is-racist-and-insensitive-says-hmong-writer-6544829. Originally written by Her, Sharon for Object Magazine