Analysis : ' You 're Not A Skull '

Professor Henry Louis Gates’ “Brazil: A Racial Paradise”, a documentary that focuses on the Afro-Brazilian population of Brazil, explored and exposed the concept of Racial Democracy; touted by the Brazilian government, it’s influence is largely overrated. (“Brazil: A Racial Paradise”, Black In Latin America, 2011, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Public Broadcasting Service, Web) While the institution of Racial Democracy has brought upon a certain amount of integration between Brazil and its 75 million Afro-Brazilians, the not so distant past-coupled with the realities of modern day racism-has left Afro-Brazilians alienated and discriminated against by mainstream society. However, since the abolition of slavery in 1888, coupled with the declaration of a Racial Democracy in the 1930’s and the leadership of influential Afro-Brazilians, Brazil has been quietly successful, albeit

Our individual identity is greatly constructed by how others perceive us. In the poem, "Response to Executive Order 9066" written by Dwight Okita is about how american identity has more to do with how you experience culture than with where your family came from. In the story "Mericans" written by Sandra Cisnero's is about the narrators american identity contrasts with the awful grandmothers strong mexican roots but the americans judge the narrators based on her looks. Though the speakers in Okita's poem and Cisnero's short story have strong roots in foreign cultures, both of them feel more connected to their American identities.

Afro-Paradise: Blackness, Violence, and Performance in Brazil by Christen A. Smith juxtaposes the images of Brazil’s black populations shown in the media with the ugly reality that they actually face in their everyday lives. From an outside perspective Brazil, especially Rio de Janeiro, is known as this tropical paradise with their beautiful beaches, beautiful people, and of course Carnaval do Brasil. When you Google images of the Carnaval you will see images of colorful floats, and beautiful women with “perfect bodies” wearing outfits that look like solely mardi gras beads to cover their its and bits. “Brazil, a republic that once declared itself free of racism, is now faced with the reality that racism does exist” (5). Brazil is known as a country with such a diverse and rich culture that everyone from other races live together in harmony. The representation of black bodies within Brazil can be seen with by the performers dancing on floats and with bodies being shot on the cement. Afro-paradise is a paradox. The oppressive economy uses its identity as an exotic, black “jovial playland” for tourists to come and experience the black culture and black people. Glorifying the black culture of Bahia reinforces Brazil’s racially

The focus point of this week’s analysis is the film, Even the Rain. In this film a group of filmmakers travel to a poor town in Bolivia in order to shoot a movie about Christopher Columbus’s landing in America. They hire locals to star in the film and assist as cheap workers and laborers on the set. Outside the shooting of the movie, the main hired actor leads a resistance movement with the townspeople, many of whom are also involved in the film, against the government and a private company that is taxing the water the townspeople need to survive. This leads to protest and outbreaks of violence in the town that threatens instability.

A. Attention getter: Imagine yourself on a white sandy beach far away from all the books and term projects due this week or the next. Away from the crowded elevators, busy streets and crowded train rides. Now imagine yourself surrounded by thousands of people screaming and shouting out of joy, watching colorful floats pass you by. You find yourself moving along with the music playing and just can’t help yourself. This is just something you would probably experience if you were to spend a night in Brazil.

Brazil is currently undergoing a large wave of gang-related criminal activity that has resulted in backlash towards the police for their inadequate response. Rohter from the New York Times described how the prison gang, First Capital Command, has escalated their crimes to terrorize law enforcement. This pressure has caused the Brazilian national government to act by moving the gang members to maximum security prisons hundreds of miles away from the capital. The decision to separate the members motivated the street affiliated members to increase terror on law enforcement. It was not until the government officials met with the gang leader, Mr. Camacho, to negotiate a peace offering, that the gang called a cease-fire on government officials. To

