Entry #4 Occum from "The Patriot"

Brian Gerker
Media Portfolio Entry #4
10-4-07

Occum from “The Patriot”

1.Representation of the Item: The Media Item chosen is the film “The Patriot.”
(Occum) Director:
Roland Emmerich
Actors:
Mel GibsonHeath Ledger
Composer:
John Williams
A character known as Occum in the film is an African-American slave, handed over to the U.S. Army by his owner during the Revolutionary War.



Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0187393/




2. Intro and Why: The film “The Patriot” is one in the time of the Revolutionary War. Many times it depicts African Americans working as slaves in the fields or in the households. Slavery is a quite issue in this film, mostly because it was concerned about the war, but the slavery issue is still present. Occum is the character in which slave issues mostly address. Occum was handed over to the United States Army by his master mostly because Occum was as “strong as an ox.” Throughout the film, Occum proved himself to be completely loyal and a great soldier. However, he was tormented and mocked by his “companions.” The men he fought with made fun of him for being illiterate, and verbally knocked him down when he was offered freedom. One man asked Occum “What are you gonna do with freedom?” while giving Occum a disgusted look.
I chose Occum to represent a Media item because he is an example of what slaves were treated like in early America. He was forced into slave labor for the greater majority of his life, and was then forced into being a soldier for the Army because his master made him. His treatment clearly relates to issues of slavery discussed in class.

3.Analysis: Occum seems to greatly relate to Howard Zinn’s “Drawing the Color Line.” In “Drawing the Color Line,” Zinn presents how slaves were brought from Africa and forced to labor the new found land. He also tells of how the slaves were mistreated by their so called masters. Occum relates to this reading in that he was a slave of the same era described by Zinn. Occum was also forced into slave labor. He was even referred to by his master as being “strong as an ox,” giving him bestial-like features. He was then given to the Army almost like a piece of meat, rather than a human being. Even in the Army he showed his slave-like qualities, like his loyalty to his commander and his service of being a soldier. After he served for several years, Occum was able to sign for freedom. When being unable to read the poster about the freedom policy, his fellow white soldier mocked him for being unable to read and looked down upon for even thinking of being free. This shows how whites saw themselves as being superior to the slaves. The white soldier, even though he was the same rank as Occum did not think he deserved freedom, no matter what he did for the country. The white soldier felt he was better, smarter, and more socially accepted by society.

4. Response: Once again, it took one of the class’s reading for me to notice how racism is brought about, even in today’s society. The example in “The Patriot” of Occum could be a lesson to everyone that would show that blacks are just the same as whites. Occum was a soldier that fought alongside whites for several years, and so he should have deserved every freedom of a white man. Zinn in relation to “The Partriot” should raise issues of slavery that never should have happened to begin with, and thus we should learn from the past.

Media Entry #3 The Jena Six

Brian Gerker
Media Portfolio Entry #3
10-4-07

The Jena Six

1.Representation of the Item:
“In a May 20, 2007 Chicago Tribune article titled "Racial Demons Rear Heads," Howard Witt reported that the six students faced prosecution for charges including second degree attempted murder -- and possible prison sentences of up to 100 years -- for allegedly participating in an unarmed school brawl that resulted in no serious injuries. The alleged brawl followed months of racial tension after hangman's nooses were hung from a tree at the students' school.”
Link: http://www.petitiononline.com/aZ51CqmR/petition.html
You Have to Watch Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=za4B4KhIVTE

2. Intro and Why: The Jena Six, a group of six African American males are being put on trial because they stood up against segregation. In Louisiana, in a small town of Jena, at the high school a particular tree was always know to be the tree for white people. After a member of the Jena Six asked to sit under the tree, nooses were then hung on the tree by a group of whites. After this, apparently the Six African Americans beat up one of the white boys that hung up the nooses. The Jena Six are now on trial by a selected all white jury, and face charges of 2nd degree attempted murder and up to 100 years in prison. Many petitions have been sent out to turn this trial around, so that the Six boys may be freed rather than face the cruel world of racism in the courts where they will receive more than they deserve.
I chose this incident because it relates to how our class discussions in every way. I feel that we should even take a class period to discuss what has happened in this town, because it shows how racism still exists today, and the cruelties that are still tied to racism. Also in the video on youtube.com they mentioned that Jena has a barber shop where blacks are not allowed in. This article, movie, and situation in it’s entirety is important to our class and relates to everything we have discussed thus far.

