The memory of an incident where I
witnessed prejudice and oppression was from one of my favorite movies The Color
Purple. The Color Purple was movie based on a the lives of southern African American women. The main character Celie is a poor,
uneducated women who was beaten and raped by her father. Celie experienced
oppression by telling Sophia’s husband to beat her. Her thinking was a reflection of how she was
beaten by Mister. Sophia which is another one of the main characters
experienced racisim and oppression. She
was asked by the mayor’s wife if she wanted to work as her maid. Sophia felt
offended by that question and ended up in an altercation with the mayor. She ended up in jail for 12 years. “Racism as an issue is seen in
how Sofia was imprisoned and violently beaten for rejecting the mayor's wife's
"offer" to be her maid (where the offer in itself was a reflection of
racism)”. This movie dealt with some issues that are still prevalent
today. However, it helped shed some
light on the various equity issues that women face. This movie made me realize how far women have
come. We have a lot of rights that we
didn’t have. We play major roles in
society now. We even have a women
running for president. It’s good to
reflect on how far we have come.
Reference
Walker, A. (1982), The Color Purple, retrieved
from http://www.colorpurple.com
Yes, we have come a long way socially, however, what about economically. Praise n the Park in Atlanta (Black people) is going on right now. As I was walking back to work they were talking about how Social Security will not be the same amount in 20 years. Meanwhile across the street America's Mart is having an event where entrepreneurs (mostly white people, handful of blacks)across the nation gather for the apparel show. We so have are priorities mixed up! As a people the next dollar goes out of our communities instead of circulation a couple of times before it goes to another race. We need to work on our economic challenges now. Do you think we should have worked on our economic freedom first before civil rights?
ReplyDeleteCandice,
ReplyDeleteWomen have made great strides in our male dominant society. The 19th amendment allotted all American women the right to vote in 1920. And yes, we do have a female candidate who is now running for president in this country. With that statement being said, all women should continue to strive for excellence and do not believe the myth that we are only capable of working in the home.
Great perspective!
Theresa
Started off as a movie I could not bare to watch, now I love that movie! Every time I watch that movie I notice something new and learn something different. I'm still disappointed that wonderful movie did not receive an Oscar. Also the movie showed a woman who was expressive and comfortable with her sexuality, and showed how the church shunned her for it.
ReplyDeleteHello Candice,
ReplyDeleteI would say yes women have gained a lot of rights over the years that have made them play major roles today. Those major roles though have taken the gentleness of our womanhood. Women no longer want to be modest or even submissive to their husbands any more because the woman wears the "pants in the house" mentality now. There's a big shift that has occurred that needs to be corrected before so called African American men nothing but the bottom of society.
With the endorsement of Hillary Clinton for President of the U.S., I'd say yes, this is another example of how far women have come in this society. Woman can also have a career outside the family now, without feeling guilty. The African American woman however, has always been the exception to the rule in that she worked if she felt the need to and raised a family way before the notion became popular. Both my mother and grandmother for example, raised large families and worked outside the home and the men in the house had no problem with routinely giving a hand when asked and I think for equity reasons, this is how it should be. Thank you for sharing the highlights of the movie.
ReplyDelete