Response 8

“How a Whistleblower brought down Chicago Police Chief”

“But just because both the family and the police wanted a tape suppressed doesn’t make it law. Journalists and activists were demanding the tape’s release under the Illinois” Freedom of Information Act(FOIA), which says that citizens have a right to view the government records.” -page 4

Literally– In a literal sense, this particular quote is discussing a certain right that is allowed to citizens in times of such a crisis as the one described in the article itself which, is the problem between different races when it comes to an altercation with the police. This quote is also displaying the power that people have when they come together and demand a particular piece of evidence or information, which I found to be very interesting.

Intellectually- This quote makes me think of many different things. One thing that it really makes me think about is the rights that people are completely unaware of. As a citizen, I did not know that I was entitled to view government documents such as police footage or reports. It makes me think about the way the government works in order to cover up not only evidence or information pertaining to an incident, but also the powerful rights of citizens such as the Illinois’ Freedom of Information Act.

Emotionally- This specific part of the passage really makes me worried and suspicious of the government’s actions and their intentions behind certain actions. The way that the police cover up for each other in certain cases, the way that footage just disappears and certain parts of a case are left out on purpose, really make me wonder just how much the government is hiding from the people of America. With this Freedom act, I am worried that a majority of the people may not know that they are entitled to such freedom or even have the opportunity to use such a right. Overall, I fear the power that the government has over us. Is it really true that people have power or is the government just giving us the illusion we so desperately need?

Relationally- Relationally, the passage as a whole makes me think of Carmona’s piece because the details of the incident and the footage being buried displays the type of power that the police have over citizens, which is what Carmona is trying to convey in his article.

“The Birth of a Nation didn’t just transform cinema forever; it inaugurated a debate about art, race, and freedom of expression that shaped american history.” -Page 3

Literally– In a literal sense, this specific quote is stating that the birth of people united in a particular place like America has transformed the film industry in more ways than one. it has transformed the people who live in this nation. The birth of a nation has created a catastrophe of causes controversy over Such Trivial things that make up our identity, our emotions, and our history as a country.

Intellectually– This quote really makes me think about many things regarding our current society. I feel like it relates to our society more than any quote previously discussed because the concepts being presented are the basis of the cultural prejudice, the controversy, the suffering that we experience within our collective unconscious. Living in a nation where it is a bit scary to voice your opinion is not a nation at all, it is almost like a war zone. If you say the wrong thing, if you say something that conflicts another person’s opinions it seems as if everyone is out to get you. This quote also makes me think about the way that the media especially, films build and create the prejudices that so many people have toward one another. For example, the way that films portray the actions of black people. They portray them to be uneducated, unworthy of certain opportunities, rude, and the cause for crime. While, black people are educated, their worthy, their polite, their capable of every single thing that a person who is not black can do and achieve. Film and media hold our minds captive of the things we see, the things we do, and even the way we think.

Emotionally– On an emotional level, this quote makes me angry with the film industry, it makes me angry at people on our society because they believe everything they are told, everything that they see, every single thing they think of is influenced in one way or another by the films that they watch. It makes me angry that people are so naive and gullible, and the industry takes advantage of that because they know that people are willing to believe anything and everything.

Relationally– Relationally, I feel like this quote relates to the quote I discussed previously from the article “How a whistleblower brought down Chicago police chief,” because as stated the birth of a nation has cause opinions to go against one another. It has transformed the way people view each other and race. The film industry’s actions of stereotyping certain races to be likely to do this or that only heightens the tension between police and citizens of different communities; especially minority communities.

“White Anxiety: Rachel Dolezal, Dylann Roof and the future of Race in America”

“The media overlap of the Aryan race warrior and the race traitor showed two people driven to opposite ends of whiteness by anxiety over their identity. The American Dream is collapsing just as we tip into a non-white majority, intensifying racist nostalgia for some, dissolving it for others. The confederate flag waving Roof and Kinky haired Dolezal tried to solve private crises with self-recreation. Unknowingly, they exposed the fractured state of whiteness.”-page 1

Literally– In a literal sense, this particular quote is discussing the way in which the media has portrayed these two different people who have deceived others into believing a particular lie about their identities. This quote discusses how as a society and a nation we are emerging into a majority that is not dominated by he white race and this is causing more people to become anxious, especially people who are not a part of that non-white majority.

Intellectually– This quote makes me Think about how some people try so hard to fit into a particular front of people, especially that of race. It makes me think about how people always say “that guy is black and he dresses like a white guy” or “why are you acting white when you are not?” To me, a person acts the way they act because of the other people they hang out with or the factors that are in their individual environment not just because they want to be a different race. This makes me think about the significance that the media has because they have portrayed people of a particular race to do certain things and if you are not in that particular race, you cannot do the same things.

Emotionally– This quote makes me feel like I need to have more control over myself. It makes me question just how important race is portrayed to be when, in reality it is just a part of who we are. It shouldn’t determine the length of our success or the way that people view us. This quote makes me not only worried but more so upset because our society has allowed the media to overlap ideas and control our actions.

Relationally- I’m a relational sense, I feel like this quote relates to both of the previous quotes discussed because it really grasps the way that media affects people of a certain race. It displays how media has caused someone to conform their own identity In order to make a change or a difference in a particular subject area. It’s almost ridiculous to know that people consider this certain conformity to be a normality.