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1. Beginning of Semester Self-Assessment Email

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1. Beginning of Semester Self-Assessment Email

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Introduction
Artifacts and Captions Part 1
1. Beginning of Semester Self-Assessment Email
2. First Draft Academic Essay #1
3. Final Draft Academic Essay #1 + Caption
4. Learning Log #2 + Caption
Artifacts and Captions Part 2
5. First Draft Academic Essay #2
6. Final Draft Academic Essay #2 +Caption
7. CMJ Post: "I'm So Stupid" scene from Netflix's Maid + Caption
Artifacts and Captions Part 3
8. First Draft Autoethnography Essay #3
9.  Final Draft Autoethnographic Essay #3
10. Genre Analysis
11. CMJ Response: Moonlight + Caption
Conclusion

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3. Final Draft Academic Essay #1 + Caption

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3. Final Draft Academic Essay #1 + Caption

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6. Final Draft Academic Essay #2 + Caption

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6. Final Draft Academic Essay #2 + Caption

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8. First Draft Autoethnographic Essay #3

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8. First Draft Autoethnographic Essay #3

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9. Final Draft Autoethnographic Essay #3 + Caption

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9. Final Draft Autoethnographic Essay #3 + Caption

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7. CMJ Post: "I'm So Stupid" scene from Netflix's Maid + Caption

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7. CMJ Post: "I'm So Stupid" scene from Netflix's Maid + Caption

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In this scene from “Maid”, one of Netflix's newest series, the main character Alex is escaping an abusive relationship with her partner Sean and takes their 3-year-old daughter Maddy with her. This limited series begins with Alex leaving with Maddy in the middle of the night and going through the ups and downs of fighting for custody, providing for her daughter, processing her trauma, and dealing with her unmedicated bipolar mother. Just as things seem to be looking up for Maddy, something happens and she loses her house. She and Maddy, homeless, sleep at their old house out of necessity but when Alex wakes up in the morning, she finds her car gone. Sean has taken the car someone gave to her leaving Alex with no way to get to work, no way to be independent, and no way out. It’s as if nothing has changed and she is back to square one. The scene is absolutely heartbreaking as we see how Alex has become numb to her situation.
The show touches upon the cycle of abuse, and that a lot of victims end up going back to their abusers. Alex doesn't seem like she would as throughout the show she seems very set on leaving Sean and never looking back. But sharing a kid together and him trying to turn his life around, Alex lets him back in her life little by little until he traps her again. This is the cycle of abuse. Even when she tried to change her life she ended up right back in the same spot. It reminded me of “Two Distant Strangers” as Carter and Officer Merk are stuck in a time loop in which no matter what Carter says, wears, or does differently, he is always shot. Alex tried to make a new life but ended right back in the same place.
Prisoners are controlled through surveillance and being broken down and that is actually what happens to Alex. Without a car, Sean knows exactly where she is all the time and verbally abusing her keeps her in fear and in his control. Do victims of abuse follow Smith's characterization of the prisoner?

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Moonlight is a semi-autobiographical film that was released in 2016 and is considered to be a remarkable achievement in filmmaking. It won the academy award for best picture, and I think this has to do with the authenticity of the film. Moonlight navigates us through the life of a young black man, Chiron, by focusing on three pivotal stages in his life, and pinpoints how each of these stages emotionally and physically drained him. Although this film doesn’t directly relate to the prison, Chiron’s life is filled with loneliness and him trying to find his true identity, much similar to the life of a prisoner.

Constant feelings of loneliness flooded Chiron’s childhood and he often felt like an outcast in his school, as well as neighborhood. Starting from an early age, Chiron deals with a lot of pain in his life, and although it isn’t always externally visible, his pain is felt by the viewers through his words and actions. This film captured and allowed me to experience emotions like fear, sadness, and hopefulness for his future, and these emotions started not even two minutes into the film. In the beginning of the film, Chiron, also called “Little” throughout his early childhood, is being chased by his classmates who are calling him names and are trying to directly cause harm to him. They had malevolent intentions of physically and emotionally hurting Chiron. In this scene, we are also introduced to Juan. Juan is a neighborhood drug dealer, who, besides his occupation, is a sincere and good man who notices that Chiron is a neglected child and is hurting. Chiron enters an abandoned building to seek shelter from the boys chasing him, and this is when Juan comes in to get Chiron out. Juan continues to be a source of support, or a fatherly figure to Chiron throughout his childhood.

Juan’s role in Chiron’s life reminds me of the idea of solidarity and support, which I discussed in essay #2. In my essay, I talked about how prisoners are able to combat certain punishments, and if support plays a role in that process. I analyzed El Saadawi’s work and White Bear and noticed that in White Bear, Victoria doesn’t have any support and isn’t able to combat the situation. However, in El Saadawi’s memoirs, she mentioned that the women stuck together and it made the prison a more liveable place. Going back to Moonlight, Juan was the person that Chiron could rely on to somewhat escape the battle that he was going through, not in a physical prison, but in his society. This also reminds me of the Shawshank Redemption, where Andy and Red form a bond that is so strong that it sort of alleviates the harsh conditions of the prison. Andy came into the prison with no one to guide him or support him, but Red befriending Andy was probably the best thing that could happen to him in the Shawshank prison.

Juan eventually dies, and Chiron is left to cope with this death. Although he isn’t an active part of the film after his death, it is evident that Juan left a mark on Chiron’s life. After Juan’s death, there is a noticeable change in Chiron in regards to him figuring out his identity and standing up for himself. Although it was bittersweet at times, I enjoyed watching Chiron grow at every stage of his life and cheering him on hoping that he will someday figure out his identity and true character. I felt as if I was immersed in Chiron’s life, going through the same stages of grief, dealing with pain, and healing. A question that can be brought up after watching Moonlight is: do you think that there is a stigma surrounding vulnerability in our society, and do you think it prevents people from accessing the resources they need in order to cope with their mental health? I ask this because in Moonlight, Chiron is very vulnerable and is obviously going through something, but isn’t able to communicate that with anyone simply due to the nature of the society he lives in.