The Pusuit of Happyness Movie Review

Based on a true story, The Pursuit of Happyness, focuses on the life of Chris Gardner and his young son Christopher Jr. after a bad financial idea leaves them broke and later homeless. Gardner lands a position as an intern for an investment company and has to struggle with supporting himself and his son while fighting with the other 19 candidates for the one paying job at the end of the internship.

          Gardner doesn’t have privilege in the film because he is a poor, black man who never got a college education. This makes it hard for him to get a job and support his family which is why his wife leaves him. This also makes his son screwed before he even begins but Gardner never lets him doubt his ability to make his future better.

          Throughout the film, Gardner focuses on trying to give all the attributes of access, agency, advocacy, and solidarity action to his son.  Gardner has to race from work every day just to have the chance to get into the homeless shelter so that he and his kid have a warm and safe place to sleep. Though his bankruptcy strips them of all their basic rights of shelter, and enough food and proper clothing, and safety, which subsequently makes their voices have less influence than others,  Gardner uses his brains and ingenuity to find a way out of his desperate situation and gives himself back his empowerment and makes his voice heard.

          When Gardner was a salesman, his contribution to society was not often appreciated or even welcomed, but because of his unwillingness to give in and because of his devotion to make his son had a chance in the world, he was able to land a position in a company that did. He encouraged his son to be anything he wanted and not to listen to those who would tell him that he couldn’t, and then he proved to him just how possible that was.

          This film did an excellent job of showing a perspective that is often viewed with scorn in this society and has a powerful message of overcoming the impossible and valuing everyone’s ability to contribute to the world. I can only stand back and marvel at the true story behind this film because I do not know what I would’ve been able to do in those circumstances.

Milk Movie Review

“Milk” is the story of Harvey Milk, the openly gay man who ran for and won a position on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. The movie details his campaigns and career as a politician, delves into his personal life and relationships and shows his assassination by fellow city official Dan White.

          The movie is all about Harvey Milk exercising his right to free speech and his faith in his ability to change the world. There are a few testimonies in this movie of people whose abilities to become leaders and voice their opinions and have hope that their situations can and will change were influenced in the positive by Harvey Milk. His advocacy for the rights of all people, especially people under the LGBT umbrella helped shape the period of gay protests that sprung around the country during the time of his political career.

          A huge threat to human rights comes to the people in this film in the form of proposition 6: a bill that will make it legal for teachers to get fired from their jobs just because they are gay. Harvey uses his influence and his rights of speech and his belief in his abilities to lead and make change to stop this bill from becoming law, demonstrating the value of full, participatory democracy.

          Harvey has to fight for his privileges in the film. He has to persuade and keep persuading everyone that it’s not dangerous to have a gay man in political office and he suffers for it, receiving death threats, and putting him in enormous pressure which puts strains on his relationships with the people he is close to. His right to have sense of safety is compromised at every turn and eventually it costs him his life.

          If I was in this situation, I can only hope that my voice would prove as powerful as Harvey’s. I would try to do exactly what he did, though I’m not sure if I could be quite so accepting of the strong possibility of my own death.

Schindler’s List Movie Review

          A riveting film based on a true story that takes place in Poland during WWII, “Schindler’s List” is the story of businessman Oscar Schindler who decides to take advantage of the Jewish persecution by acquiring cheap Jewish labour to work in his factory. The Jewish accountant the he hires, Sten, starts secretly hiring people who would otherwise be sent to death camps. Schindler finds out and helps him, using his immense wealth to bribe officials and together they end up saving 1,100 lives that would have otherwise been killed.

          This movie takes place in a time where Schindler, being a rich, white, Christian, male member of the Nazi Party has all the privileges, and his Jewish factory workers have none. The Jewish people have been stripped of all their wealth and possessions are forced to live in cramped, dirty ghettos with very poor living conditions and no protection against the cruel punishments and random acts of violence committed by the Nazi Commandant in charge of the camp and his guards. They have to rely on Schindler to have anything, such as a reprieve from the camp to work in his factory in order to have basic supplies to be able to stay alive. Many of the Jewish business men who originally backed Schindler didn’t want to but they had very little choice: they couldn’t keep their money anyway and this way they might have a little something to barter with when they went to the ghettos.

