The Bronx in the late 1970’s was a scene of corruption, crime, and disco music. A counterculture surrounded by hip-hop music, dance, art, and lifestyle emerged as a response. In the 2016 Netflix drama, The Get Down, created by Baz Luhrmann and a team of collaborators, the story of Ezekiel’s youth in the South Bronx unfolds with an adult Ezekiel, or Zeke, guiding the journey. Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines a character as having “a set of qualities that make a place or thing different from other places or things.” The South Bronx in the late 1970’s was a distinct setting with distinguishable characteristics that played a major role in bringing about Ezekiel’s journey as well as continually impacting his choices. This story's setting is …show more content…
It is a catalyst for the protagonist to go on his journey. It offers Zeke choices to become the man that he wants to be despite the drawbacks of the environment. When given the chance to internship and eventually obtain a career developing the Bronx, Ezekiel is told “you're poor, you're from the South Bronx, you're half black, half Puerto Rican and you're smart”, so “with that power, you can return to your friends and family in the Bronx as a leader. Free of poverty, free of filth and squalor” (The Get Down, E4) (The Get Down, E6). This opportunity would not be available to Ezekiel had it not been for the fact that he has the Bronx contributing to what makes him an individual. It even offers him a future to come back and, like any relationship, have influence on the Bronx’s character too. This setting is more than just a location in which Ezekiel interacts with people because even if he were to leave the Bronx, he would still have goals, values, and beliefs that stem from being from the South Bronx. This is why the Bronx is a major character within the series. On a smaller scale, the community and everyday events of the Bronx also have a profound influence on the direction that Ezekiel’s life takes. After attempting to buy the necessary equipment to DJ, Zeke wants to get on a payment plan but is turned away because “for the last six months, boys who look like
Mary Romero’s article explained the criminality and the images that Latino/a youth have before knowing the individual. We see a lot of crimes and murders that were made by officers towards people of color, specifically, in this case, Latino/a. In the Latinx community, we have a lot of disadvantages. Not only based on the color of our skin but also the fact that majority of Latinos in this country are immigrants. According to Romero, Latino youth was always seen and described as criminals since WWII.
My understanding of New York City has vastly changed after reading the story, There’s is No Jose Here. For me, New York City has been a place known for its order and development internationally. However, the book unveils several things that has changed my understanding of New York City based on the real life experiences of the immigrants like Enrique. One of the very outstanding characteristics of New York City brought out in the story, is the high cost of living.
All and All, A Bronx Tale was a very overwhelming movie that identifies numerous ethical dilemmas that a person may face throughout his or her lifetime. This movie deliberated on various ethical dilemmas like, Racial, Interracial Dating, Peer pressure, and several more. Even though, the movies focused on various different dilemmas I only focused on two “Racial and Interracial Dilemma”. In society today race and interracial dating is still an enormous topic that many people dislike to talk about. The movie demonstrated and provided moral example of the two topics “Racial and Interracial Dating”.
The setting of this story has a major impact on the characters and the
When he first arrived the narrator began searching for jobs but was blacklisted by the dean of his college. He later found a job at a paint company where he was later fired the same day. These multiple encounters with injustice gave him a strong sense of “dispossession.” This lead to him joining this club called “The Brotherhood.” His goal while in this organization was to bring justice to the “dispossessed” people of Harlem.
No other cities come to mind that have such a well-known history of both tragedy and multicultural interaction. While other cities have experienced similar acts of terror and devastation, the event of 9/11 stands out due to its impact on American culture. Additionally, New York has a large population consisting of many different cultures. It is home to many different stories and lives that overlap and intersect every day. Famous phrases about New York such as it being “the city that never sleeps” are exemplary of the city’s endless activity, providing an atmosphere of “spin” for the novel.
With the help of subliminal messages, everyone is perfect in the town of Candor, Florida. Everyone does what they’re told and they never break the rules. Especially the town’s founder’s son, Oscar Banks. He’s the son everyone wants: handsome, well-behaved, good at school. Most importantly, proof that the messages work.
When Vice President of the United States of America, Mike Pence, went to watch the original cast of Hamilton: An American Musical perform, he did not expect an additional comment about the importance of diversity that the writer, Lin-Manuel Miranda, added in for the him to hear. Pence’s sudden departure from the theater halfway through the musical lead to the public questioning whether or not it was due to the pointed message that Miranda wrote in. Though there is no sure answer to that, it is clear that Miranda had successfully communicated his message about the importance of diversity in the nation to the audience. With the recent shifting of the focus on equal rights for minorities brought back to the front of national as well as global
Different emotions are often associated with certain settings in a person’s life, and the mood of these places can lead to a bigger picture. In the graphic novel Dropsie Avenue, Will Eisner uses mood and setting to create different emotions that the readers feel throughout the story. The story follows immigrant life in the south Bronx on a mythical Dropsie Avenue. Throughout the story, Eisner uses mood and setting to convey the themes that people are not welcoming towards change from ethnic groups, and there can be disastrous results when too many groups are in a small area.
“Fences,” a play written in 1986 by American playwright August Wilson, set in the 1950’s in Pittsburgh,PA highlights the aftermaths of slavery as well as legalized discrimination and African American lives. The protagonist Troy Maxson (Father) spends his time telling his son Cory Maxson how to spend his future because Troy’s life was not up to his expectations due to misfortunes and mistakes made by him and not being able to play in the Major Leagues, but now works as a garbage collector. Troy prohibits Cory from playing Football and going off to college. Their relationships begins to deteriorate as he starts interfering more into his life. This play written by August Wilson, was a powerful and inspirational play and if a movie was ever made,
When Ruth grew older and married James’ biological father, she moved to New York City. I liked how in the story both James and his mother Ruth both describe, in their perspectives, the hardships of Harlem in the 40’s and
This setting is important because it is where the story is told from.
John Singleton’s film, Boyz N the Hood, displays the challenging upbringing of adolescents who have to live with harsh conditions around not only their home but also their surrounding town. The film compares the differences between the lifestyles of Tre Styles and his friends’, Darren and Ricky Baker. Darren and Ricky are half-brothers who are nothing alike. Singleton demonstrates the importance of male leadership in a home in the ghetto of Los Angeles by comparing the difference between the lifestyles of Tre and his friends. While many adolescents in the hood have close friendships, some form close relationships by assembling gangs and create a world of violence due to alcohol abuse, which together ultimately breeds discrimination.
An individual’s life can be characterised by various obstacles and challenges that must be overcome during their transition to maturation. The process of a transition can be challenging for an individual, as well as offering final rewards for themselves and the wider community. Stephen Daldry’s film, “Billy Elliot”, demonstrates the struggle of acceptance by utilising film devices to exemplify the challenges Billy has to face through his socially non-accepting and oppressive context. By confronting filial expectations Billy transitions through the often difficult and complex process in order to achieve his dream. Throughout his growth, he also challenges and shifts the perspectives of his father and the community of Everington.
Inside Llewyn Davis plays like a real-time thought process of a damaged and longing soul. The title alone may be the most literal title ever to be given to a Coen brothers' film - the film is truly inside Llewyn's mind. His mind is how we see his world and his world is a weaving, incomplete and constantly unsettled pieces of a contemplative puzzle, held together by nothing more than the next thought or meditation. It's lost, but in a way we're here to find it as it beautifully pits a human crossroad into quiet beauty of the highest order.