Oscar Grant's Journey In Fruitvale Station

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is not a happy book. The Author, Junot Diaz, does a great job fooling the reader into believing the story is about the De Leon family, specifically Oscar who is an over weight nerd trying to find the love of his life, but due to a family “fuku” or curse Oscar is having a lot of trouble doing so. Instead, the story actually portrays the dark history of the Dominican Republic under the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo. Upon reading the stories of Oscar’s relatives the reader feels a powerful message of fear and oppression due to the actions of the Trujillo regime. Even after the demise of

Oscar Grant III is depicted as a real human being who struggles daily to become a better person in a world that has already proven to be injustice to him. He was a great father, loving son, loved his girlfriend but struggled with infidelity, and was a convicted felon. The movie

In the true story Fruitvale Station, Oscar Grant was racially discriminated after getting into a fight with an ex-inmate at a train station. After the fight, officers hand cuffed him and his friends and threw them on the ground. While Grant’s friends were let off, Grant was innocently shot and killed by one of the officers. In no, shape, form or fashion was the situation correct or supposed to happen the way it did. Oscar Grant did not deserve to be killed the

They had guns! He stared into the night, hoping that maybe there would be some U.S. Marines out for a stroll, but there was only a lone man sitting in his rocking chair out in front of his ruined house and for a moment Oscar could have sworn the dude has no face, but then the killers got back into the car and drove (298).

When we see that the people that we love have to deal with a horrible situation we try to make it better anyway we can, sometimes giving up the most important part of ourselves. In The Brief Life of Oscar Wao, Diaz argues that there are stronger forces around us. With fuku, the curse in the Dominican Republic, is present in the lives of Oscar and Beli when they both have an encounter with the

In society, social problems are often brought to the public’s attention through popular culture and media. The compelling film, Fruitvale Station, directed by Ryan Coogler is a nod to many social problems found in the United States of America today. The film portrays social problems like poverty among minorities, racial profiling and especially police brutality through the last 24 hours of Oscar Julius Grant III’s life. The star-studded film not only pays homage to Grant but also to the ideas of poverty and police brutality. The film all but shouts at the audience that the minorities, especially African Americans, suffer from many economic and social disadvantages that needs attention. At the 2013 Sundance Movie Festival by means of great

Trouble began to brew because of the woman, and it seemed logical to any normal person to discontinue the pursuit; but Oscar’s stubbornness that was frequently depicted in situations throughout the novel led him to his death. In this novel there was no other way for Oscar to die logically; he needed a big bang to bow out of his eccentric life and what better way for him, than to die for love. True love, what Oscar had been searching for his entire life and finally found, had killed him.

While at Rutgers, Oscar thought he had something going with a girl named Jenni Muñuz. They became pretty good friends, getting into deep conversations and telling each other secrets. Oscar only imagined the relationship developing into Jenni becoming his girlfriend. The Fuku had to be getting the best of Oscar at this point, as Jenni found another guy that she made her boyfriend. Again, Oscar was more than crushed. His heart had cracked into a million pieces, glued back together and the shattered again. Oscar was in such bad shape after Jenni found a boyfriend that he decided to commit suicide. Luckily for Oscar, he survived his jump from the bridge as he landed safely on the median. Oscar makes it through college and finds a nice job teaching at his old high school in New Jersey. It is not until a much needed trip to the Dominican Republic where his attitude starts to change.

Many can say that Oscar was self-handicapping. He often created situations that he knew would made him fail. For example, he used his weight and inability to talk to girls at hand because he was afraid he would not succeed. He used it as a safety net to make him feel it was not his personality or looks that was drawing him away from girls others thought he should date. Yunior pushed Oscar to get over this fear that was only hurting him but, Oscar gave up every time and went back to “being