          The camps tore apart all aspects of the Jewish people’s lives: they separated families, including children from their parents, they denied them the very basic rights of enough food and decent shelter, they did not allow them to practice any of their beliefs; they took their lives and they took away any hope that things would ever improve. Helen, the maid to the Nazi Commandant in charge of the camp, stated that she knew how the rest of her life would go: the Commandant would continue to beat her until one day he killed her. This took away any hope, positivity or self-respect or anything that would make her feel like a human being.

          Schindler did attempt and succeed at giving his Jewish workers some of their rights back when he bribed the Commandant to allow the people on his list to work for him at a new factory instead of being sent to the death camps, (most would’ve gone to Auschwtiz). These rights included a healthy working environment without fear of violence from the guards, the right to practice their religion and customs (including not working on their Sabbath Day) and the right to have hope that their future would be better their current state and that their children would not have to endure the horrors that they suffered. Providing these things was a huge risk for Schindler and it ate up his entire fortune. At the end he was forced to run away because the Allies might persecute him for being a part of the Nazi Party.

          If I was in that position I like to think that I would’ve done the same as Schindler did but it took an enormous amount of courage that I’m not sure if I possess. This movie made me appalled at the horrors humanity bequeaths upon itself but it also made me proud that we such heroes in our history, like Schindler who were able to make a difference.

Kramer vs. Kramer Movie Review

          Kramer vs. Kramer is an excellent movie about a father, somewhat obsessed with his job, who, when his wife leaves, is suddenly thrust into the role of single father for his young son. Just as he is getting comfortable in this role, however, his wife returns to take full custody of Billy and Mr. Kramer has to take it to the courts to fight for the right to keep his son.

          At the beginning, Mr. Kramer is shown to be quite privileged. He has good living conditions, nice things (ex. Clothing) and a respected position in a high paying job. He comes home at the end of the work day with exciting news of a possible promotion on the horizon only to find that his wife, Joanna, has been driven to the extreme and has made the decision to leave him. Joanna obviously doesn’t feel as privileged as her husband. She states, later, that she felt she no longer had the right to her own identity, and that no one, particularly her husband, would listen to what she had to say so she did not have the right of self-expression either. With Joanna gone, all the responsibility of the fulfillment of their son’s [Billy’s] rights go to Mr. Kramer.

          At first, it seems like Mr. Kramer is not able to provide Billy’s rights. He is late picking him up, he has difficulty proving him nutritious meals and once he gets angry and yells at him, making Billy believe that he doesn’t have his father’s love. Gradually, though, with the help of his neighbour and his growing need to give his son happiness, he becomes a good father, with a strong bond attaching him to his son who is happy and healthy.

          As his son’s privileges grow, however, Mr. Kramer’s decreases and it becomes obvious that he is being discriminated against for being a single father. His boss is suspicious of Mr. Kramer’s dedication to his job when he hears about him being the primary caretaker of Billy, and he eventually fires him after several times Mr. Kramer wasn’t able to give 100% to his job because he was taking care of his son. When he wants to fight for custody of Billy, Mr. Kramer’s lawyer warns him that the judge usually sides with the mother and it is obvious during the trial that there is a bias towards Joanna. Mr. Kramer’s words are taken out of context and his prejudicial firing is used against him. Joanna ends up winning the case, and though Mr. Kramer is not an unfit or unfair parent, the right to see his child everyday is taken away from him.

          This movie is a fantastic avocation for single fathers and the rights of parents and children and though it shows a bias towards Mr. Kramer and doesn’t give us all of Joanna’s story, none of the characters are one-dimensional and there is no clear “evil” or “good” side during the court case.

I am Sam Movie Review

The movie, I am Sam, is a good portrayal of the difficulties and discrimination people with developmental delays have in society and in the court system. It is the story of a man, Sam, who has the mental capacity of a seven year old, raising his daughter, Lucy, and what happens when the courts try to take her away from him.

In the beginning, Sam is shown to be a capable citizen and a father who really cares for his daughter's well-being. He is able to have a job, and with the help of a supportive network of his friends, raises Lucy to be a happy and healthy eight-year-old.

          Still, Sam is not granted the same privileges as person with “average intelligence,” and is treated with suspicion by everyone from the court officials to Lucy's foster mom to the lawyer who eventually becomes his friend.  His word does not seem to be worth the same as other people's and he is not always granted everything he needs. This is shown in a scene in the courthouse where he speaks about why he can take care of his daughter and the lawyers and judge are shown to look bored and disdainful. When he gets confused and overwhelmed by the questions that take the form of a viscous attack, he is not granted a reprieve as should be his rights but is forced to answer questions until he breaks down and tells them what they want to hear.

