Jeffrey's Padlet by Jeffrey Zhiyu Zheng https://padlet.com/zzy04212005/Jeffrey_CW3S_FIlm en-us 2022-07-26 01:34:34 UTC 2024-04-01 08:56:37 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/1f319.png Introduction of myself zzy04212005 https://padlet.com/zzy04212005/Jeffrey_CW3S_FIlm/wish/2249678851 2022-07-26 03:44:51 UTC https://padlet.com/zzy04212005/Jeffrey_CW3S_FIlm/wish/2249678851 Crip Camp: Mini Movie Review zzy04212005 https://padlet.com/zzy04212005/Jeffrey_CW3S_FIlm/wish/2252503250 The movie Crip Camp, released in March 25, 2020, is one of the few pioneers zooming into the struggles and lives of people with disabilities. Like many other documentaries, it painted a vivid picture of the characters and reflect them on a bigger social issue. However, the most unique thing about this revolutionary story about a revolution is that it connects people with disabilities with other minority groups in America. By highlighting people with disabilities as a community undergoing stereotypes and struggles, the movie also shows their story in a more eye-opening way: not them as "some people". But them as an entire minority group much like the colored and LGBTQ community. 

Starring actual activists for the rights of people with disabilities such as Judith Heumann, James Lebrecht, Denise  Sherer Jacobson, etc., this documentary began with childhood memories of the main characters listed above. With insecurities and diffidences due to their oddity to peers, they entered a summer camp named Camp Jened where it's advertised to be a great place for people with disabilities. With doubtfulness, the movie follows young James's point of view to this camp away from all the "indifference" he experienced in the outside world. 

The documentary became wild and interesting once young James entered Camp Jened. Unlike regular camps this place is filled with cool, young people with their spirits of punk and rock where teens party hard and enjoy their positive energy. Another difference between Camp Jened and other camps: there are a huge  amount of people with disabilities where many people with disabilities including James himself admitted: "I've never seen this many people that is the same as me". With hard and energetic music, the cameras start to highlight all the partying and fun everyone experiences with concerts, pool parties, teen romance and more and more. All the people with disabilities were partying just like those "regular people" outside in the world but they get to experience all the fun without having to be judged nor treated differently. In Camp Jened, everyone is just a teenager. Even though many people with disabilities there needed to be helped with some activities but there are absolutely no shame nor discrimination since everyone shows nothing but love. Within the camp, they became the best friends (some still in touch afterwards) and with group talkings they felt more connected than anyone else. This is the first time they all felt belonged within a specific community, where they felt home. 

After the camp is over and everyone grew up, older participants including people with disabilities started to engage within society. This is where the documentary gets interesting since earlier it also includes a struggle of a black man inside the camp where he faced many prejudice on the outside world due to racism. By comparing the lives of colored people and people with disabilities, the audience can easily make the connection. I believe it is not random that the movie would just talk about a black man because he also felt home at Camp Jened, and by interacting with people with disabilities he gained courage to face the outside just like the other people with disabilities as well. As mentioned earlier, after being in such a community with so many friends who have disabilities, pioneers such as Judy Heumann started to feel more empowered. She started looking at the unfairness the world gives to people with disabilities. 

The protests started small, Judy Heumann led a group less than 10 protesting for the absences of accessible way for people with disabilities to go on subways, roads, stations, etc., causing many people with disabilities significant inconvenience. At first, due to the group being small they are often ignored. However the fuse is already lit, and what exploded it is when president Nixon completely overlooked the law for more rights for people with disabilities. Judy's team started to expand with many people including old friends from Camp Jened and by street protesting and sit-outs, their voices are heard in a louder and louder way. 

The movie's main essence is now clear, where it distinguishes people with disabilities as a minority group fighting for their rights. Which many people did not realize including myself. I've always thought that people with disabilities always had rights as today but that is completely wrong. They had to fought for their rights just like people of color and different gender/sexualities. They have pioneers such as Judy Heumann just like how others have Martin Luther King or Frank Kameny. Most importantly, they are completely people with rights but they were treated just like "incomplete people", or as Judy says: "We all know they want us dead, but here we are."

The climax of the movie reached when Judy and hundreds of activists started to get more attention and more publicity. They went to San Francisco, Chicago, NY, and many more places around the nation where everywhere they go they find more peers hoping for rights of their own. The community of people with disabilities is now a force that no one should mess with and just as other minority groups, the biggest minority group in America finally got what they deserved from the beginning: a law prohibiting all discrimination towards them and treating them as not just regular human beings with rights but everyone in America with our born privilege to experience the fullest of this nation. 

