Prejudice Intertextuality Essay Example for Free

Prejudice Intertextuality Essay â€Å"Why does he hate me so much? Is it me personally or just what I am? † I have chosen to explore the idea of prejudice (judgments of a person based on race, gender, social class, and religion or group associations. ) These themes are evident in the short film ‘Chinese Whispers’ directed by Neil Paddington and Stuart McKenzie, and in three written texts ‘Noughts and Crosses’ by Malorie Blackman, ‘Patches Hide No Scars’ by Haree Williams and ‘On the Sidewalk Bleeding’ by Evan Hunter. â€Å"I used to comfort myself with the belief that it was only certain individuals and their peculiar notions that spoilt things for the rest of us.  But how many individuals does it take before its not the individuals who are prejudiced but society itself? † ‘Noughts and Crosses’ is a powerfully written, fictional novel about two teenagers Callum (a nought) and Sephy (a cross), who are stuck in a racist dystopia separated only by skin colour. In Malorie Blackman’s imaginative novel the characters are either a â€Å"black dagger bitch† or a â€Å"white blanker bastard. † Callum and Sephy are surrounded by a hierarchy, in which Noughts are considered second-class citizens and forbidden to be together. This disturbed society shows a racial prejudice in which interracial relationships are not allowed and there is favoritism towards the Crosses. â€Å"Youre a Nought and Im a Cross and theres nowhere for us to be, nowhere for us to go where wed be left in peace Thats why I started crying. Thats why I couldnt stop. For all the things we mightve had and all the things were never going to have. † This example shows the desperation of Sephy as she realizes that because of the prejudices of her society she will never be allowed to be with Callum. This film relates back to events in the past in ‘our’ world with issues such as discrimination and the mistreatment of people of a particular race or religion. An example of this is the class-system in America. For many years African-Americans, (like Noughts), were judged by their skin colour and treated as inferior beings. Author Malorie Blackman used specific examples from events in the Black Civil Rights movement in the novel to add impact to her novel. An example used is the pioneering achievements of Robert Peary. Examples like these show that Noughts’ achievements are undervalued or ignored because they have white skin. I strongly believe it is important for children of today to be educated on issues like these to remove all racisim. ‘The Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ states â€Å"all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights†¦. Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. This novel has made me believe in the importance of educating young people on events and issues, like genocide (eg the Rwandan Genocide of 1994, only 18 years ago, where an estimated 7 Tutsi citizens were brutally murdered every minute for 100 days! ) and racism, in order to prevent the future from becoming a place like in ‘Noughts and Crosses’. How are we to learn from the mistakes of mankind if we are never educated on them? â€Å"Dreams of living in a world with no more discrimination, no more prejudice, a fair police force, an equal justice system, equality of education, equality of life, a level playing field † His name is Andy. † This gang related short story â€Å"On the Sidewalk Bleeding† relates to the theme of prejudice by exploring the idea of lost identity through group association. At the exposition of this story, Andy (a member of the ‘Royal’ gang) is stabbed by a rival gang (‘The Guardians’) during a ‘rumble’. The plot then follows Andy’s thought path as he slowly bleeds to death. â€Å"The knife had not been plunged in hatred of Andy. The knife hated only the purple jacket. The jacket was as stupid meaningless thing that was robbing him of his life. † Andy wears a purple silk shirt, a symbol of his membership with the ‘Royals’. In his dying moments Andy comes to the realization that people don’t see him as Andy, a human being, but a member of the ‘Royals’. At the climax of the short story Andy uses his last strength to take off the jacket so that he can be Andy again. â€Å"I want to Andy. † Sadly, just after his death, Andys girlfriend Laura, finds Andy’s dead body and races off to find a police officer. The police officer sees the purple ‘Royal’ jacket next to Andy’s body, the officer then proceeds to say â€Å"A Royal, huh. † This shows that Andy’s efforts to remove himself from the gang have failed as the police officer judges him by the sight of the jacket. The police officer associates Andy as a part of the gang the ‘Royals’ and doesn’t see him as Andy, a sixteen year old boy. This short story by Evan Hunter has shown me how easily a person’s identity can be lost through association and how people can perceive you as a member of a group not an individual because of an item of clothing. â€Å"The world didn’t know he was Andy. † ‘Chinese Whispers’ directed by Stuart McKenzie and Neil Paddington also relates to racial prejudice or judgments based on race before actually meeting a person. The short film â€Å"Chinese Whispers† is based around Wellington teenager Vincent Chan’s struggle to fit in. Vincent confused by the two diverse aspects of his culture. At the beginning of the film Vincent lives in fear of encounters with xenophobic bogans who dislike and harass Vincent because he is Chinese. â€Å"Vincent is ashamed to be Chinese. † Vincent feels pressure to conform to the ‘social norm’ of his age group. He turns his back on his father’s cultural ways and instead joins Swan’s triad gang. Swan offers Vincent an illicit world of reward. Vincent sees this as an opportunity to stand up to xenophobic bogans but by joining the gang Vincent isolates himself from his family. Directors Neil Paddington and Stuart McKenzie use dark, blue lightening in many of the scenes in ‘Chinese Whispers’ to portray the sad, sinister world Vincent is being lured into. This is an effective visual feature because it stresses the consequences of Vincent’s decisions. An example of this is Vincent’s decision to conform to the Triad ways by taking illegal narcotics. Blue lighting is also used when Vincent’s father is sitting in a room lonely and longing for his distant son. This New Zealand film has made me more aware of the Chinese struggles in New Zealand. ‘Chinese Whispers’ has given me deep insight into the Chinese point of view and the pressures they withstand. It has shown me the importance of being accepting of minorities and their differences. Stuart McKenzie’s and Neil Paddington’s film has also shown me how important it is to end xenophobia and prejudices in order to help people like Vincent Chan to make better decisions to keep a balance between their culture and fitting in to society. All men are dangerous brutes, intruders, vagrants. † Haree William’s poem ‘Patches Hide No Scars’ refers to young Maoris, turning their back on the way of their ancestors preferring the â€Å"direction, discipline and orders† of gang life. This New Zealand poem has captured the sad truth about the loss of the Maori culture as the lost youths turn to gang membership in a search to add meaning to their lives. ‘Patches Hide No Scars’ relates to the idea of prejudice by describing the members of Maori gangs as one group, a whole, not a group of individuals. How do we prosecute those already punished? How do we fine those lost in the street of no direction? † Throughout this short text author Haree Williams continually uses words like ‘we’ and ‘those/them’, by doing this the gangs (‘those’) are separated from the rest of society (‘we’). By doing this Maori gangs distance from the rest of New Zealand is emphasized. This poem has raised questions to me: why do these youths find security in the rules and orders of gangs but not the rules and orders of regular jobs or life in the ‘normal’ society? And what is society doing to make the youngsters of the Maori race feel like they do not belong in society? By reading and viewing these texts, ‘Noughts and Crosses’, ‘Chinese Whispers’, â€Å"Patches Hide No Scars’ and ‘On the Sidewalk Bleeding’, I have learnt of the struggles and pressures many people, fictional or not, suffer through due to the prejudices of modern society. â€Å"And just like that, Id been assessed and judged. Nurse Fashoda didnt know the first thing about me but shed taken one look at my face and now she reckoned she knew my whole life story. †