          He has to work harder than anyone else just to be granted the privileges of having his opinion heard and allow his family to be kept together. It is particularly interesting to note that the healthy family relationship between Lucy and Sam is scrutinized while the somewhat dysfunctional family relationship between the lawyer and her son is never even questioned.

          When Sam’s privileges are denied and his daughter is taken away Sam feels useless. He quits his job and stops visiting his daughter and becomes an unhappy and unproductive person. The only way this is turned around is when his lawyer friends gives him back his voice and tells him that his thoughts and actions matter and that he has a right to raise his daughter. When he is given back the right of having his word worth something he is able to get his life back together and prove that he can be a good and loving father to Lucy.

          This film presents a good unbiased look at all different types of society and was a moving and informative story.

Women's Role in Democracy

Democracy is defined as “a type of government where the power is vested in the people.” “The people”being, of course, the population of the country or area which is being governed. Women make up approximately half of the world's population and 53% of the population in the western world. It seems straight-forward then that to truly have a government that is representative of and fills the needs of, all the people, women need to be present and active in each of its levels or the country cannot reach its true potential as a nation.

            That’s a lot of words that don’t necessarily mean a lot but essentially what the world is built upon is ideas. Especially in our current times where technology is constantly evolving and the economy is shifting to incorporate our changing values for the environment and solving poverty, the new ideas are saving us from making our lifestyle obsolete. Countries are relying on their younger generations to provide the insight to solve their world’s problems and keep the economy afloat, so what then is the point in only tapping half of the population? Just as Craig and Mark Keilburger describe in their book “Global Voices” women have ideas but gender discriminations get in the way of making those accessible and it is only though true application of democracy where women’s voices are allowed to be heard that these ideas can be used to move nations forward and keep our earth sustainable for our species.

            Women in history have proven the importance of their role time and time again. One of my personal heroes, Nellie McClung, is a perfect example. In her lifetime she was a one-room school teacher, a speaker, a journalist, a novelist, and a politician. She was a leader of the Christian Temperance Union and one of the Famous Five who proved through a court-case that women could be judges, senators and politicians on all levels of the government. What she was able to provide was a viewpoint that had never been so openly spoken about before. She knew the effects that alcohol had on families and talked freely about domestic abuse and gave the people some concrete information to stand behind which allowed them to campaign for safety in their homes. Later women have followed her example, taking up the unspoken causes like unequal job wages and working conditions and the right of maternity leave. These aspects better society by making it fair for all its members which in turn makes for a long-lasting and productive economy.

            Women’s role in democracy is the same as any other group, except even more so because of the number and diversity of its members. They provide a different view point and give voice to thoughts and opinions and ideas that might not otherwise be presented, and add substance and detail to those already on the table. They also provide a larger pond, so to speak, to pick ideas from that will better individual countries and the world at large.  Essentially, they make democracy work because they are half of the democracy and their contributions to the governing structure help keep citizens well represented and happy with their country.

References:

Kielburger, Craig, and Marc Kielburger. Global Voices, the Compilation: Volume 1. Greystone Books , 2010.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/democracy.
The Part of Dana's Mind That Knows A Lot About Nellie McClung Without Having To Do Any Extra Research

Finding Dawn Paragraph

I find the details of the of the Robert Pickton crime investigation as presented in these articles to be absolutely abhorrent. It is obvious, through the hesitation of the police department and the way the family members of the missing women were treated, that racism played a part in the (possibly four-year-long) delay of Robert Pickton's arrest, and, as a Canadian, I find that unacceptable. We like to think that we're accepting; that our multicultural status somehow means that we are incapable of falling to the human trap of apathy, but all it takes is one case like this to open our eyes to the bleak fact that we're not as compassionate for every type of Canadian as we'd like to believe. What sickens me the most is that no one is admitting to their mistakes. They're trying to protect ignorance and bias through meaningless debates over jurisdiction. Maybe I'm overstepping but I do not believe that Dawn's family cares one ounce which police force finds their daughter as long as she is found and her killer is brought to justice. It seems to me that our society is doing something wrong if protocol and the colour of someone's skin is taking precedence over human life.