Girls Just Want to Have Fun

1)


2) I chose the movie Girls Just Want to Have Fun as an item for my media portfolio. Janey is new in town, and soon meets Lynne, who shares her passion for dancing in general, and "Dance TV" in particular. When a competition is announced to find a new Dance TV regular couple, Janey and Lynne are determined to audition. The only problem is that Janey's father doesn't approve of that kind of thing (Murray Chapman). During the dance competition Natalie, a rich girl tries to rig the dance competition so that she can win. I chose this because it shows how the richer social classes were better than the poorer social classes.

3) The movie Girls Just Want to Have Fun relates to Johnson’s chapter 3 Capitalism, Class, and the Matrix of Domination because during both the rich classes act as though they are better than the poorer classes. In the movie Girls Just Want to Have Fun Natalie, one of the rich girls in town, convinces her father to rig the dance competition that both her and Janey, a new girl whose family is poorer than Natalie’s’ family, are in. Natalie wants to win the competition so that she can be on Dance T.V. and knows that based on talent she will not. Natalie also believes that since her family has more money that she is better than Janey and deserves to be the winner. In Johnson chapter 3, he talks about how people of privilege can easily dominate other groups of people. In the movie, Natalie is trying to dominate the other competitors by using her father’s money to bribe the judges. She feels that since she is richer and part of a higher social class than Janey, that she deserves to be the one on Dance T.V. Johnson also talks about how the better classes try to oppress the people who are not like them. Natalie is trying to oppress the other competitors by bribing the judges to let her win and not let the poorer people reach their goals.

4) I believe that there are some people who believe that since they have more money that they are better than others. One reason this occurs in society is because those people can afford more luxury items than what the poorer classes can. Like in the movie Natalie believed that she could afford to win the dance competition and be able to be on the dance show. It is wrong that society has been made to view each other in ways that they cannot control. Janey cannot control the amount of money her family makes, yet she is viewed by Natalie to be a bad person and not deserving to be on Dance T.V. I think that no matter how hard society tries to change the gap between the rich and poor that there will still be the rich who believe that they are better because they can own better stuff. The movie also makes it seem like that rich people deserve everything in the world, and that the poor only deserve what the rich do not want to have.

works cited

Chapman, Murray. "Girls Just Want to Have Fun." Internet Movie Database. 2004. 13 Feb.
2008 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089208/plotsummary.
Cymerman, Jessica. "The Notebook." Internet Movie Data Base. 2004. 13 Feb.
2008 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0332280/plotsummary.
Johnson, Allan G. "Capitalism, Class, and the Matrix of Domination." Power, Privilege and
Difference. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 41-53.
Song Lyrics: Pocahontas. 21 Mar. 1996. 10 Feb. 2008
<http://www.fpx.de/fp/Disney/Lyrics/Pocahontas.html#Savages>.
SparkNotes: The Scarlet Letter. 2006. Spark Notes. 12 Feb. 2008
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/scarlet/index.html.
Takaki, Ronald. "The 'Giddy Multitude.'" A Different Mirror. N.p.: Little, Brown and Company,
n.d.51-76.
- - -. "The 'Tempest' in the Wilderness." A Different Mirror. N.p.: Little, Brown and Company,
1993.24 - 50.

The Notebook

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2) I chose the movie The Notebook. The movie focuses on an old man reading a story to an old woman in a nursing home. The story he reads follows two young lovers named Allie Hamilton and Noah Calhoun, who meet one evening at a carnival. But they are separated by Allie's parents who disapprove of Noah's unwealthy family, and move Allie away. After waiting for Noah to write her for several years, Allie meets and gets engaged to a handsome young soldier named Lon. Allie, then, with her love for Noah still alive, stops by Noah's 200-year-old home that he restored for her, "to see if he's okay". It is evident that they still have feelings for each other, and Allie has to choose between her fiancé and her first love (Jessica Cymerman). I chose this movie because it shows how society is split up based on social classes, not just race.

3) The movie The Notebook relates to Johnson chapter 3 Capitalism, Class, and the Matrix of Domination. The movie relates because during the movie The Notebook Noah Calhoun cannot be with Allie Hamilton because his family was poorer than her family. This difference between their family incomes shows that there was a difference between the social classes, and how much money a person had determined their position in society. Since Noah’s family did not have as much money as Allie’s family he was deemed to not be worthy to date her because he was in a lower social class than her. In chapter 3, Johnson mentions how white males were considered better than the males of different races, but not all white males were because some of them were in the working class. Even though the white males were superior to people of other races, a difference in social classes causes them to look at each other differently. In both the movie and chapter 3 the difference between social classes were powerful, and helped to determine a person’s place in society. The rich white males were cruel towards the poorer members of society because they knew that they could control them since the rich males had more money. Johnson mentions how “the oppressed condition of blacks and other racial minorities encourages them [lower class whites] to work for wages that are lower than what most whites will accept” (47). Like the employers Johnson mentions, Allie’s father controlled Noah by not letting Noah date his daughter because he was in a lower class.

4) I believe that people do also judge each other based on the amount of money a family makes. The difference in income levels splits up members of the same race, because people will view each other as not being as good because of their income. This split between social classes is hard to overcome because according to Johnson, “patterns of inequality result from and perpetuate a class system based on widening gaps in income, wealth, and power between those on top and everyone below them” (44). This widening gap between the income and wealth of people is hard to overcome because the rich are becoming richer and the poor are becoming poorer. Since this is the pattern it is hard for those who are already poor to earn money and become part of the rich. I believe that the gap between the rich and the poor will never close, and because of that members of the same race will not be the same. This gap will always cause a difference of social classes.

