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Luce is a psychological thriller that incorporates the work of Franz Fanon. What role does decolonization play in Luce?

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In Luce, decolonization plays a subtle yet significant role in exploring themes of identity, power, and cultural expectations. Luce, an adopted child from Eritrea, navigates the tension between his Black identity and the expectations placed on him within a predominantly white American high school. His experience reflects the ongoing challenges of decolonizing one’s sense of self, as he contends with the stereotypical assumptions tied to his race and background. The tension between Luce and his teacher, Ms. Wilson, highlights the lingering effects of colonial thought, where marginalized groups are often viewed through a lens of danger or inferiority. Additionally, Luce’s adoptive parents impose cultural expectations on him, aligning with American ideals of success, which mirrors the pressure faced by individuals from formerly colonized nations to conform to dominant, Western norms. Ultimately, the film critiques the ways in which colonial legacies continue to shape racial dynamics and identity formation in contemporary society.

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Decolonization plays a dual role if not multiple roles in the movie. Franz Fanon spoke of how decolonization is violent. In the movie, we see how Luce is looked at as the poster child or what black students should strive to be like. He uses his position to challenge and uproot his teacher who has colonized ways of viewing students. He manipulated certain situations to make his teacher seem unfit. I think he was a tool of decolonization.

I also saw him as colonized. In one perspective he was saved/rescued, and brought to America for a better life, in another perspective, he was taken, given a new name, and a new family that happened to be white. His teacher looked at him differently than other black students. His friend saw him as black, but not black black. I think his run at the end of the movie was a representation of violence. The emotion that he displayed showed the transformation occurring in realtime. An internal battle to decolonize the self.

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I think the movie attempted to expose the false sense of safety. Colonization is the process or act of taking control of a foreign area, often by force. Fanon said decolonization can only happen through force. However, force does not have to be physical; it can be mental, psychological, and sexual. Luce was a double agent who wanted to decolonize how we see and think of people of color and, at the same time, colonized women. The women in the movie, his white mom, African American teacher, and Asian girlfriend, were tools in his scheme to prove that he was an angry person of color. When brought to the United States, Luce was colonized and educated in a white, affluent school. They changed his name because his mother could not pronounce it. He grew up learning in the Eurocentric education system and was deemed a "safe" man of color by the society around him. He was safe because he didn't show anger with his actions, yet he created situations in which people around him showed anger through their actions. The movie uses the stereotypical images of the frail white do-good white woman, aggressive fight against the system African American woman, and the subservient Asian girlfriend. It's like the colonized becomes the colonizer. Ironically, there's no decolonization; it's a vicious cycle.

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Fanon's ideas on decolonization are interwoven into the film's exploration of identity, power and societal expectation especially through Luce struggle with imposed labels and stereotypes. it's the cultural liberation from the structures impose by colonial systems. navigating expectational a white-dominated privileged society. he's adopted by white Americans parents and raised with the expectations of becoming a model minority. this shows colonial societies impose rigid identities on marginalized people forcing them to conform to standards set by those in power.

this shows how Ms. Wilson further embodies this dynamic by attempting to control how Luce expresses himself reflecting colonials mindset that in dictates what is acceptable for him to be.

Fanon's idea of decolonization a s a violent transformation process also applies here, Luce wrestles with the expectation place on him he refusing to be defined by stereotypes of either model student or violent outsider this is the psychologically intense, Luce must conceal parts of himself struggling to reconcile his past with the identity society expects from him to perform by resisting he starts to reclaiming his narrative echoing fanon's vision of liberation as a journey to self-assertion and authenticity free from the constraint of colonial or societal expectations.

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Luce is a psychological thriller about a high school student adopted from a war-torn country by a white American couple. It depicts the psychological struggle Luce encounters with the trauma of being a child soldier of war and self-identity. Luce is an honor student whose integrity and image are tainted by his teacher, Mrs. Wilson, who believes that he harbors violent tendencies due to his prior war experience. The theme of decolonization emerges through Luce’s complex relationship with society's expectations and the American idea that he can overcome the trauma of war.

Fanon’s ideology is represented through Luce’s psychological state, the effect that colonization has on black people in America, and how it leads to internal oppression and self-awareness. Luce feels disassociated from the stereotype that others project onto him. The movie explores how decolonization is not just about shattering political or physical attachments but addressing and dismantling psychological ones.