LaGravanese makes an excellent job with the characters, the soundtrack, and the scenery, making the message clear for the audience. Throughout the movie, the director uses many strong facts that strengthen his credibility and appeal to ethos, as well as build the movie’s argument. The director establishes his credibility by showing the audience actual video footage of Los Angeles area from the early 1990s and a series of captions demonstrated the racial tension between different gangs. Also,

As one the major themes, crime, with plenty of gangs and little insight life in the slums urban areas depicted in the film have become unbearable. The youths in the film take pride and seek fame in hurting their enemies, they are thrilled by murder. This is because it is one of the alternatives to having a decent income in the areas. Lack of social and economic mobility is shown

The main theme of this film is to take caution on who you become friends with and to make decisions that will not ruin your future. This is very much related to crime because there are many illegal acts that are performed in this film like underage drinking,

Brazil has some of the most violent cities in the world. The murder rate in Brazil has been going through the roof each year. Some cities have a murder rate of 50 per 50,000 people. Most murder victims are usually male, poor and teenagers. Most of these crimes take place in the infamous favelas of Brazil. Murder is not the only crime leaking in the shallow streets of the favelas. High-profile rape cases, kidnapping, drugs, and weapons dealing in the favelas are the common headlines in Brazil (Griffin, Jo). These crimes are born in the favelas and spread through the streets of Brazil. The economic growth of Brazil over the years has benefited the rich puppeteers of the society, but it has made life more miserable for the poor (McCann, Bryan). Not just in Rio, but favelas have spread throughout many cities in Brazil and now they are the number one birthplace of different types of crimes in the country. In this paper, we will analyze an article published on the online version of ‘The Guardians” regarding the lives of people living in Brazilian slums (favelas).

The political elements of the movie are shown through the politics of violence. The movie focuses on masculinity, violence and gender. It resembles the pathology of individual and institutional violence that fills America, ranging from hate crimes to criminal subcultures. Violence functions mostly through the politics of denial, insulation, disinterest and inability to criticize with self-consiousness. This is the violence that represents society today.

Gangs dictate and control the operation of more than six hundred identifiable favelas as they battle for power, resulting in more than fifty homicides per week. The police believe they are fighting in a civil war of resiliency, killing nearly nine hundred people living in favelas per year. Despite the moral panic of outside citizens, one in five people living in Rio de Janeiro identify themselves as “favelados”, leading them to fight for what they consider to be normal life within the favelas (Favela on Blast, 2008).

The film consists of depicting a series of events from the various points of views of the characters. Among the events that are being depicted are the discovery of a Black man’s dead body at the side of a road. The robbery of a shop owned by a Persian family. The interaction between the Persian shop owner, Farhad, a gun store owner. The interactions various interactions between Farhad and a Hispanic locksmith named Daniel.

Hollywood often reflects the sentiments and experiences of the times through cinematic works of cultural and social relevance. Brazilian film carries a common thread of negligence and isolation of poor and unfortunate citizens; Bus 174 clearly portrays the experiences of one of Brazil 's many forgotten street children. Brazilian culture, in law and in social attitudes, sets the impoverished children of its cities up for short lives of crime, hardship, and cruelty disguised as justice. [DEFINE STREET CHILDREN AND FAVELAS]

Then, as only a filmmaker could represent, the "villains" emerge. Men more prepared for combat, cruel and agile hunters, armed, and still graced with the surprise factor. These invaders come as only death could get: cold, quick and calculating, without sparing their victims. Led by a violent warrior, they manage to subdue the whole village, with the price of many lives. Women, children, nothing was spared before the passage of the executioners. The murderous and violent nation is, in fact, the Maya civilization, one of the greatest exponents among the pre-Columbian people. Thus, after a long crossing through the forest, surrounded by tension and torture, imprisoned men and women are introduced to a reality totally different from the one to which they are accustomed. They are faced with a gigantic city with people marketing, endowed with a clear hierarchy, where people seem to live in harmony, aware of their role within this society. The contrast between villages is quite visible in the film: the smaller ones with members who