The Scarlet Letter

1) A s the crowd watches, Hester Prynne, a young woman holding an infant, emerges from the prison door and makes her way to a scaffold (a raised platform), where she is to be publicly condemned. The women in the crowd make disparaging comments about Hester; they particularly criticize her for the ornateness of the embroidered badge on her chest—a letter “A” stitched in gold and scarlet. From the women’s conversation and Hester’s reminiscences as she walks through the crowd, we can deduce that she has committed adultery and has borne an illegitimate child, and that the “A” on her dress stands for “Adulterer.”

2) I chose the book The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. This book occurs during the 17th century in Boston. The story is about Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale, who fall in love and leads to Hester committing adultery on her husband Roger Chillingworth. They are caught because Hester became pregnant and gave birth to Pearl. I chose this book because in the book Hester was forced to wear a scarlet A on her breast for committing adultery, while Dimmsedale did not confess to being Pearls father. The scarlet A was to show the community that she was a sinner and to make the people of the community look down on her.

3) The book The Scarlet Letter relates to what we have read in class because Hester Prynne was punished worse than Arthur Dimmesdale. Hester was forced to wear a scarlet A on her breast as punishment for committing adultery. This relates to Takaki chapter 3 The Giddy Multitude because during that chapter Takaki talked about how the black slaves were given worse punishment than the white servants. An example of this occurs on page 57 of Takaki, where he states “white servants were to serve their 'full term of time' and Negroes 'forever'”. The author continues to talk about how if the black slaves tried to run away along with the white servants that the black slaves were often given worse punishments. Like the black slaves, Hester was given a worse punishment because the father’s of the town wanted to make an example out of her. They knew that if they were to embarrass her and make her shameful that other women in the town would not commit adultery. This was the same theory used by the slave owners. They knew that if they punished the blacks worse, that the other slaves would not be as willing to run away them. Takaki writes “Blacks were serving longer time periods for indenture as punishment for running away” (pg 56). Takaki mentions this to show that the blacks were given harsher punishments than the white servants when they would run away. This relates to the book The Scarlet Letter because it shows that Hester was given a harsher punishment for her actions, when Dimmsedale who committed the same sin was not punished and was not even considered to be punished.

4) I believe that the white males knew that if they wanted to be the ruling class and gender that they would have to make the other races and genders appear worse. They knew that the best way to do this was through punishment. In both stories the punishments were used as examples to other people in the groups that this is what will happen if you are caught. I believe that it is wrong for people to be punished based on their gender and race. They did not choose to be born a woman or a person of color yet they are practically being punished for being that way.

Pocahontas song "Savages"

1) Ratcliffe
What can you expectFrom filthy little heathens?Their whole disgusting race is like a curseTheir skin's a hellish redThey're only good when deadThey're vermin, as I saidAnd worse
English Settlers
They're savages! Savages!
Ratcliffe
Barely even human
English Settlers
Savages! Savages!
Ratcliffe
Drive them from our shore!They're not like you and meWhich means they must be evilWe must sound the drums of war!
English Settlers
They're savages! Savages!Dirty redskin devils!Now we sound the drums of war!

2) I chose the song “Savages” from the movie Pocahontas. This song occurs in the movie when the Indians capture John Smith and the English decide that it is time to attack the Indians, and to kill them off. I chose this song because it represents how the English settlers viewed the Indians as savages. I also chose this song because it showed how the English settlers believed they owned the land instead of the Indians.

3) The song “Savages” relates to the class material because it shows how the English believed that they Indians were savages. This song best relates to Chapter 2 in Takaki ‘The “Tempest” in the Wilderness’ because during this chapter Takaki talks about how the English viewed all other civilizations as savages. The English believed that they were the superior race because they knew about possessing the land. They settlers also knew that they had superior technology compared to the Indians. Also during Takaki chapter 2, Takaki talks about how greed was a basis for the English actions. This is related to the song “Savages” because during that song Ratcliffe says “Drive them from our shore!” (Song Lyrics). By Ratcliffe saying “our shore” shows that Ratcliffe believed that he and the English settlers owned the land and not the Indians. Ratcliffe was greedy and wanted the land for himself so that he could search for gold so that he could make a profit along with the rest of the settlers. The song also relates to Takaki chapter 2 because during the song Ratcliffe calls the Indians “dirty little heathens” and “vermin” (Song Lyrics). This is making the Indians look like they are the worse race and that they white settlers are superior to them. Ratcliffe also mentions to the other settlers that the Indians are “Barely even human” (Song Lyrics). He says this to show that they are superior and that since the Indians are not like them, that they are not human. Also during the songs the rest of the English settlers yell the words “Savages! Savages!” in response to Ratcliffe’s speech during the song, about the Indians (Song Lyrics). The settlers yelling, “Savages! Savages!” shows that they agreed with Ratcliffe that they Indians were inferior to them and that they were savages who did not deserve to own the land. Also it shows that since the Indians were savages they did not deserve to live because they song says “They are only good when dead” (Song Lyrics). This means that the Indians are not good people and that they are not useful to the English.

4) I believe that the Indians were not savages even though they were viewed that way by the English settlers. They knew how to raise crops, keep animals, and how to form communities that work together. Since they were able to do all of this for many years, they were not savages. They had families, their own technology, and knew how to best live off of that land. I believe that if the Indians were really savages they would not have survived that long and would not be living together in communities.