3.Analysis: Since it is obvious that this situation in Jena can relate to every reading and movie we have done so far in this class, I am only going to single in on Johnson’s “Privilege, Oppression, and Difference” because it seems to flow well with the Jena situation. Johnson would probably argue that this whole situation was created by social structures, made by the “Diversity Wheel.” The wheel clearly shows reasons for which differences are created, and some main reasons include race, gender, and ethnicity. Johnson also makes statements about privilege, which Jena seems to definitely be socially constructed around “whit privilege.” Privilege seems to be the main problem in Jena. Only whites have the privilege of sitting under one particular shady tree, and use one certain barber shop. The blacks in the same community could not even sit under a tree in fear of being segregated by the townspeople. Johnson describes privilege as “when one group has something of value that is denied to others simply because of the groups they belong to.” In Jena, whites belong to white groups and blacks belong to black groups. For them it seems it is wrong to intertwine with one another. The Jena Six have demonstrated, just by standing up for their rights, that privileges create differences. The Six just wanted to have the same privileges as whites and it led to a brawl and now a court case in which they can be in prison for life. It is sad really to see everything that has been built to allow for a diverse and equal society be broken down just because a high school student wanted to sit under tree that provided a lot of shade.

4. Response: Shocking…………I did not think that I situation such as this could occur anymore in today’s society. I believed that America had gotten past things of this scale. I first heard about this from my mom and once she told me I knew I had to write about it. This is something that definitely follows with this class. It seems as if it could be an incident that could even be a class discussion some day. It was just crazy for me to hear that this event happened so recently, even when society seemed to have become more open to differences. It just shocking.

Media Entry #2 Juanita from Billy Madison

Brian Gerker
Media Portfolio Entry #2
10-5-07

Mammy/ Sambo Juanita (Billy Madison)

1.Representation of the Item: The item I wish to represent I could not find anywhere on the internet, nor is there a transcript. I wish to address the movie character Juanita (played by Theresa Merritt) from “Billy Madison.” Juanita is an African American maid living and working for the owner of Madison Hotels. She is always doing the dirty work for her employer, but still always remains in a happy-go-lucky mood. She was usually presented in a maid’s uniform doing some dirty task.
Director:Tamra Davis
Writers (WGA):Tim Herlihy (written by) &Adam Sandler (written by)
Release Date:10 February 1995 (USA) more
Genre: Comedy / Adventure more
Tagline: To inherit his family's fortune, Billy is going back to school... Way back. more
Plot Outline: In order to inherit his fed up father's hotel empire, an immature and lazy man must repeat grades 1-12 all over again.

2. Intro and Why: “Billy Madison” is a comedic film where a young male, Billy Madison (Adam Sandler) is ready to inherit his fathers fortunes, but his father doesn’t think he can handle it. In this film, one character stands out away from the others. This character is Billy’s head maid Juanita (Theresa Merritt). She is always working, doing dirty work like cleaning up after Billy after he drinks all night, and preparing every meal of the day. She is African-American which seems to create some racial differences within the movie. She is always in a good mood and happy to do anything, even though she does the dirty jobs of her wealthy employer. In once scene, she is cleaning up Billy’s dirty laundry laying around his room, and Billy is pretending to be sick to get out of school. Juanita then tells Billy that if he is going to stay home from school, then “He can help [her] shave [her] arm pits,” followed by hysterical laughing.
I chose this item because it is one of my favorite movies, and it has this one particular character that relates to our class discussions. Juanita is a symbol of a happy, jolly worker who is always cheerful, even when she is forced to clean up after her “superiors.”

3.Analysis: The character Juanita seems to strongly relate to some created characters from the slave times like the Mammy and the Sambo. These particular characterizations were brought forth in the film “Ethnic Notions” which we saw in class. The Mammy was a personal slave worker, typically African-American, and always did the chores of her master. Juanita relates to the Mammy in that she is always doing the dirty chores in the movie, such as preparing meals and cleaning up after Billy. Also in Ethnic notions, enslaved workers were visualized by whites as being happy-go-lucky Sambos. This meaning that they enjoyed their enslaved lives and they made the best of it, even though it was cruel work. It gave the image that slaves were jolly and cheerful people despite the work they had to do on the plantations. Juanita also resembles this characterization. She is always in a happy mood no matter what she is doing. The one example that was really striking was when she offered Billy to help shave her armpits and followed with bellows of great laughter. It is clear to me that the character Juanita reflects both the Mammy and the Sambo that were presented in “Ethnic Notions.”

