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Factors that shape personal identities
Influence of media to culture
Personal identity and social identity
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More handpicked essays just for you.
Factors that shape personal identities
Influence of media to culture
Personal identity and social identity
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
In Richard Rodriguez’s article, “Blaxicans and Other Reinvented Americans”, he states using race as a basis for identifying Americans is not valid, culture should be what defines a person. For example in the essay Rodriguez states, “I am Chinese and that is because I live in a Chinese city” (91). This indicates that just because he is categorized as Hispanic it does not define who he really is, since he is saying that since he grew up in a Chinese culture and he knows more about Chinese cultures than he knows about his own family culture. Rodriguez defines himself Chinese also because he grew up the Chinese way and not the Hispanic way, but deep down Rodriguez knows his race is actually Hispanic but he rather define himself as Chinese because
On the other hand, there have been cases in which Latinos and Asians have either been categorized as either “black” or “white,” with no in-between. This shows that it is possible to see how the black-white binary takes precedence over one;s ethnicity. In the process, the identities of different people from different backgrounds are narrowed down to either being categorized as “white” or non-white (“black”), and ultimately being marginalized as
The Power Behind “Just Walk on By” In Brent Staples article “Just Walk on By”, Staples shares his thoughts on the way marginalized groups interact. He uses his own experiences as a young African American man to shed light on how people can have implied biases that affect the way they treat other people. Staples does this to demonstrate how society develops preconceived notions in the minds of individuals about marginalized groups, primarily African American men, which are often a flawed representation of the people within these groups. The rhetoric he uses is key to developing an understanding persona and an emotional appeal that exposes the implied biases of people without alienating or offending the audience, to whom-- among others-- he attributes these biases.
I have chosen to focus on the issue of racial stereotypes and biases, particularly regarding the movie "Boyz n the Hood. " The movie is an interesting crime drama film released in 1991 and directed by John Singleton. It mostly follows the lives of African-American youths growing up in the poverty-stricken neighborhoods of South-Central Los Angeles, especially the Crenshaw neighborhood. Analyzing this film is essential in understanding various assumptions and preconceived notions different audience members may bring and whether the movie reinforces or challenges those expectations. One of the assumptions and biases audience members may have in relation to the film is racial stereotypes.
In the article People Like Us, the author, David Brooks, argues that while the United States is a diverse nation as a whole in terms of racial integration, but block by block, community by community, and institution by institution, the united states is a rather a homogenous nation. People separate themselves to be around the ones they feel most comfortable with, be it by race, religion, social status, gender, and even sexuality. Instead of everyone in our nation coming together to be unified and diverse, “people make strenuous efforts to group themselves with people who are basically like themselves” (62). In the article, Brooks says, “But as neighborhoods age, they develop personalities (that’s where the Asians live, and that’s where
In the short story Pick One, author David Matthews develops the text’s purpose of demonstrating how social situations force people into groups with labels on them. Using his own experiences to portray a change in social setting and demographic, Matthews is able to develop the theme of how the changes can force individuals into a box where they either fit in or don’t. According to Matthews, the change in school and peers led to him feeling isolated and alienated, stating “Nothing prepared me for walking into that public-school classroom, … I had never felt so utterly on my own.” These feelings of alienation are the pretext to the eventual decision that Matthews makes in choosing which racial group to identify with; that being either black or
Racism isn't born, it is taught! This essay "Just walk on by Brent Staples" is written in the mid 70's when racism was at its peak. Racism is not only common today it's been a part of American history. Staples works as a journalist in a predominantly white society. This essay deals with racism, stereotypes, and prejudice.
Moreover, demonstrate consequences are taken to oppress racial and ethnic minorities to keep them in a subservient position. Overall, this film has provided me with a visual depiction of how stereotypes are a mental tool that enforces racial segregation and self-hate. The label of “White” became a necessity for Sarah Jane to achieve in society. To attain it she needed to move to a new city, change her name and deny her mother.
Their achieved identity is not compatible with their ascribed identity, and this can have grave consequences in their lives. Children who have moved here when they were young see themselves as no different than anyone else. Their identity is one of an American-born child with a mixture of their parent’s background. V.
People’s appearance can sometimes trick a person into their true identity. In the film, “Get Out” by Jordan Peele, the character Rose is introduced as a charming girlfriend, but at the end, her true form is revealed causing a life and death situation. This movie is based on how an interracial couple is going to visit Rose’s parents house. The irony falls there because she knows exactly what it is going to result at the parents home and her boyfriend, Chris, is going to be the victim. Although the knowledge that is out there about White people not liking African Americans and doing bad things to them, now in this movie it's seen as if the Whites want to be them.
Chapter 4 from Dr. Clay’s book, “The Hip-Hop Generation Fights Back” begins to talk about how hip-hop music usually acts as a center for social protests between today’s youth, just like the rhythm and blues or early rock and roll as well as folk music does for many youth protesters from the 1960s. Music imitates the lifestyles and values of the adolescence ones, which is why it has been a valuable classifying tool for many social and political protests. Chapter 4 introduces how the youth campaigners understood hip-hop as a genuine youth culture in most of its commercialized forms. An outside audience will find hip-hop music to be very powerful in the way it shows what a young person of color is in historical instants.
Starr Carter, the protagonist of Angie Thomas’s young adult novel, The Hate U Give, epitomizes the subversion of cultural racial oppression through the development of an identity that encompasses multiple consciousnesses. As an African American teenage girl raised in a middle-class family attending a high school with primarily White upper-class students, Starr finds the need to prove her belongingness to both communities in Garden Heights and at Williamson Prep. Unlike her White upper-class counterparts at Williamson and African American middle-to-low-class counterparts in Garden Heights, Starr’s identity is multifaceted. She must act and interact with her peers with respect to her location, in other words, utilize double consciousness. However,
Stereotyping is an issue that affects all ages, genders, and races. Not all stereotypes are bad, but when you maliciously stereotype it becomes a problem. In S.E. Hinton’s young adult novel The Outsiders, stereotyping is a significant issue. There are two gangs in this novel, the “greasers”, and the “Socs”. The greasers live on the east side and are known as “hoods”.
Because the lyrics of many rap songs tell stories of an artist’s personal experience of their everyday lives growing up, urban youth can relate and connect to the lyrics because they see and experience very similar things. Listening to the artist’s lyrics about their own experiences can teach the listeners to not make stupid mistakes and if they continue to follow the right paths, they can achieve more and be successful like the rappers. Hip-Hop literacies can be applied in and outside of the classroom. Students can identify themselves through Hip-Hop culture. In the article, “You Don’t Have to Claim Her”, the author and English teacher Lauren Leigh Kelly, explains that women of all ages can use Hip-Hop to identify themselves despite the genre
With the introduction of cinema came the introduction of cinema-induced personalities and stereotypes. Often times people think that just because something appears in a movie multiple times that it is the same reality in real life. These thoughts can form many thoughts, whether they are positive or negative connotations. According to Kristine Wright (2004), she said that “the ‘gangsta image’ representing the ‘real’ black urban experience” (p.12). Through the realm of cinema, the introduction of the ‘gangsta image’ has become a prominent stereotype among young African American men and has shaped many people’s opinions through cinematic portrayals and musical acts which has affected the lives of the African American community even to