This Is England
While watching the movie “This is England” as “the other”, I was able to experience a culture that was socially, culturally, politically, and ethically different from that of my own. It was interesting to see a story unfold through the perspective of a young boy named Shaun. The director showed Shaun’s experiences dealing with serious issues England was facing at the time such as racism, gangs, immigration, and unemployment. Losing his father at an early age, Shaun lacked an older figure to guide him towards the right path which ultimately causes him to join a gang called the Skinheads. Based on the movie, gangs seem to be one of the major problems within England’s social economic political system. At first the gang Shaun
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In spite of the outcomes of past events, England does not seem to care.
Of course, if one grew up in England and was raised to believe that whites were superior to all races then that would be the social norm. If one was born in America, he or she would grow up to believe that all humans were created equal no matter what race you were. This is evident through the perspective of the main character of the movie. Shaun grew up without a father figure to teach him about ethics and morals. Shaun becomes more attracted towards Combo’s strong character as the movie progresses. Consequently, Combo eventually brainwashes the young boy and made him believe that everyone in England who was not white caused a major problem in society. However, I strongly believe that racism only causes more problems. Living in America – the land of equal opportunity – for all twenty one years of my life I have never experienced any major problems just because whites and other minorities settled and lived in the same area. Everyone was created equal no matter where you came from. Although I may find it particularly odd to see another person hate someone because of their cultural background, I understand that I am only observing the situation as “the other". What may be strange to me can definitely be normal for
Labelling theory is relevant as it shows how society has branded men in gangs as deviant and the social reactions to this naming (Tierney 2013, p.148). As individuals like Asling and Blewitt are already part of a deviant subculture and habitual offenders, they strive to fulfil the deviant label. Thus, all further behaviour, activities and tasks orbits around the attempt to find social status, power and authority that they might not find in a legitimate society. This act of crime also solidifies their association with Williams, a notorious figure in Australia’s underworld. As a result, stuck in this criminal label, both men are conditioned to value success through illegitimate means to obtain a sense of identity and therefore committing crimes
Racism is in the daily lives of everyone. One group craves power and the other surrenders. It comes from a natural place and is the cause for many wars. With racism in the world it will never be a place of total serenity. Jim Crow, mob mentality, and the Scottsboro trial have effected a readers outlook on To Kill a Mockingbird.
Racism is a concept that has been around for centuries of human history: The act of a privileged party oppressing, demeaning, and committing genocide of another race. However, scientifically, humanity is only made up of a single species: homosapiens. The idea of race as it is known (groups based on skin pigment and cultural descent) is a social construct created and ingrained into society. Just because race is socially constructed does not mean racism is not real. Social constructs are not physical entities, but are certainly “real” to humans of a society. One concept that has been created along with the idea of race is the inequality of said races. Caucasian people in many societies (including North American and European) have become the “norm”, meaning they are the standard and expected. Because of this, Caucasian people receive benefits, often known as white privilege, which is “A collective, implicit acceptance of whiteness as virtuous, normal, unremarkable, and expected.” (Jeffries, 2013). Because race is socially constructed in culture, it has created white privilege and white normativity. This privilege can be seen in the media created and consumed by North Americans, and in the justice system and law upheld in North American countries.
Miller, Walter B. “Lower Class Culture as a Generating Milieu of Gang Delinquency.” Journal of Social Issues, Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 14 Apr. 2010, onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1540-4560.1958.tb01413.x/full. Accessed 17 Mar. 2017.
In today’s World there is so much going on right now dealing with gun violence and other illegal things that we know about. Gangs is one of the problems that is talked about, gangs is similar to the early American History because as we know gangs is known for killing their enemies and taking over other people's properties just how the British came to America to invade it. The British had moved in on the Americans
We are all humans, but somehow some people had made the standard and separated people by nation and skin colors. For the word racism, Racism is the "Hatred" of one person by another, based on the belief that that person is inferior because of their skin color, language, customs, place of birth, or other similar traits.Racism has existed throughout human history, often providing justification for one group's dominance over another. Most people, even if they do not approve of overt racism, nonetheless have some kind of prejudice against another group of people, and these prejudices can lead to hurt, anger, and even violence at both the personal and societal levels (“How to stop being racisms”). Nowaday in United State still have some racisms. It probably would be from the old fashion. And also we could see that even United State has been change attitude after Civil war, which just happened not long time ago.
This is England Every individual needs the feeling of belonging. Every individual needs the feeling of recognition and solidarity. In interaction and relation with other people we create a role and an identity in which we found a base and create the stability of our everyday life. In the film “This is England” written and directed by Shane Meadows in 2006 we meet Shaun who is struggling with anger, despair and a missing father role.