4. Response: After watching the video “Ethnic Notions” my eyes were widened. Never before had I noticed such characters like the Sambo, Mammy, or Pickaninny, but after seeing that, I became aware of examples that actually existed. The first one I thought of was Juanita from Billy Madison. To me her attitude and job status in “Billy Madison” was a pure match to that of the Sambo and Mammy. This class really has some eye openers towards ways that racial differences still exist today, and Juanita is a good example.

Media Portfolio Entry #1

Brian Gerker
Media Portfolio Entry #1
10-4-07

The Office “Stanley, Of Course”

1.Representation of the Item:
Michael Scott(White Male), Stanley Hudson(African-American),

Oscar Martinez (Mexican)

To Transcript: http://www.twiztv.com/scripts/theoffice/season1/theoffice-105.htm
THE OFFICE: AN AMERICAN WORKPLACE1X05 - BASKETBALLOriginal Airdate (NBC): 19/APR/2005WRITTEN BY GREG DANIELSDIRECTED BY GREG DANIELSTRANSCRIBED BY NIKKI FOR "TWIZ TV.COM"


2. Intro and Why: “The Office,” a comedic television show, often relates to and describes problems the take place in the work place. The Media item I chose from this show is the transcript of the first season episode, “Basketball.” In this episode, members of “The Office” have been chosen by their boss, Michael Scott (Steve Carrell), to participate in a game of basketball during their lunch hour against the members of the warehouse at Dunder-Mifflin paper Company. In the show, and transcript provided, when Michael Scott is choosing the members of his team he first chooses Stanley Hudson, saying “Stanley of course.” When Stanley replies “Why ‘of course?’” Michael, realizing he has offended him says “I don’t remember saying that.” Also moments later, Oscar Martinez states “I can help out, if you need me.” Saying he could be part of the basketball team, but Michael replies “I will use your talents come baseball season, my friend. Or if we box.” (Nikki, Greg Daniels)
I chose this clip from “The Office” because it relates to racism in sports. It is a clear example of how people just assume people to be good at different sports simply because of their skin color. Michael seems to believe that African-Americans (Stanley), are good at basketball, and Mexicans (Oscar Martinez) are good at baseball and boxing, surly bringing about stereotypes.

3.Analysis: One item in class I think this relates to in particular is “Race: The Power of Illusion, Chapter 1.” In this film, after Jesse Owens broke the records at the Olympics in the 100 meter dash, people suspected he did so because he was biologically different. People also began to speculate that African-Americans had an extra muscle in their legs that made them faster, and able to jump higher. This is one reason why certain stereotypes have come about in today’s society. People even now seem to believe that African-Americans are better at some sports, like basketball and track, and that Mexicans are better at other sports like baseball and boxing, and other races are better at other sports, simply because of stereotypes of races. Michael Scott brought these stereotypes right out in the open in saying “Stanley of course,” for his basketball team. Also he brought them up by saying he will “. . . use [Oscar’s] talents come baseball season. . . ” There are also some elements of power and privilege in this example. Michael, seeing himself as boss, simply shrugs off any attempt of controversy from his employees. When Stanley replies “Why ‘of course?’” Michael, using his boss status, just says “I don’t remember saying that.” This can relate to Ronald Takaki’s “The Tempest in the Wilderness.” In this, Takaki brings about how whites used their power over the Native-Americans and blacks, which is essentially what Michael does to Stanley. Michael uses his power to hush Stanley, just as the whites used their power to take the natives land and enslave blacks. From this clip from “The Office,” we can see a couple ways in how comments from a boss in the workplace can offend employees and relate to stereotypes and privilege of power.

4. Response: Personally, I believe that this issue is very important. It is important to recognize differences of people in the work place, but not stereotype them or exploit them, as done by Michael. Certain environments like “The Office” should be racial stereotype free. However, these issues do exist in society, which makes it that much more important to discuss them, in hopes of changing them. In the work place, people of color should not have to worry about being offended or placed aside as a different person.