As I’ve said before, my favourite movie is Avatar.
So it was quite disappointing to hear the critiques. Some saw Avatar as basically Pocahontas in space. Others saw it as the typical “white guilt fantasy” movie.
The main reason why I love this movie is HOW they made it!
It’s interesting to see all sides to a story. What I saw was the beautiful scenery, the intense level of detail used to make the pictures on screen seem real, and the amazing 3-D I experienced while in the theatre (four times!). I loved seeing the pores of the Na’vi people – it gave me quite a thrill to see so much detail in a movie. It surprised me even more when I learned the movie was made with performance capture. It was revolutionary to me – in terms of cinematic technology and production.
I believe this is a great example of how stories affect people differently. Nobody has the same experience. And, I believe, nobody is completely incapable of understanding different experiences of the same story. I think that is where most people struggle with.
Recently, one of my friends on Facebook posted a status where he asked whether men should become involved in feminist issues. He understood men did not and could not understand women completely and thought, “isn’t it best if men avoid entering discussions on feminism? Or, if they do, shouldn’t they avoid taking any stances on the issues that arise therein?”
It was then another mutual friend of ours asked, “By that logic, should I also not participate in any issues surrounding racism against African-Americans because I am Chinese and have no idea what it is like to be in their position?”
It is an interesting idea. Should people speak on issues they cannot 100% relate to? Can they? In my opinion, I believe there should be a time and place to allow these voices to be heard – the voices of those who know, who have experienced, and who have lived through these issues and situations. Their voices should be heard first and foremost and above all else.
This is not then an issue of value. If we were to argue for equality, a louder voice would defeat the purpose, would it not? But I would argue it holds true to equality because, as tough as it is to realize, our world is not yet in a state of equality. Some voices are not heard as often or as loud as others. So when given a chance, those oppressed and lost voices should be found.
Of course, when those voices are lost, you should call for them and with them. Help their voices be heard.
So Avatar is still my favourite movie, but I also acknowledge its problems and the issues that come along with it. Each of these different perspectives are important in their own respective ways. I would believe this is what J. Edward Chamberlin is trying to hint at when he asks for everyone to seek “common ground”.
Heyo, I am here, as you suggested! 😛
Yeah, I’ve heard many similar arguments about men and their contributions to feminism in class and have seen them on Facebook as well. There is a concept we learn about in sociology called being “allies”, which is the support of another group, even if we do not belong to that group (we were learning this in the context of heterosexuals supporting queers of all sorts).
Of course, feminism also branches out into multiple different groups, so it shows that even subgroups can have their own subgroups.
As important as it is to see where people are speaking from, maybe we should be practical too. Equality is a fair thing, but there will also be those who have their own opinions on that, as the pigs in Animal Farm say, “Some pigs are more equal than others.”
On a SIDEE NOOTTEE… with all this very lovely commenting, perhaps you can keep me in mind when the day to choose a group for the final assignment comes near? Hint! Hint!
Orwell, George. Animal Farm. Project Gutenberg of Australia eBooks, 2008. eBook. 12 Feb. 2014.
Hiii Chris @chrischeung
Yes, I was essentially talking about being an ally. Personally, I found it a tad bit difficult to understand how to be a good ally at first but eventually I got it! Did you learn about this in a sociology class? If you did, I think that’s pretty awesome and I hope I get that opportunity one day in my own classes. I learned about allies through experience and through the internet but talking about being an ally in a classroom sounds super interesting.
And I agree, equality is such a complex thing and it means something different to everyone. I came across this post just now (http://megustamemes.tumblr.com/post/76429780316) and the asterix after Freedom for the US is what I think equality can be like sometimes.
Hahahaha yay! I was actually thinking of asking you to be in my group too! I haven’t looked at the detailed instructions for the final assignment yet… I probably should go do that soon XD Anyway, thanks for commenting again! I hope midterm season is being nice to you. 🙂
@cristakoo
I did learn about it in a sociology class! There’s a really interesting story about that actually, maybe I’ll get to share it at some point in the future.
And I did see that post, except it was on Reddit, telling people to summarize their country in a single sentence. I guess someone made some graphics out of it.
By the way… there’s someone in my English class whose name I hear called is either Christine or Kristin or Crista… you’re not in an English grammar class by any chance are you…?
@chrischeung
I hear lots of great things come out of Reddit. But it all looks so confusing to me haha
And nope, I’m not in an English grammar class this semester. I am in an online grammar course though but all my classes on campus are sociology ones. I forgot to reply to your comment from way way back in our intro posts, but I believe we were in the same class with Sean Saunders!
🙂 glad I came here