Inquiry Project by Kiara Diaz

Invincible (Series, 2021)

kiardiaz2505 — 2024-05-02 15:10:06 UTC

In the show Invincible, the main protagonist, Mark, is in a dilemma between joining forces with his father (Omni Man) or staying on Earth and protecting the people on it. Mark knows the consequences of both options. If he chooses to side with his father, planet Earth will face mass destruction as his father prepares it for conquering. If Mark chooses to stay on Earth, he'd have to go against his dad and defeat the Viltrumites alongside him. Mark sees suffering on both sides, but chooses to go against his father's commands and help the people on Earth as he recognizes the value of life no matter how small it is. Mark considers himself a human, despite being half Viltrumite, so he knows the importance of life and the individual.

Marcelo and Mark both made decisions on their own, even if it caused them to lose the respect of their fathers. Marcelo couldn't stand the idea of knowing the truth and not doing anything about it, and Mark hated being compared to his father who created the problems around him. In this way, both Marcelo and Mark are similar as they choose to the right thing despite what their loved ones said around them.

John Wick (2014)

kiardiaz2505 — 2024-05-02 15:10:17 UTC

In the movie John Wick, the protagonist is a retired hit man named John Wick (hence the title). John is still grieving over the death of his wife, Helen. While John continues to live his life, hoping to get away from his past, it comes back to bite him when the son of a former client kills John's dog and steals his car. The dog was the last thing John had in remembrance of his late wife. He doesn't take this lightly and decides to take matters into his own hands, even if it meant going back into the lifestyle he tried to run away from. John is suffering, despite his past of hit man activities and killing, John is now the victim. He returns back to his old habits and decides to get justice and avenge his wife for the disrespect that was brought upon his peace.

John Wick and Marcelo are definitely not similar, but the principle of both situations is what ties them together. Marcelo knew that if he didn't help Ixtel, no one else would. He had it on his hands, he had everything he could possibly need to help her, and he did it regardless of what would happen afterwards. John Wick is the same, he wanted to get his own justice, even if it meant he'd have to return back to his old life.

Just Mercy (Published 2014)

kiardiaz2505 — 2024-05-02 15:10:28 UTC

"Just Mercy" written by Bryan Stevenson is a book that is based on real life events. We follow Stevenson who is a lawyer as he helps people who have been wrongfully accused and targeted by the U.S criminal justice system. Stevenson focuses on a man named Walter McMillian, who was accused of murder and sentenced to death. Stevenson fights against injustice and racial judgement placed on him and many other Americans. Being able to help Americans who were failed by the criminal system was Stevenson's top priority, and he wanted to do everything in his power to bring these people the justice they deserve.

Bryan Stevenson is a real person, but you can still make connections to the fictional character Marcelo. Both Stevenson and Marcelo have the will to help those less fortunate, but they both have to pass by obstacles to get to the end. While Marcelo's obstacle is his father, Stevenson's is the U.S justice system. The big difference between both of them is the way they handle their situations. Stevenson sees both sides of the disagreements, having sympathy for the victims families, but also has empathy for those being accused. Marcelo, however, doesn't like to acknowledge his father's reasoning, only choosing the option he thinks is right without being influenced to change his opinion and gut feeling.

Prisoners (2013)

kiardiaz2505 — 2024-05-03 20:45:52 UTC

Prisoners follows Keller Dove, a father to a 6 year old girl, Anna. One evening, while having Thanksgiving dinner, Anna and her friend Joy go missing. The parents are are in shock as to how they could've gone missing. The parents believe they were abducted, and a detective (Loki) is set out to find the girls and make an arrest. As the case goes on, Keller is unable to let the police do their job on their own, so he attempts to take matters into his own hands and take the suspect that they believe took the girls hostage and torture him into telling the truth. It is later found out that the main suspect didn't have enough evidence against him, but Keller still doesn't believe it. Keller's wife and his friends want him to stop and let the police do what they're supposed to do, but Keller believes that it's not enough and he needs to get his own justice for his daughter.

Keller and Marcelo are the most similar of each other character's I've chosen to represent. Although Keller wasn't remotely close to catching the true criminal who took his daughter, he had nothing but hope that his daughter was still alive, and that's what drove him to disobey the police. Keller believed it was the right and only option. His family around him didn't agree with what he was doing, but continued to do so anyway. Marcelo and Keller both have the same ideas about injustice. They both make their own decisions and have it set and stone.

Curator's Statement

kiardiaz2505 — 2024-05-03 20:53:56 UTC

As I created this project, I noticed that the question of how to deal with suffering and injustice stems out into many different ideas. It genuinely just depends on the person. I personally believe that there isn't a right or wrong answer to this question. I do, however, believe that some areas are grey and it all lands on morality. Three out of four texts were all fictional, but I feel as if those fictional characters and their actions can be set onto a real person which would make things easier to understand and to sympathize with. After looking at it closely, I noticed that the more the characters pushed to get answers and truth themselves, the more I supported them. There's something enlightening about seeing a character strive and fight against things that get in their way of doing the right thing. It makes me root for them even more. To answer the not so simple question, I do believe that it's better to fight for what you know is good and to not back down. Stand on your beliefs, even if others might make you feel bad for it.