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Walter Friere's Oppressors In The Film

Decent Essays

In the film, Walter goes against the notion of Friere’s ‘oppressor.’ Walter is conscious of his privilege and uses it to humanize Tarek, Zainab and Mouna. At no time does he regard them as ‘enemies’, but just the opposite, as those that he can learn and become enriched by. Conversely, Tarek’s captors and detainers unilaterally take away all his rights and access to legal representation, have SELF-AWARENESS THOUGH FILM 6. him incarcerated and dehumanized, perceived as an ‘enemy’, and shipped out of the country. When Friere states that ‘almost always the oppressed, instead of striving for liberation, tend to become oppressors,’ he may be speaking of the origins and the original colonizers of America, who came to this country seeking …show more content…

Throughout the film, Walter remains steadfast in his determination to help not only Tarek and Zainab, allowing them at first to stay in the apartment, but also visiting him in jail and advocating for his rights and also Tarek’s mother, Mouna, providing her with a place to stay, and lifting her spirits by taking her to Phantom of the Opera and dinner. Walter’s sense of empowering determination is exemplary and humbling, forcing the viewer to grapple with their own sense of entitlement and the lengths to which they would go to offer help. Sadly, I feel that as Walter’s determination increased, Tarek began to lose hope while being detained, Zainab began to succumb to her thoughts of the worst-case scenario SELF-AWARENESS THOUGH FILM

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