In the end, Judy, Frank, Denise, and more went back to visit Camp Jened. It is already gone and Denise said that she almost wanted to go and kiss the f-ing stone on the ground. We laughed, because the way she said it was with such passion and love. Not just them, but what I believe everyone did watching the film we all gave this camp the greatest respect. Since it is one of the pioneers that united people with disabilities together as a team, a community, a minority group, and a strong social force with people who deserves rights and the abilities to pursuit for their own happiness. ]]> 2022-08-01 02:30:05 UTC https://padlet.com/zzy04212005/Jeffrey_CW3S_FIlm/wish/2252503250 East Side Sushi: Mini Movie Review zzy04212005 https://padlet.com/zzy04212005/Jeffrey_CW3S_FIlm/wish/2256327159 East Side Sushi is an interesting movie composed of a combination of a unique story and a strong point behind it. It is a story of culture but the unique part of it is how it doesn't just talk about a race group and their culture, but how different races interact with cultures that aren't born with them. Because of this specificity, this story isn't just about celebrating a culture but telling a strong point of how everyone, regardless of their race, gender, or their "definition", should be able to experience different cultures and have fair opportunity on them. Without discrimination or prejudice. 

The main character in the movie, Juana, is a Mexican woman who lives with her dad and daughter. They run a small fruit truck but after a robbery she decided to stop doing it due to the dangerous environment and the fact she isn't passionate about it at all. After a few interactions, she got a job as am assistant restaurant worker in a sushi restaurant. This is where she first tried authentic Japanese food and she was amazed by how great it is. 

After working there for a bit, she started to grow interest and passion on sushi. She tried making them and gave them to her family. After a few failed attempts she got better and her daughter was fine with it. However, her dad refused to eat it and still thinks she should become a worker at a Mexican restaurant. Later, with some emergencies she started to help the chef on sushi making. It was all great until the owner of the restaurant, Mr. Hashito, caught her making sushi to the customers and told her to stop doing it because she would ruin the authenticity of the restaurant. She did not stop and after a huge confrontation she quit her job saying: "I want to be a sushi chef and I should get the opportunity to be one." She was furious about how regardless of her skill, she was denied from the beginning because "her face is not authentic" and "woman's hands are too warm for making sushi". 

Later, she entered a competition of sushi making to prove everyone who doubted or denied her. With intense process and skills presented she got second place, showing everyone on TV that her sushi making is definitely great enough to be a chef. Afterwards, Mr. Hashito gave her the job as a chef and they became good friends after he realized that his prejudice was wrong. And this Latina deserves the chance, just like everyone else regardless their race, gender, sexuality, etc. Whatever a person's "definition" is doesn't deny them any chance of their passion. And this is the most important lesson this movie teaches. ]]> 2022-08-08 01:50:11 UTC https://padlet.com/zzy04212005/Jeffrey_CW3S_FIlm/wish/2256327159 The BlackkKlansman: Mini Movie Review zzy04212005 https://padlet.com/zzy04212005/Jeffrey_CW3S_FIlm/wish/2256362763
A film that gets your blood rushed, a film that is very unorthodox, a film with surprising plots, The BlackkKlansman is a film of all of the above, however, it is also a film that represents an issue that is still haunting us until today - racism. 

It is obvious that a movie about the KKK will have elements of racism in it. However, what makes the BlackkKlansman different and interesting is the fact that many great points were made in an instinct alongside the flow of the story. The story itself isn't just about racism, it is a police story of two undercover policemen working together to trick the KKK and stop their operation. The timeline continues with this main point. The main character, Ron, who is "the first black policeman in Colorado Springs", got in contact with the leader of KKK, David Duke. He just randomly started to talk like his a racist white guy and was able to got Duke's trust over the phone. After being able to join the KKK, he partnered up with a white policeman Flip and they started this operation. 

Noticing that the whole beginning part of this film has no racist elements in it. There aren't quotes like "I deserve this chance regardless of my race". If this isn't about the KKK many would even forget this is a movie about racism. In fact, this movie is more of a policing movie than racism. However the points about racial equality in this movie is made in a fast and accurate way, which is what makes it also a great movie discussing the issues of racism alongside being a good policing movie. When Flip infiltrates inside the KKK he got everyone's trust and a guys named Felix's half-trust. Felix is a crazy and doubting guy where he questions Flip's true identity throughout the story. He is very cautious where he almost caught Ron and Flip when they made some small mistakes. One time he pointed a gun at Flip and almost killed him. With this kind of exciting and nervous plots, the movie continues with Ron and Flip not found out and able to know that David Duke is coming to Colorado Spring and the KKK plans to create an explosion at the black rights parade. 

