Blog Comment 1:
One video project that I particularly liked was Stephine Martinez’s project on how the institution of the police contributes to the actions of individual police officers and it affects urban communities. During her video, she brought up some great points. One such point she brought up was, that the state or institution of the police has a big impact on the violence against communities of color. She mentions that in her research, that the state dehumanizes black and brown faces and gives police officers an above-the-law attitude. So when these shootings happen, people ignore the issue because they have a belief that the people shot don’t matter as much and therefore no problem needs to be fixed. Stephine Martinez’s presentation was a good presentation that makes us realize that for change to happen in addition to holding the officers accountable, we also have to change the institution of the police force.
Blog Comment 2:
I enjoyed reading Meischa Sineno’s paper on Patricia Hill Collins's work on the effects of social control on race, gender, and sexuality. In the paper, Sineno discusses how the domination of straight white males in media affects the opposite communities. She talks about how people of color watch the media only to see themselves portrayed as stereotypes. This then affects them, because they have few role models and can only envision their lives as these stereotypes. The domination in the media also is used as a form of control, since these communities can only see themselves as stereotypes and make it harder for them to fight back the injustices they face. Sineno goes on to agree with the work of Hill Collins, saying that for these oppressed groups to invoke change they must unite together and rise above the stereotypes. This paper made me realize the impacts that the media has had on these communities of color.
Blog Comment 3:
Ariana Junor’s paper about Caribbean culture was a paper I enjoyed reading. Throughout her paper, she goes in-depth into explaining what lead to the specific culture in the Caribbean. One factor she goes into is creolization or the blend of many cultures into one. To her, through her research, she believes that Caribbean culture can be accredited to the ancestors and the colonization from European countries. She explains the culture comes from a blend of cultures from the economical dominance of Europe such as the plantations in the Caribbean and cultures of Africa from the slaves who worked on the plantations. One example of this is the religion of Rastafarianism in Jamaica, which contains elements of Christianity with the belief of God, and also elements of Africa with the desire to connect with African roots. I enjoyed learning about Caribbean Culture and I am glad Ariana is proud of her Caribbean culture and embraces it.