It ruins the day to day cooperation, promotes hate and war among neighbors, social injustice practices, decrease the rate of productivity at work, and promotes fear and tension in our lives. It is destroys what we have built, and argues that the quality of a human being is based on the color of their skin and not the content of one 's behaviors and acts. According to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary, Racism is defined as, “a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race”. It is the most arrogant form of pride. It can be cultural, systematic, individual or even institutional. On the other hand, there is stereotypes. Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines them as, “an often unfair and untrue belief that many people have about all people or things with a particular characteristic. “Racism and stereotype are often confusing and many people have misused or misunderstood one or the other while others have argued that stereotype is a form of racism.
America’s foundation in a sense was founded on racism. Although we live in a much more different, accepting time, it wasn’t too long ago that there was segregation and extreme racism in our society. We as a society have now since evolved and are now more tolerable and diverse then what we once were. However, there still are cases in America that show just how far we still need to develop our tolerance.
In growing up in the position of the ‘other’ in society, Smith provides an empowered stance of identity exclusively through the demonstration of cultural hybridity, as evidenced by Millat and his gangster crew, the Raggastani’s. As Millat becomes increasingly connected to a swaggering identity highlighted by Western popular culture, his sense of belonging becomes established with the multicultural mix of South Asian and Caribbean teens he hangs out with: “It was a new breed, just recently joining the ranks of the other street crews. Becks, B-boys, Nation Brothers, Raggas, and Pakis; manifesting itself as a kind of cultural mongrel of the last three categories. Their ethos, their manifesto, if it could be called that, was equally a hybrid thing” (193). Here, Smith uses the Raggastani’s as a symbol representing the emerging identity of a multicultural London transformed by the migration of formerly colonized populations from South Asia and the Caribbean. Their mission, to put the “invincible back in Indian, the Bad-aaaass back in Bengali, the P-Funk back in Pakistani” (193), is about taking their identities which have been devalued in Western society and linking them together through a collective sense of approval. As a productive example of cultural hybridity taking place, they are a direct contrast with the forms of difference and racial purity that the Chalfen`s represent, and the resistance of letting go of traditions that their parents uphold. The group tries on a series
The white American experience is far different than the black American experience. Blacks racism against whites doesn't have an general negative impact on whites. However, white racism against black has had a detrimental impact on blacks for nearly 500 years and counting! This fact will probably remain true as long as whites are the majority population, don't understand race relations, and even define the word
The possession and use of lethal weapons by young male gang members can also be perceived as a way for them to portray their masculine identity. In this context, Barker (2005) proposes that the possession and use lethal weapons and violence by black male gang members enables them to achieve their goals and protect their male pride and honour when feeling challenged and disrespected. However, while the possession and use of lethal weapons to protect their male pride and honour are believed to be central to gang membership and the identity of the gang members, it is likely that this is the cause of the majority of gang violence, especially black-on-black violence (Barker, 2005). Likewise, In the Dying to Belong paper, Pickles (2009) argues that violence gang culture in the UK derives from a continuous cycle of reputation and respect seekers targeting attacks on one another; which in turn is perceived as an insult to honour, resulting in a cycle of violence revenge attacks. According to Pitts (2007a, pg. 47): “to be disrespected is to be “fair game” for anyone who wants to make a name for themselves”. In addition, each young gang member’s manhood, as well as their identity and reputation, may reflect on the gang as a whole. Therefore, when one member manhood feels threatened, the gang may feel like their collective identity has also been challenged (Stretesky and Pogrebin, 2007). An example of this can be found in some of the hip-hop lyrics which reveal revenge is necessary
The problem of gang crime has seen an increasing trend in the United Kingdom but the
In society there is a lot of misconception of the term racism. According to the merriam-webster dictionary members of one race are intrinsically superior to members of others race which many people would agree with. What is racism? The normal person if asked will simply reply, not liking someone for their color of their skin. Racism from my attitude which is substantiated by historically events is a system of power .Thus is a system of power i.e. to control the world and its people. Employed by Europeans to subjugate and discriminate against other groups, in particular Africans/black people. Racism is a power which ran thru a systemic way to hinder and sabotage other groups. The system is so elaborate that it almost seems nonexistence
Throughout history in America there has always been the idea of racism. When Americans think of racism, they usually think of slavery and that racism is no longer a problem in America. However, this is not the case. Racism is still very apparent in America. It is true that since the end of slavery, the U.S. has made great strides towards becoming a less racist country. In reality, racism will never be extinct. In today’s society, all American citizens of all races have the same rights as one another, yet there is still racism. Racism can be linked directly to stereotypical mindsets of certain groups of people. It is human nature to make conclusions about other people, this is what leads to racism. Today’s racism is not limited to whites