Luce finally reclaims his identity against the dominant culture’s ideologies and oppressive expectations and achieves Fanon’s state of true freedom.

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In Luce, decolonization plays a crucial role in exploring the psychological of identity, power, and race by showing the lasting effects of colonialism through Luce, a gifted Black student navigating a predominantly white, post-colonial society. His internal struggle reflects Franz Fanon’s ideas about the psychological trauma of colonialism, where the colonized individual faces alienation, self-doubt, and the pressure of conforming to the expectations of the colonizer. As Luce felt like this he started to manipulate those around him, including his white adoptive parents and teachers, which can be seen as a way to show a type of resistance to the racialized look that seeks to define him in which it compares to Fanon’s notion that the colonizer need to reclaim agency and assert control in an environment.

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Decolonization plays many important roles in the movie. it intersects with things such as race, power dynamics and identity. One way decolonization is looked at in the move "Luce" is the psychological impact of colonialism. Luce was adopted from a country in Africa that was war torn and he try to navigate , Luce embodies a psychological struggle that has similarities with Franz Fanon's work on internalized racism and the trauma that decolonization has on people. Luce toys to navigate this space where his identity is influenced by his traumatic past and the white societies expectations of him. This reflects Fanon's ideas that colonial history affects individuals and their psyches.

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The film Luce plays a role in decolonization because it is trying to show us through Luce the power one can have to start decolonization. Luce is portrayed as an example student, he is in a way used to show others how they should be. But Luce does not conform to being just that, because he is aware of how others are being treated for it. He is then seen through the eyes of Ms. Wilson, which in this case I think plays the role of colonization. She tries to get him to do things a certain way, act a certain way all because SHE thinks it's right. But does not take into account what Luce might truly be feeling or wanting for himself. We see Luce make Ms. Wilson seem unfit for the school which is part of the process of decolonization. Trying to get rid of those who add to the process of colonizing the educational system. We really get to see how the plan Luce had, came to an end and a type of solution. He was able to stop Ms. Wilson (colonization) by making himself heard. He stood up to her and told her exactly what she did wrong, the fireworks seen shows a sort of celebration as well.

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The film Luce is showing us the struggle that Luce been through in order to find his own identity as well how to advocate for other people who weren’t given the same opportunity. The film showed us that it’s not just about reforming policies is, how do you change your mindset of how others view you. I also felt that his white parents, especially his felt that is the fight for him to have everything that that was going to do away with his with his trauma. He was saved from war as a child, but as an adult he had to fight inner a war, with knowing where he belong, and his own identity. I agree Ms. Wilson had a colonize mind. She tries so hard to be perfect in the way society wanted her to be but in the end all the years working at the school, and being dedicated, wasn’t anything that the school principal wouldn’t advocate on her behalf. She was trying to give tough love to her black students and trying to make Luce understand how he had a big responsibility because he was saved by white parents and he couldn’t mess it up not everyone had that opportunity. But he did not want to be put in the box and told how to be or how to act. The film illustrated what decolonization looks like. It’s not only a physical struggle, but a mental one too.

I also think that the mom was trying really hard to make a political statement that with that a child when given the opportunity can succeed gave the love and protection, that he said he wouldn’t see enemy. I also saw the fear in her eyes, when he said to her maybe it’s you who I need protection from , meaning what she represented. And the father was very quick to say that maybe he was just who he was meant to be no matter how good you are and how much you try be judged by your own character people will always judge for what they think represents a group of people.

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In the movie Luce, decolonization plays a role of making a psychological impact on the teenage boy. He was a black student trying to fit in the society he is in. The ice of Franz Fanon is reflected in the movie because Luce's psychological struggle where he feels excluded and not fitting in because of his color and having adoptive white parents. He was treated as if he was a problem to the society because of his teachers and his parents. Luce had trauma from his past which grew with him and caused him to try and work his way through life while trying to fit in although he is getting some sort of racist treatment by the environment he is in.