The Clarification Project :: essays research papers

I read two articles that were very contrasting on the ideas of Greek letter societies, better known as Greek Life. The first article was titled, â€Å"University Announces Ban on Fraternities and Sororities† from the Metropolitan Desk, and the second was titled, â€Å"For Some Women at Harvard, Greek Is a Scream† from the Style Desk. One was about banning Greek Life, and the other about how Greek Life can be a positive for social life at Harvard University.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In â€Å"University Announces Ban on Fraternities and Sororities,† Alfred University argued that deaths, drinking problems, and low grades all resulted from Greek housing. To better the learning environment at the school, trustees of the school voted to ban fraternities and sororities. They think that this change won’t have much affect on the campus since Greek interest has gone down 30% from the 1960’s. I think this decision to take away fraternities and sororities is not going to solve anything. People coming to college are forced into a new environment. They are learning about themselves, and sometimes they turn to alcohol to help them cope with the changes. With or without fraternities, they would party and get bad grades as a result of the drinking. Taking away fraternities doesn’t do any good, because the students will revolt by making secret clubs which will be much worst since the university has no control over these. So my ques tions are, now that they have banned Greek letter societies, has the school noticed a change? And is this change good or bad? And has there been any secret underground societies been made as a result of this change?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The argument to this side comes from â€Å"For Some Women at Harvard, Greek Is a Scream.† At Harvard University, they are finding that women are joining sororities more for social reasons. But the social agendas do not include going to bars or partying, instead, they consist of kickball tournaments, pajama parties, apple-picking trips, or outings to Finagle a Bagel and Au Bon Pain. And these sororities aren’t about leaving people out, but instead focus on welcoming women who want to join to be a part of them. The actual funny part is, that while the sororities are strive to be charitable and positive, there are groups that offer the party and exclusive side that normally comes to mind when describing sororities. These groups are the women-only private clubs.

