Sara V's padlet by Sara Valenzuela https://padlet.com/swv20_SaraValenzuela/yvp0j9f5oy3ms54b en-us 2023-07-25 23:32:46 UTC 2023-08-12 14:42:08 UTC hello@padlet.com Intro video swv20_SaraValenzuela https://padlet.com/swv20_SaraValenzuela/yvp0j9f5oy3ms54b/wish/2651113116 2023-07-25 23:37:54 UTC https://padlet.com/swv20_SaraValenzuela/yvp0j9f5oy3ms54b/wish/2651113116 swv20_SaraValenzuela https://padlet.com/swv20_SaraValenzuela/yvp0j9f5oy3ms54b/wish/2653162872 The movie Crip Camp is a documentary that tells the stories of young disabled adults as they grow up in a society designed to keep them out. Having formed a special bond at a summer camp for the disabled called Camp Jened, these young people were deeply impacted by the utopia-like feeling they experienced being among others like themselves. Ultimately this bond along with  their everyday struggles, led to their involvement and leadership in the disability rights movement in the United States in the 1970’s. Through the historical footage and first person accounts Crip Camp powerfully produces awareness of the struggles of the disabled community and incites empathy in any viewer who watches. Hearing a story can be one thing, but the added additional footage is what forces you to leave this movie changed. We are lucky enough that a group of traveling film makers happened to meet campers from Jened and were invited back to the camp to film. This footage is a raw look into the emotional and mental space of these individuals growing up with disabilities. There is also archival news footage shown that portrays the living conditions of care facilities for mentally disabled people at the time. This footage is equally heartbreaking, horrifying, and important to the cause of the movement. Such conditions could not be tolerated any longer. Hearing the first hand accounts of the campers and how living in an inaccessible society had impacted their everyday life really puts things into perspective for viewers watching.  This movie is essential in learning the history of one of the largest marginalized groups in the United States and how their strength and resilience started a movement that would go on to change the lives of countless others. Crip Camp gives a vital insight through carefully curated footage and interviews leaving a lasting impact in the minds and hearts of viewers. ]]> 2023-07-30 17:13:46 UTC https://padlet.com/swv20_SaraValenzuela/yvp0j9f5oy3ms54b/wish/2653162872 swv20_SaraValenzuela https://padlet.com/swv20_SaraValenzuela/yvp0j9f5oy3ms54b/wish/2655731620 East Side Sushi follows the story of a young Latina named woman named Juana and her quest to become a sushi chef. Written and directed by Anthony Lucero, East Side Sushi is a low budget indie film whose strengths lie in storytelling. 
Set against the backdrop of the diverse city of Oakland, California, Juana is determined to become a sushi chef. Although she has never worked in a sushi restaurant she is hired at Osaka for a kitchen position due to her skill and experience. She is quickly mesmerized by the cuisine and inspired by the sushi chefs that are situated in the front of the house visible for everyone to see. Motivated  to command the same space and respect as the sushi chefs, Juana constantly practices the new learned techniques all to be rejected for the open sushi chef position because of race, gender, and tradition. After being rejected Juana through tears delivers the moving lines : “Behind every great restaurant here, there are great Latinos, in the back, in the kitchen, hidden, prepping the food and making you all look good. Well, I don’t want to be in the back anymore.”
Ultimately it is through lines such as these and the story telling that Lucero is able to touch on larger subjects such as immigration, culture, and tradition. Lucero perfectly highlights the struggles many immigrants face while also telling a complex story of intersectionality and the challenges one can face based on various factors of their identity.

]]> 2023-08-03 22:56:04 UTC https://padlet.com/swv20_SaraValenzuela/yvp0j9f5oy3ms54b/wish/2655731620 swv20_SaraValenzuela https://padlet.com/swv20_SaraValenzuela/yvp0j9f5oy3ms54b/wish/2656534111 Released a year after the Unite the Right Rally in 2018, BlacKkKlansman is able to offer us a story based in the 1970’s that provides a basis for the United States we live in today. Through strong dialogue and well focused visuals BLacKkKlansman highlights the racial tension in United States history and offers a complex view on how society handles and reacts  to these tensions. Throughout the movie Lee uses the characters' dialogues to highlight the repercussions that harmful ideology can have on society. Specifically the talk between Sergeant Trapp and Ron Stallworth stood out to me. Speaking of grand wizard of the KKK David Duke, Trapp brings to light that there is another way to “sell hate” when he says, “Think about it: Affirmative Action, Immigration, Crime, Tax Reform. He says no one wants to be called a bigot anymore. Because, Archie Bunker made that too un-cool. So, the idea is under all these issues, everyday Americans can accept it, support it, until eventually, one day, you get somebody in the White House that embodies it.” This clearly shows how over time media, politics, and laws slowly but gradually create a culture that disguises the extremist ways of the KKK into a more socially palatable political stance. Ultimately in this way we see generations regurgitating the same ideologies in more acceptable ways until there are people in power who may not necessarily state things, but rather embody the type of person these groups want to see in power. Ultimately the footage at the end of the movie shows what happens when someone like this is in power; these hateful groups also feel validated  in seeing themselves reflected in people of power and mainstream media. At the end of the movie Stallworth and Patrice are disagreeing until they hear a threatening knock on the door. In unison they rise, armed and ready for what awaits. This strong metaphorical scene shows that the same hateful ideology they have experienced has morphed into a modern day society still experiencing racial tensions. In the end I think Lee is trying to say that even though we might see things differently from one another like Ron and Patrice, if we are for the liberation of all people it will take us working together to achieve it. ]]> 2023-08-05 18:46:45 UTC https://padlet.com/swv20_SaraValenzuela/yvp0j9f5oy3ms54b/wish/2656534111 swv20_SaraValenzuela https://padlet.com/swv20_SaraValenzuela/yvp0j9f5oy3ms54b/wish/2658424063 Sorry to Bother You offers a fresh commentary on the effects of capitalism all while telling a complex intersectional story. Through strong visuals and a surrealist setting, Boots Riley is able to inundate every moment of our viewing experience with strong metaphor and pretty straight forward critique. Starting with the most memorable in my opinion, Detroit's earrings. Many times when we see Detroit's earrings, they are in direct relation or response to what is also happening around her. It is around the first time we see a WorryFree commercial depicting living quarters that resemble prison, that we also see the “murder murder murder/kill kill kill” earrings. The next pair of earrings we see are the electric chair earrings. After this close up, the shot pans to the billboard depicting an African American man sitting in the same manner. This billboard is another ad for WorryFree that states “Show the world that you are a responsible baby daddy”. Throughout the movie we see numerous visual aspects like this where the set and costume design come together harmoniously to support the critiques Riley is making on systemic oppression and its relation to the economic structure we live in. ]]> 2023-08-09 02:47:19 UTC https://padlet.com/swv20_SaraValenzuela/yvp0j9f5oy3ms54b/wish/2658424063