Oscar, who was a Dominican man, did not fit the stereotype of a Dominican man. He "couldn't play sports," did not know how to fight, and enjoyed reading science fiction and comic books (Diaz 20). Moreover, Oscar was also not particularly attractive and overweight. Unfortunately for Oscar, Dominican men were "supposed to have Atomic Level G", to "be pulling in bitches with both hands, and be athletic and muscular" (24). Furthermore, they were expected to be extremely macho and exude confidence. It was not Oscar's fault that he lacked some of these characteristics because he "didn't have no kind of father to show him the masculine ropes (15). As a result, he did not have much luck with the ladies and, "everybody noticed his lack of game", criticizing him (24). This illustrates how this stereotype and gender role was widely accepted and how those who defied it were alienated. Thus, life was extremely difficult for Oscar, who struggled with many problems throughout his life because he was not the typical Dominican

Fruitvale Station is a movie about a 24 year old man named Oscar Grant. The movie and review portrayed Grant as any African American lower class member working at a grocery store, but gets fired for being late a couple of times. Prior to working at the grocery store Grant was said to be an ex-convict with a police record trying to reform himself, a drug dealer, and guy who cheated on his girlfriend, the mother of his child.

Oscar's family refuses to accept their relationship, seeing it disgusting and foolish. When Oscar tells Ybón that he made plans to come back for Thanksgiving and Christmas, she does not look excited. Oscar keeps pushing Ybón to see his best qualities and little by little, she starts to open up. She even kisses him. Oscar's new found love spirals down into a pit of darkness. He gets beaten up by cops, barely surviving the beating. The Mongoose, who is a magical force that opposes evil curses, leads Oscar to a cab driver that saves him. Oscar loses himself in between Ybón's drunken talks of the tragedies in her life. He gets too close to her; his risk of being enormously damaged (physically and emotionally) increases. When Ybón's boyfriend finds out about Oscar, he ends up, unfortunately, murdering him. Oscar does not die disappointed—he feels content with himself because love stems from his fingertips. By letting blinded love control Oscar's actions, he lets his reasoning go and becomes vulnerable to disasters—one of them being death. He does not comprehend that a person cannot continue to pursue love from the same person after finding out that the certain person (Ybón) is taken. People who do

New Year’s Day, 2009, a man is brutally shot by the BART Police of Oakland, California. Fruitvale Station, written and directed by Ryan Coogler, took audiences by surprise as it resonated with twenty-two year old Oscar Grant, a man who was shot down by the BART Police. This movie takes viewers on an emotional expedition as it takes a peek into the life and death of Oscar Grant and his family. The struggles of originating from an African-American background become apparent as Oscar Grant struggles with steering away from racial stereotypes and the misunderstandings of racial profiling.

Fruitvale station, is a story about the real life Oscar Grant, a black man who was shot and killed by a Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer in Oakland. This film follows Grant and his last days before the shooting on New Year’s Day. Written and directed by Ryan Coogler, Fruitvale station was his first feature film. Coogler expressed that he was interested in making this film because he wanted people to get to know Grant, get attached, so that when a situation like this occurs again, people will care more about that human life (Wikipedia). In addition, the cast includes Michael B. Jordan (Grant), Octavia Spencer (Wanda Johnson), and Melonie Diaz (Sophina Mesa), amongst a few others. However, there is an underlying concept in this film. This film relates back to Double Consciousness and the internal conflict and struggles within African American men.

The conclusion of the film was extremely dramatic and effective at reiterating the neighborhood’s increased confidence over the gang activity.  Walt began the confidence building by standing against the gang publicly.  This brought the neighborhood to think of him as a hero and shower him with gifts of praise.  It was befitting that he would martyr himself in the end.  Lying on the ground dead like Jesus nailed to the cross.  His essential “suicide by gang” was not the only possible solution to the problem.  Though conflict resolution through communication with gang members would more than likely fail, neighborhoods in similar situations have stood firm as a community against gang violence and intimidation.  Using the latest technology, they have driven gang elements away.  By joining neighborhood watch and documenting illegal behaviors from gang members, neighborhoods have made themselves less attractive for gangs to reside.  “The gang's power increases through their use of fear and violence to intimidate rivals and citizens alike. This tactic can be countered by citizen action groups such as Neighborhood Watch. A neighborhood that is united in the goal to stop gang crime and violence can be an effective force in curbing gangs”.  (Orange County Sheriff Office, 1992, p.1).