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In Luce, decolonization themes are woven through the film’s portrayal of identity, race, and power dynamics, heavily drawing on the psychological insights of Frantz Fanon. The movie centers around Luce, a young Black man adopted by white parents after surviving a traumatic past in Eritrea, who excels academically and athletically. The film explores how Luce is viewed by his parents, teachers, and community, probing the pressures and stereotypes he faces to fulfill expectations as a "model minority." Decolonization plays a vital role in Luce by challenging the assumptions and structures that underpin race relations and authority. Fanon’s work, especially in The Wretched of the Earth, explored the psychological impacts of colonialism on identity, questioning the ways in which individuals, especially those racialized as "Other," are forced to conform to societal ideals to gain acceptance or legitimacy. In Luce, these themes emerge as the protagonist grapples with the societal pressures placed on him, along with the ways people in power—like his teacher, Ms. Wilson—scrutinize his actions through a lens of suspicion.

Fanon’s influence in Luce is clear as it highlights how systems of power continue to demand conformity from marginalized individuals. Luce faces the need to navigate a world that perceives his identity through the scars of colonial attitudes and racist biases, suggesting that true decolonization would involve dismantling not just systemic racism but also the psychological hold these perceptions have on both the oppressed and the oppressor. The film becomes a psychological examination of Luce’s attempt to assert his own identity outside the expectations thrust upon him, mirroring Fanon’s notion that decolonization is a deeply personal process as much as it is societal.

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Decolonization is about allowing people to live freely without being dominated or oppressed by outside powers, but it involves bringing culture, identity, language, and traditions that may have been suppressed or wiped out during colonization. In the movie, Luce explores decolonization by displaying how the characters, particularly Luce, endure and confront the expectations put on them based on their ethnicity, history, and heritage. In this way, decolonization means breaking free from the restricting expectations and assumptions that society sets on people based on their identity. The ideas of Franz Fanon, an important theory on colonialism, race, and identity. Fanon's writings, notably those on the psychological impacts of colonization, provide a lens through which we might better appreciate how the characters in Luce deal with the legacy of colonialism and racism.

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Luce has been fighting out of the colonial box

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Luce has been fighting out of the colonial box

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Decolonization plays a big role in Luce's life as he does all he can to get out of this box that he didn't ask to be put into. Thinking about the last conversation he has with Ms. Wilson, there is a realization that he is not just up against her putting him in that box, but that it is a whole entire system of perfection. For some moments, Luce thought that the box of perfection were his parents and his teachers, but it is a whole system. Luce is a literal product of colonization where his mother brought him from his home country, while maybe yes it was to give him a better life, but at the cost of shaping him to become "perfect" or the ideal American success boy. He experiences being the poster child while his colleagues are marginalized for making any mistake while he isn't because of his constant striving. However, if all of this really was him, his fight back was to let whoever it is that needed to know, he doesn't want to be placed in that box and neither do the rest.

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Questioning the "White Savior complex" was one of the ways decolonization played a role in the movie Luce through his parents. Even the reaction of his friend who is also black showed the differences that Luce has in comparison because he has white parents. Since his mother was not able to say his name correctly they began to decolonize by changing his name. This began to create this idea that Luce was not able to understand his identity and created a lot of racial biases.

Luce is also seen a "model minority" insinuating that he is an example that needs to lead his black community. Since he was able to separate from the common misconceptions of individuals who are black being lazy and angry, the administration and those around him used him to show the other minority students that they too can reach this point that Luce is in.

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I feel like the film Luce even when is not focused on Decolonization, this the two things I feel that it connects more to decolonization:

The Microaggressions and Assumptions of White

Privilege:

Amy, Luce's adoptive mother, and Mrs. Wilson, the teacher, are both white women from wealthy families. Their assumptions about Luce, which are based on his race and origin, are clear examples of the effects of colonialism. Amy's desire to see Luce as a success story while ignoring the intricacies of his life and inner turmoil could be interpreted as benign racism, which stems from colonial attitudes of superiority and paternalism. In some ways, the film critiques the white savior mentality that is common in post-colonial alliances.

Racial and Social Expectations:

The tension surrounding how people view Luce because of his race runs the entire movie. Despite being a high school student in the United States with an impeccable academic record, his Black identity raises questions about his intelligence, behavior, and potential for violence. Racial hierarchies from the colonial era contributed to the pressure to fit into certain racial expectations, such as the "model minority" stereotype or, on the other hand, being linked to violent, dangerous stereotypes. The perception of people of color in society is still influenced by these hierarchies.

Even when I Didn't got the chance to watch it in hallowen I really enjoy the movie as well and like the way we could connect this to class topics.

