Intergenerational Trauma

Response to Social/Political Unrest

Perception

Cultural Expectations

Fear/Paranoia/Terror

Racial Disconnect

Harm in American Idealization

Use of Language/Voice

Identity

Anger

This film plays with the audiences preconceived notions on both the conventions of horror as well as the prevalence of racism today. It challenges our perceptions of what is "evil" and what is "good" through the use of fear and paranoia. There is a development of fear from both the audience and Chris as the movie progresses until we reach the climax. Our previous perceptions are distorted at the reveal of Rose as evil suggesting that our initial perceptions can deceive us.

Sex and intimacy is often prevalent throughout Changez's interactions with Erica. It is used as a way to try and deepen their relationship, however, Erica only seems to distance herself even more, not only with Changez but also with the rest of her life. This brings on both a frustration and deep sadness in him. Fear plays a very robust role in this novel as it poses the question of who is the receiver and the provoker of fear. Additionally, the book critiques how fear is manifested and what is an appropriate response. After 9/11 not only were the American people fearful but also many brown people who were often the subject of unprovoked violence. For example, Changez was coming out of work and he was jumped in the parking garage. Last, the ambiguity at the end of the novel suggest that fear is very intricate and everyone's response is up to them.

This film is about the Los Angeles riots of 1992. There was a lot of anger that fueled these riots which was a response to the systematic injustice faced by black people in America. Anger seemed to be the only emotion to appeal to in this desperate plea to be acknowledged. Additionally, it featured the responses of people of different races and ethnicities. Not only was there is disconnect between blacks and whites but also asians, with the trial of the store owner who killed a black girl. There very much was a racial divide between the people of LA that continued to perpetuate the ongoing violence. There was a lack of empathy and understanding to peoples reactions.

Nussbaum's Article is about moving from anger as a tool for fighting injustice because it is complicit with payback. She suggest that responses towards social/political tension should be peaceful in order to generate progress. She applies a very critical lens towards the use of anger and uses Nelson Mandela as an example of a successful peaceful advocate for creating a change in political and social climates. Anger is presented as vile, ineffective, and narcissistic.

This excerpt talks about how black people perceive white people in which their perception has been built upon centuries of oppression and dominance by whites. It brings in a new perspective on a somewhat contemporary experience that black people have with racism more recently. Hooks mentions how white people are surprised to be implicated as provokers of fear in black people. There is an obvious disconnect between white and black people with the failure of trying to understand each others perspectives.

This novel deals with many aspects of growing up. It chronicles the life of Oscar, a Dominican growing up in New Jersey. Diaz plays around with language in the novel and while the book is predominantly in English, he does not provide any translations. Additionally, in the beginning, the ambiguity in the the narration shows how voice is an important aspect of the novel. For Oscar, he grew up with these strong ideas of masculinity forced upon him by his culture. He was overweight and nerdy which was the opposite of hyper-masculinity presented for Dominican men. In contrast, Yunior represents the ideal Dominican man. These forced ideals in turn cause both of them to have a very complicated relationship with sex and intimacy.

There is a bridge between how language can serve to define one's identity. She talks about how confusing it can be for Chicanos growing up in America feeling like they are not quite Mexican enough nor American enough. Especially with their language, there are so many derivations that it also brought confusion to one's identity as Latino/a.

Pecola is plagued by the trauma that has followed her family for generations. The violence that she witnesses between the toxic relationship of her parents is passed down leading her Cholly raping her. It is a repetition of that humiliation and shame he felt by those white men during his youth. We see an identity struggle with Claudia as she finds difficulty in understanding the reasons for that many people distain black girls but then idolize Shirley Temple. Also with identity, there is a struggle within a black community where even the black people idealize whiteness as good.

This novel deals with the conflict between one's American identity and ones' Chinese identity. Often as an American, it is hard to find commonality between the two and it lead to a very confusing identity. Furthermore, Moon Orchids move to America proves to be difficult suggesting that assimilation and trying to fit into the ideal American mold can be difficult. Cultural expectation and Identity are connected but also they are at conflict with each other. Chinese culture reinforces women to follow tradition.

Her texts have a common theme of being outspoken and using language as a tool for inciting change and telling stories. In "Poetry is not a Luxury" she talks about how women have use poetry to make their voices head and to make their ideas concrete. In the poem "A Litany for Survival" she uses language to convey the dangers of staying silent. Not only does she use language to make a point but she encourages other women to use language as well. She examines a future where women can finally use their voice to spread their opinions.

