Night

Written by Elie Weisel

"I pinched my face. Was I still alive? Was I awake? I could not
believe it. How could it be possible for them to burn people, children,
and for the world to keep silent? No, none of this could be true. It
was a nightmare…. Soon I should wake with a start, my heart
pounding, and find myself back in the bedroom of my childhood,
among my books…. My father’s voice drew me from my thoughts" (Wiesel, Page 32)

              Elizer’s identity changes over the course of this novel, and throughout his experience in a concentration camp during World War II. Before he and his family are forcefully placed in Auschwitz-Birkenau, Wiesel was a 15 year old boy who was Jewish. After he and his family arrives, a large portion of his identity is immediately stripped away when his mother and youngest sister are killed. As the story progresses we gradual;y see the other pieces of who he is becoming lost: he had no name, no clothes to differentiate himself from the other Jews, and eventually lost his faith. The longer he was held in these horrendous conditions the more he molded into the identity the Nazi’s were imposing on him. This is very similar to Chanie’s experience in 'Secret Path', where his identity was also stolen from him. 

Can TV Make Us Not Hate Ourselves?

By  Scaachi Koul

"The whole world felt white when I was younger. There wasn’t a version of me anywhere—few on television, fewer in movies, and none in my day-to-day life who weren’t related to me. This was before Tom Haverford and Kelly Kapoor, to say nothing of the recent influx of South Asian actors on shows like Sense8, The Grinder, and Quantico. These new shows have people talking about the importance of representation again, and rightly so. The absence of people of colour in movies and television has a dehumanizing effect for the people it neglects to portray: You can’t be what you can’t see". (Koul)

Analysis: 

               In the essay titled “Can TV Not Make Us Hate Ourselves?” by Scaachi Koul, the theme of identity is explained through how traditional media decides to portray certain ethnicities, specifically south asian women. Koul also wrote about how predominantly seeing white on TV and in her hometown made her feel isolated from her culture. This began to shape Koul’s own perception of her culture, which bled into other aspects of her life such as her own self esteem, and dating life. Finally, she explains how she was able to find confidence in her Indian identity. Despite the fact that Koul’s essay ended on a positive note, how she viewed her cultural identity is still extremely common for many people. For certain demographics and cultures, the lack of representation they receive in the media can result in them being ashamed of that part of their identity. 

               Despite the recent increase in South Asian representation in shows like Quantico, Never Have I Ever, and Senses 8, there are still very few examples of brown actors playing the main character or romantic lead. Even worse, oftentimes these actors are stuck playing stereotypical roles such as the terrorist, doctor, or nerdy side character. This is highly problematic for people of colour who grew up watching TV and Indian actors being portrayed as undesirable to their white counterparts. In the essay she wrote “When I was a young, brown girl living in a world that only reflected white people back to me… the small pieces of the world that did resemble the wide bridge in my nose or the dynamics of my family were often so unrecognizable that I grew to hate them instead”. (Koul).This illustrates how the lack of representation of these ethnicities in the media unconsciously made Koul resent that part of her identity.

               The effect that the media had on Koul’s childhood and teenage years also manifested in her dating life. She explains in her essay that her perception of Indian men was limited to how they were stereotypically portrayed on television: “repulsive, meek, weak, aggressive, terrifying, or asexual”. On the contrary, it was always white men who ended up being the romantic leads, which resulted in her internal belief that her lover must be white. Even when she was in a relationship with one of the few brown people at her school, her love for him was accompanied by concerns based on the stereotype her cultural identity was given. She explained that the other students at her school also couldn't have known any better because they grew up with the same perceptions of people of colour, which again, is due to how other cultures were being represented on television.

               In the concluding paragraph of the essay, Koul explains how she overcame this internal hatred of her identity by going to university and meeting people of diverse backgrounds. However, her past is repeating itself in her younger niece who is in a similar headspace to how Koul was in her childhood. This proves that representation in media (which now also includes social media) still has a long way to go in terms of inclusivity, and the portrayal of multiple cultural identities. 

Analysis

In the podcast episode titled “Carlos Doesn’t Remember” recorded by Malcolm Gladwell, we are introduced to Carlos’ unfortunate situation. He, his sister and his mother have been in poverty all their lives, and are living in gang territory in the United States. Even though his mother was put into prison and Carlos was trying his best to take care of his sister, his academic talents have never waivered. From a young age Carlos knew he was extraordinarily intelligent and his only way out of his current life situation was through his grades. However, due to the lack of representation people with this identity receive, people in poverty have a much harder time capitalizing off their lives. 

              Despite Carlos being extremely intelligent, his identity as someone in poverty makes it more difficult for him to receive a higher education. Around (9:40) into the episode, Gladwell mentioned a paper published by two esteemed officials at Harvard and Stanford University. In the paper, they mentioned an outdated plan developed by these universities that aimed to grant free tuition to impoverished students who were intelligent enough to get in. However, after implementing this plan only about 15 low income students a year end up attending Harvard. This evidence presents the idea that there are very few smart students who come from poverty like Carlos. However, this isn’t the case. In that same paper, it proves that there are somewhere around 30,000 intelligent students in poverty in the United States, who do not even have access to resources like tutors or AP classes to help them improve their marks. That paper proved that the admissions office at these top tier universities are not looking hard enough, because they believe that poor students are not able to reach the same standard of those in the middle or upper class. This prohibits poor students from reaching and capitalizing on their potential due to a part of their identity that they cannot control.