With cooperation and stimulating operation, Ron and Flip stopped the explosion in the end and saved the people at the parade. The movie ended in an open ending where Ron and his girlfriend might get in trouble again. However, the main point of the movie was already made. Some of them were shown by quotes throughout the story like Flip saying: “I didn’t even think much about myself being Jewish until now.” Or David Duke saying: “I don’t want them to die but just outside our country.” The quotes aren’t made intentionally but more like random chats. However, we can see the background of the time period. The hatred of black people and Jewish people still was there. In the end, the movie has a clip of a few minutes. Inside the clip there is a car crashing into a black lives matter parade and killed/injured people. The event of the clip happened in 2017 which is just mind blowing that until today this movie-like scenes still happen. We still have a long way to go in batting racism, and we can only educate everyone with great movies like this and other good works that can bring attentions. 
]]> 2022-08-08 02:46:37 UTC https://padlet.com/zzy04212005/Jeffrey_CW3S_FIlm/wish/2256362763 Sorry to Bother You: Mini Movie Review zzy04212005 https://padlet.com/zzy04212005/Jeffrey_CW3S_FIlm/wish/2258652788 Sorry to Bother You is definitely a movie that will shock you and exceed your expectations on what would happen. As a surrealistic movie it shows the dark side of capitalism and the class conflicts in a very realistic way. 

The movie itself has a very interesting plot where it started off very normal. The main character, Cash, was a very poor dude who is struggling to pay his uncle rent. He lives in his uncle's basement and drives his car. After he finally got a job as a telemarketer he had 2 weeks to pay rent or even his uncle would have to move out. As a result, he works with very little passion and always struggle in his mind about why he should work and what is the point of us humans doing all the things. However, after people's help he started to be discovered by his talent of talking in a "white voice". Apparently it's better for telemarketing and after he realized that he became praised for his talents. Which is a slight notion of racism, and it also comes up when people assumed that he can rap because he's black and got entertained when he started yelling the n-word. However, racism is only a small part of the movie. 

The biggest part of the movie is the social issues that undergoes our society in a massive threatening way even today, which is the conflicts between classes and the distribution of wealth. As Cash became a better salesman he also started protesting with his friends. They organized a small scale strike against the company to get better wage and benefits. As the guy said: "We made the profits but we weren't sharing them". Afterwards, Cash found out that he is getting promoted to "Power Callers", where he would make a lot more money and have better work environment. I personally believe the Power Callers symbolize middle-upper classes where money stopped being an issue for them. The fact the Cash stopped protesting right afterwards proves my point. He betrayed his friends and told them that they can continue doing what they want but he won't be a part of it. As an result, his girlfriend broke up with him and he became a more desensitized person selling weapons everyday. 

Then, the social issues started to escalate where more people joined the strikes talking about how they can barely pay rent and eat cup o' noodles everyday. At the same point Cash found out that his boss, Steve, is secretly creating horse humans as an even more brutal way of using slave labor. He transforms humans into monstrosity so they can make him more money. Steve offered Cash a lot of money so he can work as a "representative" of those workers and letting them think they are being treated good instead of controlled like how they actually are. However, Cash decided he can't work with that so he apologized to his friends and started a revolution to overthrow his evil boss. The protest became very violent where there are SWAT teams trying to physically harm all the strikers. But in the end, the people win and they became in charge of the company instead of such evil corporation. In the end, Cash became poor again but the garage that he lives in became much more beautiful, which symbolizes how his inner self became a better person and he no longer get confused about why people work. 

However, Cash still got turned into a horse human in the end, which is a bit of an open ending that can be explained in many ways. I prefer to think that the creators of the movie is trying to use this to talk about how even though Cash became a better person he still will be struggling within his class, and the conflicts of class will never end. Regardless of the intentions of the movie, it is a great movie highlighting many social issues such as class struggles and racism. The points might not be agreed by everyone but they definitely presented the points in a very interesting and inspiring way. ]]> 2022-08-11 02:02:05 UTC https://padlet.com/zzy04212005/Jeffrey_CW3S_FIlm/wish/2258652788