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In Luce decolonization plays a big role in exploring the psychological impact on racial trauma and identity. The film delves into the world of colonialism by addressing how historical oppression and systemic racism shape the characters' perceptions and interactions. As Luce is a Black student and is trying to navigate the pressures living up to expectations, while also confronting trauma from his own past such as being adopted. He has to deal with identity crisis, racial inequalities and societal structures. Luce grapples with the pressure to succeed and prove himself in a predominantly white, privileged environment. Things he feels he needs to do, due to the ideals that have been past down from colonialism.

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The film demonstrates how colonial ideas about identity and power shape the way people perceive themselves and others. Luce, represents the struggles of someone navigating the expectations placed on him by a predominantly white society. These expectations are tied to ideas of control and assimilation, similar to how colonized people were expected to conform to the standards of their colonizers.

Decolonization in the film is not just about breaking free from external systems of power but also about reclaiming one’s identity and rejecting stereotypes. Luce’s actions challenge the labels that others try to put on him, whether as a “model minority” or as a threat. This reflects Fanon’s ideas about the psychological effects of colonization and the need to redefine oneself outside of those imposed narratives. The film ultimately shows how the process of decolonization is complex and personal, requiring both resistance to systemic oppression and a reimagining of selfhood.

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In Luce, decolonization importantly explores identity, power, as well as the expectations placed on many marginalized people. Fanon's ideas about the psychological effects of colonization are drawn upon by the movie, showing how systems of power shape people’s lives as well as identities. A predominantly white society places active control and judgment on Luce expecting him to represent perfection to counter many stereotypes.

The film actively shows many people's battles to break free from several imposed roles and reclaim their identities. The tension between resisting systemic oppression and conforming to it, reflecting the deeper battle for liberation from colonial ways of thinking and controlling marginalized people, is drew attention to by Luce’s many conflicts with his teacher, and his precisely constructed public persona.

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In the film Luce, students were given a writing assignment to write in the voice a historical figure. Luce chose Frantz Fanon who believed that violence should be used to free colonized people from their colonizers. He did the assignment and it was taken out of proportion the teacher Ms.Wilson used her power to violate his privacy. Not only does the teacher violate his privacy but also uses labeling because Luce is an outstanding student with a good reputation. Ms.Wilson takes the illegal fireworks she found and takes it upon herself to shower his parents. She knows her student Luce and the reputation he has which is why she went to the parents instead of the principal. We get to learn why Luce had those fireworks later on in the film. We get to see why Luce holds resentment toward his teacher Ms.Wilson. Ms.Wilson was the reason why his friend Deshaun was kicked out of the team and cops got involved for having marijuana in his locker, meanwhile when Luce does the same thing he doesn't get any consequences. At the end of the film, we see how Luce, his friends, and his family turn against the teacher Ms.Wilson to teach her a lesson. Those same illegal fireworks made it back to the school in Ms.Wilson's classroom and it caused a fire in the classroom. Which led to the principal deciding to let her go. Luce felt so much pressure to be perfect in order to be accepted. Something else that stood out was the family dynamic Luce's parents are white and they changed his name because they couldn't pronounce they changed his name to make it meaningful because his new name symbolizes the light. Due to the hardship that Luce had to experience at a young age.

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In Luce, decolonization shows up in how the film tackles identity and power dynamics. Luce’s background as a child soldier from Eritrea (right?) brings colonial violence right to the forefront. He is adopted by a white family and thrust into a life that expects him to be this perfect symbol of success and gratitude. But what is really happening is that everyone—his parents, his teacher, even society—is trying to mold him into their idea of who he should be. The movie raises a lot of questions about who gets to decide what “success” or “redemption” looks like, and Luce is constantly pushing back against those expectations. It is less about whether he is good or bad and more about him refusing to be boxed in. That is what makes this “story” so layered.

The tension between Luce and his teacher, is another way the film explores decolonization. Ms. Wilson represents this institutional pressure to conform and behave a certain way, but Luce plays with those expectations, almost like he is reclaiming control over how he is seen. At the same time, his relationship with his adoptive parents reflects this “white savior” idea, where they have helped him escape his past but still project their values onto him. What is interesting is how Luce navigates all of this while staying one step ahead of everyone. In the movie his story is not just about surviving—it is about resisting. The film really forces you to think about the weight of those expectations and what it means for someone like Luce to carve out his own path in a world that is constantly trying to define him.