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[ 6 posts ] |
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Shelley_Cabe
Semi-pro
Joined: Fri Jan 12, 2007 8:13 pm Posts: 24
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We watched the video"American Dream at Groton" in class today. Something that stood out to me was the story of the hispanic girl, Jo. She grew up in the Bronx and went to the boarding school. What made her different was that she did not come from a long line of wealthy, educated people. After she began to assimilate into the school, where a lot of white, wealthy, well educated people went, she began to feel like she was losing her identity. She felt like she couldn't go home anymore and be accepted because they would make fun of her because she began to act more like the white people. At one point she says, "Maybe I was white and didn't know it". To me, this seems to happen to a lot of teenagers who are the minority in a group. As they start to take on the characteristics of that group, they lose part of their culture and society. Why does this happen? Why can we not just learn about another group and still be accepted for what culture you grew up in? For me, I just try to pick the good qualities I see in someone and work towards becoming a better person. I never went to boarding school or a school where I was a minority, but I can still relate to what Jo was feeling. What are some other thoughts on the movie?
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Thu Feb 22, 2007 3:27 pm |
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Elizabeth Dawson
Semi-pro
Joined: Thu Jan 11, 2007 11:38 pm Posts: 26
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I think that Jo's story is very similar to the story of the girl in the other movie who moved away from her small home-town to the big city. She was accused of changing who she was. She tried to change to fit in at school, but she was still not "white", then when she went home she wasn't accepted because she was too "white". But what does it mean to be white? There are a lot of "white" people in the world who are as different as night and day. Why do we have to assign stereotypes with skin color? If a person of minority happens to succeed in America and make money and live a good lifestyle, they seem to be accused of becoming "white" and losing their culture and their identity in that culture. Yet one of the very reasons that they come to America is because it is a land of opportunity where they have a chance at becoming successful. It seems like kids just can't win these days.
_________________ Elizabeth McPhail Dawson
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Fri Feb 23, 2007 1:29 am |
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Joanna_Ferrara
Semi-pro
Joined: Mon Jan 15, 2007 10:32 am Posts: 24
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I don't understand why we can't just be classified as American. I mean I completely agree with you Elizabeth these people come to America because it is the land of the opportunity and they are put on the track to success. I think if a person of a minority succeeds they shouldn't forget where they are from, but their success shouldn't prevent them from having their idenity in their culture. It's like the people back home shun them for becoming successful, but I am sure they will always remember where they came from. You said it best when you said..."It seems like kids just can't win these days."
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Mon Feb 26, 2007 8:39 pm |
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Robert_Glenn
Semi-pro
Joined: Sun Jan 14, 2007 10:45 pm Posts: 24
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I agree with Elizabeth, there is a lack of opportunity for all children in America even today. I think this un-acceptance shows a surviving form of white supremacy. You cannot be elite because you are not white and from a white family with a good history, nor can you ever be accepted or understood by “whitesâ€
_________________ Robert Chase Glenn
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Thu Mar 01, 2007 4:29 pm |
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jessie_carrigan
Semi-pro
Joined: Thu Jan 11, 2007 7:34 pm Posts: 29
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I am commenting towards Jo's mother's comment towards the end of the film. To say that they have come a long way is true...but why stop now? Hispanics and other races are still being discrimated. What I am wondering and stating is WHY SETTLE? I am tired of my culture (whites) thinking that they are so much greater than other races. I mean European-Americans came here, to America, a Native American's world...and just pushed them away. Who's to say that some culture like the Hispanics won't come here and push us away? I tell you why...it's because they settle for what they can get. And they shouldn't. I want to see more Martin Luther King Jr's, more Rosa Parks...I want to see people from different cultures not settle and try to make a difference in this world...for their culture!
_________________ Jessie Carrigan
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Thu Mar 01, 2007 4:44 pm |
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Brandon_Fiedor
Semi-pro
Joined: Mon Jan 15, 2007 12:03 am Posts: 25
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As far as Jo's situation is concerned, I am not quite sure that becoming "white" in her situation had anything to do with skin color. The awful truth and reality is that the majority of the those who succeed in our world and especially in America tend to be white. It's not the skin color, it's what's behind the skin color. Becoming "white" in Jo's case meant taking on characterstics of the successful. I wish we could all get along and forget skin color too, but that is easy for us to say, we who have the luxury to be in college and we who, as far as I know, are ALL white. Racial oppression is too fresh a memory and for most still a reality that color is a large issue, for right or wrong. None of us know how it is to live by rules created by a different ethnicity than yours and the ensuing ethnic confusion that follows.
_________________ Brandon J Fiedor
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Mon Mar 05, 2007 6:12 pm |
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