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A recurring motif in Victor Lavalle’s Big Machine is immense amount of detail and narrative space given to clothing and particularly the clothing of the scholars as it is described by Ricky Rice, the narrator.  I read The Talented Mr. Ripley last semester and noticed Patricia Highsmith also described clothing through her narrator Tom Ripley, in a painstakingly descriptive way. Continue reading “Commodity Fetishism in Big Machine”

*Warning: This blog post contains strong language

After reading Emily Tsoi’s blog post “The Necessity for Diversity in Children’s Literature,”  I was reminded of a conversation I had with my AP Literature teacher during Spring break.

Continue reading “Tell your story. Or they will tell it for you, and it will not be the right one.”

When we discussed Suzan-Lori Parks’s Imperceptible Mutabilities in class the other day, Professor McCoy told us how in the performance of the play, actors stare and single out audience members, making them uncomfortable. This was a big source of criticism for viewers, as it made them uncomfortable to be the subject when they went into the play with the expectation of watching objectively. After learning this play is a commentary on slavery, I believe the intent of this was to make viewers feel the way the Naturalist, along with white people in general, were treating and seeing African Americans as inferior subjects. Continue reading “On Being Subjects”

If you have ever experienced having an annoying sibling or have a friend mock you, at home or in a public setting, I am sure you know how it feels when you realize that there is a limit to jokes like those. Some people mock your tone of voice or something that you have said and for a few minutes you might find humor in it but then after a certain point, it becomes vexing. Sometimes it just isn’t comedic. Some react more than others and that goes for any joke that just gets old.

When someone takes it up to a personal level and mocks the way that you walk, an accent that you have, the color of your skin, your hair type or your culture in general, it is no longer a joke. The reason for this is because the way in which someone walks, the accent that they speak with, the color of their skin and their culture are all characteristics that define who they are and how they go about their lives every day. When someone is teasing you in that manner it is offensive because it really means that, that person has taken the time to analyze your appearance, actions, and culture and found something within all of it that was funny. It’s funny when you do something out of the ordinary and acts a certain way on purpose so that you can catch someones attention or make them react to it but when you aren’t doing anything to draw that kind of attention it is not only insulting but, disrespectful.

Now, let’s forget about the jokes that your siblings or friends ever made to mock you, let’s forget out them taking it up to a personal level and let’s acknowledge those who actually find humor in someone else’s culture and appearance. All of what makes someone unique is what defines all human beings and so when someone mocks another person’s style or culture it is wrong.

During our class discussion on “Nobody knows the trouble I see” by Bernice Reagan Johnson, we spoke about the standards in African-American literature and culture and acknowledging the use of another person’s work.  Reagen exemplifies singing or peaching in an African-American Baptist church as a something that relates to that topic. She says that when one sings in a unique tone or style it comes from finding individuality and a form of personal development in a way. She states that “Originality of voice and style is the true sign of a seasoned teacher. A true master is one who creates an offering with such power and originality that a new direction is established within the genre.” We all create our own offerings with our own form of power, its the same with blackface or any other form of racism. Whether it means posing with blackface and gang signs and posting it on social media as a joke or as simple as voting for someone who doesn’t care for African-American and Latinx groups. Whether someone does it blatantly or behind closed doors, they would be taking advantage of someone else’s form of power and signature.

 

Throughout my childhood my father would always say to me “Michee, you can’t serve two gods.” I’ll come back to that idea towards the end because I believe it aligns with the conclusion I drew after class last week. Continue reading “Can One belong to Two worlds?”

The Black Lives Matter movement campaigns against violence and systemic racism towards Black people. Looking further into many cases between police violence and the Black community, two specific cases come to mind when looking at Ross Gay’s poem, “A Small Needful Fact.” I am particularly interested in how Garner’s actions are depicted in this poem. This then brings me to analyze my understanding of the poem and how I was only able to understand its complexity because I know Eric Garner’s story, and I also know Philando Castile’s, Trayvon Martin’s and Michael Brown’s but then realize I can only name one woman of color that experienced police violence, so in respect I will SAY HER NAME, Sandra Bland.

Continue reading “SAY HER NAME, KNOW HER STORY”