Uniforms vs No Uniforms

Students at schools with enforced dress codes behave better than students at schools without enforced dress codes. They tend to be more educated, have more discipline, and have better manners than those students without enforced dress codes. Students with enforced dress codes tend to be more educated than those students who go to schools without enforced dress codes because they tend to attend school more. According to research, students that have uniforms have better attendance because they don't have to worry about what they are wearing to school because everyone is wearing the same style of clothing. No one is there to criticize them about how their shirt is ugly or how their shoes don't match what they're wearing. One of the reasons why students don't go to school is because they don't have the right clothes to fit in or be cool and they don't want to get bullied by the â€Å"cool† kids. Another reason why students with enforced dress codes are more educated is because since everyone is wearing the same thing, they aren't worried about who is wearing what. Since they don't have that on their minds, they have more time to worry about their education and pay more attention in class. Many students like to gossip about what others are wearing. It may be in a positive way or in a negative way. But either way, the have their minds occupied on something other than their classwork. Students who go to a school with enforced dress code are more likely to focus on their education because they are going to school to learn, not to worry about who is wearing the latest clothes trend. Students tend to be more disciplined if they attend schools that enforce dress codes because they have more order at their school. These students are ordered to follow a certain dress code and it is up to them if they want to respect authority or not. Those who choose to listen and go to schools with enforced dress codes are obviously more disciplined than those who don't go to dress code enforced schools. These students don't really get into fights or talk back to their teachers. These students tend to be more respectful to teachers and students because they are willing to follow all of the school's rules. They listen to teachers and set good examples. It is said that kids are better behaved when they are dressed neatly and modestly. Students that attend dress code enforced schools have more manners and class than those students that don't go to dress code enforced schools. The reason why these students have more class is because they know how to dress respectively. They don't go around town in shorts or pants that hang below their underpants. They aren't the type of people that wear chest revealing shirts. These students are very respectful and show a lot of class. Schools that enforce dress codes tend to have fewer fights occur on their campus. Their students are better behaved and have more manners than students that go to a school where they don't enforce dress codes. According to research, a lot of fights start out because a student made fun of another student's clothes. Well, if schools were stricter on what students were allowed to wear and maybe make the students wear uniforms, these fight would never occur. There was a boy named Johnny who was very smart. He never got anything lower than a A in any of his classes. He was also very athletic and enjoyed playing sports. You would think that everything was going well for him except for the fact that Johnny had no friends. You see, the kids at school didn't want to be friends with him because of the way he dressed. His parents couldn't afford to buy him clothes that were â€Å"in† so he didn't fit in with the â€Å"cool† kids. The kids at school were too embarrassed to be seen talking to Johnny, so they just avoided him. Johnny was always getting picked on. The kids at school would often call him names and drop his books in the hallway to seem cool and fit in with the other kids who were doing it. Even though Johnny was very athletic, he was always the last one to be picked when playing a sport. Johnny became very lonely and depressed because as a kid, he never had any friends. He started slacking in school, no longer getting â€Å"A's†. He began to get â€Å"C's† and â€Å"D's† with a few occasional â€Å"F's†. He began to skip classes so that he wouldn't have to go through the whole bullying situation. He stopped playing sports for they just didn't bring him much joy anymore. One day when Johnny was at the mall, he saw the pair of Levi's that everyone was wearing to school on a mannequin in a store window. He went in the store and tried them on. He loved the way that he looked in them and thought that if he wore them to school, some of the kids would think that he was cool and possibly be friends with him. But when he flipped over the price tag and saw that the jeans cost $39. 9, his hopes went down. He could never afford to buy forty dollar jeans. Then an idea came to mind. He thought that if he stole the jeans without anyone noticing, then he could have them without paying for them. So Johnny walked out of the store with the jeans on hoping that no one would notice. Unfortunately, Johnny got caught. Security called his parents in and Johnny got scolded by security. They told him the consequences of stealing and how he could end up in jail. When his parents got there, they asked Johnny why he stole the pants and he told them the truth. When they realized what was going on, they transferred him to a school where the kids had to wear uniforms. Johnny realized how great his new peers were and loved the fact that no one was making fun of him because of his style of clothing. At the new school, Johnny became his usual self again, getting straight â€Å"A's† and playing sports. The only difference was that he now had a lot of friends. Therefore, students who attend schools that enforce dress codes are better behaved than students who go to schools that don't enforce dress codes. These students dress better, have better manners, and they show a lot of discipline. Unlike students who attend schools that don't enforce dress codes who have no discipline what-so-ever and who dress like they don't even care that they are going to school. Overall, education is very important and should be taken very seriously. Students should behave and be respectful to all peers and teachers. If students tend to behave better with enforced dress codes, than all schools should enforce dress codes. After all, how we dress does matter and it affects our performance very much.

The Usa Patriot Act And The Homeland Security Act

September 11, 2001 is a date that will live on forever in American history, much like the date of December 7, 1941. As President Franklin D. Roosevelt stated it is a date, which will live in infamy. The fear and the need to protect the country and its citizens from future terrorist attacks resulted in the U.S. Government to enact two different policies. The â€Å"Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorist Act (also known as the USA PATRIOT Act) and the Homeland Security Act. Many individual feel that these two policies have infringed the rights of the American people, while others believe that these infringements are a necessity to ensure the safety of the people. This paper will explore if in fact these two policies are unreasonably and unjustly infringing on the rights of the American People, and how it effect the social justice system in America The USA PATRIOT Act was signed into law October 26, 2001, a littl e more then a month after the horrific attacks of 9/11; the Homeland Security Act was signed into law thirteen months later on November 25, 2002. The purpose of the USA PATRIOT ACT was to create the process that the Government and its organizations uses to investigate terrorists that are currently living within the Unites States borders and abroad. The Homeland Security Act was created to consolidate over 20 different federal organizations into the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). ThisShow MoreRelatedThe Patriot Act And Homeland Security Act Of 20021329 Words   |  6 Pagesnation’s security form terrorist attack and upgrading its ability to search for, identify, and eliminate terrorist threats at homes and international. 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