              (25:30) into the episode, Gladwell mentions that Carlos was offered a fully paid scholarship to an elite boarding highschool in Connecticut. Although he wanted to attend, he wasn’t able to go because he and his sister were put into foster care the summer after eighth grade. Despite this terrible situation he continued to focus on his schooling. Carlos knew that the only way he could capitalize on his life thus far was through keeping his grades up and looking for opportunities from esteemed schools. However, his identity was what resulted in him going into foster care, and missing out on going to the school in Connecticut. It is an unfortunate reality that low income families have many obstacles that may prohibit their success,which include going into foster care. However, it also means children have to try much harder to become successful because there are many parts of their life that are holding them back.

              Although Gladwell mentioned that Carlos’ situation got slightly better, and he was able to be accepted to a private school closer to home, his story is still a tragic one. There are thousands of other children in the United States that share this part of Carlos’ identity, yet this issue is often ignored because poor people are extremely misrepresented. Through this podcast, these kids in need were able to get some 

Everyday Use

By  Alice Walker

 " "Your heritage," she said, And then she turned to Maggie, kissed her, and said, "You ought to try to make something of yourself, too, Maggie. It's really a new day for us. But from the way you and Mama still live you'd never know it." She put on some sunglasses that hid everything above the tip of her nose and chin. Maggie smiled; maybe at the sunglasses. But a real smile, not scared. After we watched the car dust settle I asked Maggie to bring me a dip of snuff. And then the two of us sat there just enjoying, until it was time to go in the house and go to bed". (Walker)

Analysis

           In the short story titled “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, the theme of black identity is very prevalent. As we read about Mama and her two daughters, we get a sense of how they view their own racial identity. For Mama, who has been working in a rural farm all her life, she has a set idea of who she is: composed of her family, rich heritage, and the work she does. However, her eldest daughter Dee was invited in a different perspective as she began going to school in the city and developing a life completely different to that of her family. The way Dee treated her racial identity is exemplary of the 1960’s: black people in America were so oppressed and underrepresented that even people of the same race began to take on or reject certain pieces of their identity.

             The initial reason why Dee changed her name to Wangero was because she thought that her old name was a product of the slave masters who oppressed her people. However, Mama reminded her that Dee was the name of her aunt and pays respect to their families heritage. For Mama and Maggie, their family history is of great importance to them. For Dee, I would infer that during her time in the city, she learned and experienced a different side of what racial oppression in America was like at the time. Her changing her name was a protest against racism, however it pushed her further away from a different aspect of her racial identity that she shared with her family. 

              Dee has always thought less of Mama and her little sister Maggie. Although they were content living on their rural farm, Dee seems to have always had the desire for something different. Since she began going to school in Augusta she has begun to accentuate her Ugandan roots. However, fitting into the black identity was something she had tried to accomplish by doing things like changing her name and wearing traditional clothing. When she insisted that she should take the family quilts instead of Maggie, Dee argued that Maggie would not appreciate them because she would put them for everyday use. Additionally, Dee said “You wouldn’t understand” multiple times to Maggie and Mama when explaining that the quilts had to be preserved because it was a part of their heritage. Before Dee left she said to Maggie, "You ought to try to make something of yourself, too, Maggie. “It's really a new day for us. But from the way you and Mama still live you'd never know it."" (Walker). The problem with Dee’s perspective is that she thinks that in order to fit into to black identity you have to live the way she has chosen to. However, her family’s more slow paced and physical lifestyle fits into that identity just as well. 

              Although Dee was embracing certain aspects of the identity of black people, she began to think less of her families’ identity, which celebrates a different side of who she is. The oppression African Americans faced at the time this story was written means that some people weren’t as comfortable with outwardly expressing their culture. Whether or not that was the case of Mama and Dee remains unknown. However, they and all black people share that part of their identity. 

Secret Path

By  Gord Downie and Jeff Lemire

That is not my dad
My dad is not a wild man
Doesn't even drink
My Daddy's not a wild man
On a Secret Path
The one that nobody knows
And I'm moving fast
On the path nobody knows
I am the Stranger

(From Gord Downie's song "The stranger",TIME)

        The theme of identity is present in Secret Path as we see how Chanie changes from before he was forced to go into a residential school, and escaped. The person who he was before, which is shown through brightly coloured and happy images, was abruptly taken from him when he was taken to a residential school. His collective identity, which he shared with other indigenous peoples were deemed inadequate and were forcefully shifted to assimilate to European culture. Everything he knew was gone: his language, families, clothing, and even hair. When he escaped, it showed that the torture he went through in the school did not change who he was. He risked (and lost) his life in an attempt to find who he was before.