Pics of Identity

Baca and the Tale of Immigration

While reading the first 66 pages of Jimmy Santiago Baca's novel, A Place to Stand, I started to identify with Baca’s story of discrimination as a foreigner/immigrant. Many times Baca talks about this distrust his family had developed toward white people over generations. His ancestors fought against the Americans that where moving into and take the land that his family called theirs. Baca’s ancestors burn the farms of these people that they saw as invaders. What his family saw the taking of their land laded the foundation for the future generational distrust of white people. In Baca’s time his family claims that the whites cheated his uncle out of money and sought to create laws that were designed against Mexicans. These actions by the whites lead Baca’s father to have a feeling of disenfranchisement and that was pasted down to Baca.

 As someone who has lived three fourths of their life in a country where they are not only not a natural born citizen, but also not as a citizen I feel Baca’s struggle of being an outside very close to my heart. Now, as a white boy for the suburbs who has sounded like a Jersey kid since the age of seven years old I clearly have not faced the same level of discrimination as Baca has, but still I can understand his struggle. As someone who nowadays wears his nationality and all things that have caused some level discrimination proudly on my sleeve I can remember most time I have been attacked for those things. I can vividly hear every time I was told that if I do not agree with something in America that I should “go back to where I am from”. Must of those times were well before the xenophobic rhetoric of the trump presidency was even a light on the horizon(which is why I was not surprised when he connected with a large portion of Americans).

Baca’s generational struggle for acceptance as an immigrate is one that most Americans should be ashamed of because for a country of immigrants it seems to have welcomed or wanted immigrants. America talks of loving immigrants, but then treats us as a parasite that must be exterminated. 

But I am only one person and only have my keyhole to view the world through, so please if you have any experience with immigration or discrimination please tell me in a response to this blog.

-AMC

DTRT homework (May 29th)

1.  Provide three scenarios by which characters are faced with situations by which they must do the "right" thing. In class we will talk about what their choices revealed about them.

In the situation of Mookie throwing the trash can through the window of the pizzeria the viewer can argue that he did the right or wrong thing. In terms of the community Mookie would be justified in saying it was the right thing do to the the families’ racist behavior from Pino and the racist behavior by Sal while arguing with Radio when he called Radio’s music “jungle music” and referring to him by the n-word. One could argue the rookie did the wrong thing by the pizzeria. He turned the situations from bad to worse and can be seen as what caused the crowd to be destructive. Mookie can be seen as the cause for the destruction of the place that took him in and trusted him.

Buggin’ Out with the photos the viewer could argue he was right to argue with Sal and fight for representation, similar to the founding fathers.

2.  List at least two different binary and/or contrasting themes that appear in Do the Right Thing

The first theme is that only love can fight hate, and the second is that change can only be through violent revolution. The first theme is embodied by the character of Jade, with the situation her talking to Buggin’ Out. As he tells her they need to take action she tells him that all the hate he promotes is not good for the community and in the end although he still does not agree with her she still shows him love at the end of the day. Buggin’ Out embodies the other theme in the sam since, he is calling for the community to alienate members of the block for something he thinks of as an injustice.

3. In the script it mentions that in key scenes Radio Raheem blasts music from his boom box.  In class we discovered "Fight the Power" is the name of this song.  Discuss why the screenwriter chose that song during those scenes.

Do to the the song themes of revolution and the ideas of respect it seems like a perfect fit. It constantly talks about the need for change.