This artist campaign used artwork as a form of protest to increase awareness of AIDS. Compared to the others responses to government incompetence, their artwork conveyed many meanings. Many used statistics in order to make aware the amount of aids deaths. Other posters placed blame and called out government officials for their silence towards the issue of AIDS. Art is an expressive as well as accessible movements towards responses of unrest. It can easily be widely distributed as well as create a social consciousness. This campaign highlights the injustices towards gay men by lack of response towards this serious health crisis. People were dying at high rates and their sexuality was judged continuing these deaths.

The authors discuss the difficulty of Asian-American assimilation into American society. There was an increase in depression developed by their Asian-American peers. This feeling of loss is developed at the inability for Asian-Americans to truly attain assimilation into American culture. The authors suggest that our identity may lead one to suicide in an attempt to erase some part of who they are. Not only is there a harm in American idealization, but also stereotypes which surround Asian-Americans such as their academic success or lack of problems lead to another sense of loss as it does not capture Asian-Americans who do not fit into that mold.

Ownership

Sara Ahmed works do understand fear as an object by claiming that it can be passed around. She also seeks to understand the origin of fear and how one responds to fear. Additionally, fear is often shared, for example, someone is afraid of something because they are told they should be afraid. Using terrorism as an example, it highlights how the refusal of ownernship in one's fear can lead to more consequences of insighting fear.

Injustice

This text reflects and compares other arguments on the use of anger as well as examines when anger is an appropriate emotion. In terms of race relations of injustice towards minorities, she argues that anger is an appropriate and justified response. However, when people in a position of privilege uses anger, the emotion is less valid. She contrasts Nussbaum's argument that anger inherently involves payback by exemplifying how someone causing you anger may be caused by reverting back to a previous better time. She does also make the distinction between acting angry and being angry, each of which have their own implications

The AIDS crisis in America severely impacted gay and men women. The deep injustices they faced were countered with controversial forms of protest which include political funerals, and spreading victims ashes. Through the extensive deaths there was a lot of personal mourning, however, one goal of the ACT UP movement was to take that mourning and sadness and turn it into anger. Hence, the reasons for these types of responses to the government's lack of action. Viewed as a medical crisis, the injustice is ingrained in their sexuality. Their anger was not only rooted in the death of their loved one's but the blame lack of acknowledgement towards queer people. They were not only victims of the virus but also victims of injustice and bigotry.

Loss

Baldwin reflects on his childhood and growing up with a bad relationship with his father after the funeral of his father. Looking back, him and his father did not have a good relationship and they hardly spoke to each other. Yet as he reflects, he begins to regret not talking to his father as much. In his childhood, he viewed his father as cold and isolated, but as an adult, he remembers how proud his dad was of his singing. Loss and reflection are often related as Baldwin looks back on his life with his father with regret.

Reflection

Freud distinguishes mourning and melancholia by one's response to loss. For mourning it is the grief contained in a person after the direct loss of a loved one or close friend. This is a conscious effort unlike melancholia which is the unconscious intake of the loss in which a person cannot fully understand. They may feel inferior and become self-deprecating. They are unaware of the affect of these emotions on themselves. Both of these are responses to loss, however, mourning is natural and common, whereas melancholia can cause someone to deteriorate.

Consciousness of Emotions

The consciousness of our emotions can be found in how our body physically reacts to something. For shame, it may be visually obvious in a person. They may hang their head or "avert their eyes." Not only do we make ourselves aware of the same we face but we also make those around us aware. Additionally, shame references a break in morality. Contempt is not always a personal emotion. One can feel contempt for themselves or for another person prompting a response of either "counter-contempt, self-contempt, anger, fear, distress...." and plenty other emotions. Contempt is also often used to make one feel inferior which people are often aware of when they examine their feelings.

Creating a Future

Using "Can Hope be Disappointed" Munoz examines the introduction of queer culture into society through art, literature, and performance. His mention of the coke bottle in relation to Warhol and O'Hara suggest that it has become a normal object of everyday life, accepted by both the poor and the rich. This suggests a queer utopia where there is a future for the validity of their sexuality. However, Blocks work creates two hopes, one that only consists of dreams and another involved in fact. He argues that because hope is oriented towards the future, it is also in "suspension." Designing a utopia inherently focuses on an ideal perfect future.