1)

Inthefirstpartofthesemester,wediscussedhowWhitenessisembeddedinallaspectsof
culturalproductioninWesternsociety.Whitenessisnormalizedandseenasthedefaultsettingsaccording
towhichallotherracial/ethnicgroupsaremeasuredagainst.Takingthatinconsideration,analyzestheways
inwhichmovieslikeDearWhitePeopleandCesarChavezworktodisturbthemaintenanceofWhiteness.

Intodayssociety,whitenessisthedefaultsettingforrace.Whenwewatchamovie,we

alwaysseethewhitemanwinningeverything.Almostallthecharactersarewhitewhilethere
maybeonlytwominorityracecharacterswhowillhavesupportingroles.Theynevermakeany
importantdecisionsfortheplotofthemoviebutinsteadsupporttheleadingwhitecharacter.In
thetwomovies,
DearWhitePeople
and
CesarChavez
,themaintenanceofwhitenessisdisturbed
withnonconformingcharactersactivelybattlingwhitepeopletomakedifferentpoints.
Thefirstwaythatwhitenessisbeingdisturbedinthesemoviesishowtheyarecast.The
maincharactersinboth
DearWhitePeople
and
CesarChavez
areminorities.InCesarChavez,
allthemaincharactersareofMexicanorLatinodescent.Theyspeakspanishandliveinlower
qualityhomesinthemiddleofnowhere.Theyhavenowhiteinfluenceontheirlivesbecauseof
theirraceandplaceinsociety.DearWhitePeoplefocusesitsstoryonablackgirlatacollege.
Shesevenmoreoutofplaceasamaincharacterbecausesheisntstrugglinginthepoorghettos
ordealingdrugs.Shesaverysmart,beautifulgirlwhoistryingtobattlewhitenessonher
collegecampus.Withthesemaincharacters,whitenessisalreadybeingpushedoutofthese
moviesandthefocusisonminorities.
OneveryobviouswaythatDearWhitePeoplebattleswhitenessisbyplainlymakingthe
storyaboutminoritiesagainstwhitepeople.Eventhetitleisveryunique,hintingthatthismovie
willnotbeentirelyaimedatawhiteherosavingtheday.OneofthemaincharactersnamedSam
runsaradioshowthattalksabouthowterriblewhitepeopleare.Shesaysthattheircultureis
copyingothercultures,theytrytobelikeotherpeoplethattheyarentandhowthatincopying
othersthatwhitepeoplearelyingthieves.Samisobviouslybattlingwhitenessandthereisno
waythattheaudiencewouldntbeabletoseethat.DearWhitePeoplealsobattleswhiteness
throughmakingwhitepeopleseemlikethebadguys.Thepresidentofthecollegeisamiddle
aged,greedywhitemanwhoputsmoneyandstatusbeforetheschoolanditsstudents.His
moneyhungrypersonalitydefinitelyputshiminthepositionastheantagonist.Thereisalsoa
sceneneartheendwhereafraternityhasapartywhereeveryonedressesupasblackpeopleby
wearinghiphopstyleclothingandsometimesevenblackfacemakeup.Sincethemain
charactersviewthesestudentsasdisrespectful,theaudiencedoesthesame,agreeingthatthe
whitestudentsarethebadguys.
CesarChavezhadasimilarstyletoDearWhitePeoplebymakingwhitepeoplethe
obviousantagonists.Inthemovie,allthefarmworkersarebeingmistreatedbythefarmowners.
Theyreforcedtoworkextremelylonghoursinthehotsunwithalmostnowaterandnobreaks.
Thismistreatmentisforceduponthembythefarmownerswhoareallwhitemen.Lateron,
CesarChavezleadsaboycottonaparticularwinecompanythatusesahugelaborforce.The

ownerofthiscompanyisamiddleaged,powerhungry,whiteman.Thismanisthemain
antagonistofthemovie,tryingtostoptheherosactivitiesandkeepthefarmworkersunderhis
powerandabuse.Theyalsousewhitepolicementoconfirmthestatusofwhiteness.When
CesarChavezandhiswifedecidetoopenupasmallloancompany,theytrytostopthemeven
thoughtheyarentbreakinganylaws.Thepolicemenseemliketheyretheownershenchmen,
outtodothedirtyworkandoppresstheminorities.Havingthesewhitemenastheenemies
opposesthewhitenessstereotypeasthewhitemalebeingtheheroandsavingeveryoneand
insteadreplacesitasthevillainwhooughttobestopped.
Anotherwaythatthesemoviesbattlewhitenessisbymakingtheminoritiesofthemovies
higherinclassandstatusthanthewhitepeople.Whitepeoplearealwaysmeasuredasthehigher
racebutthesemoviestrytoreversethat.InCesarChavez,thewhitecharactersareviewedas
animals.Whentheworkersarepeacefullyprotestingworkingconditions,thewhitefarmowners
treatthemaggressivelybysprayingthemwithchemicalsandyellingvulgarinsults.Thiscauses
theaudiencetoloserespectforthemandinsteadthinkhigheroftheprotestors.DearWhite
peopleusesthissametacticbymakingthedeanofthecollegeablackmanwhosesonisatthe
topofhisclass.Allthewhitestudentsarealsoportrayedaslowerstatusastheymakefunof
otherracesthroughdressingupandactingunintelligent.
Thesetwomoviesdisturbthebalanceofwhitenessinverysimilarways.Withusing
minoritiesasthemaincharacters,thereisnoheroicwhitemantolookuptotosavetheday.
Theyareallintelligentandattractive,unlikeinothermovieswhentheyareportrayedasthe
dumbsidekicktothewhitemale.Theymakethewhitecharactersthebadguys,turningthe
stereotypicalwhitemalefromahero,intothegreedy,powerhungryenemyouttohurttheheroes
opposingwhitenessinthemovies.Thehigherraceclassesarereversedastheaudiencelooksto
thenonwhitecharactersasthehigherstatusracethatcontainsmorerespectandintelligencethan
thewhitecharacters.Today,thesetypesofmoviesarerare.Whitenesshasembeddeditselfin
everythingintodayssocietyandhastakenaspecialholdinHollywood.Somanymoviesmake
thewhitecharactersthesaviors,aidedbytheminoritysidecharacterthatmakesonlyminor
contributions.Theonlyreasonthesesidecharactersstandoutisbecauseoftheirrace,nottheir
intelligenceorattractiveness.ThemoviesDearWhitePeopleandCesarChavezbattlethis
whitenessandmakeabiggerimpactontheiraudiences,provingthatpeoplearentalways
measuredwhitepeoplebutthatsometimes,whitepeoplearemeasuredagainsttheminorities.

2)AmreekaandDirtyPrettyThingsareverydistinctmoviesaboutthesametheme:Immigration.
However,whileAmreekaapproachesthetopicthroughahumanlens,DirtyPrettyThingsfocusesonpolicy.
Seentogether,thetwofilmspaintanindepthpictureofwhatitistobeanimmigrant.Focusingonthe
distinctelementsofeachnarrative,analyzehoweachpieceexpandsthewaysinwhichimmigrationistalked
aboutinmainstreammedia.

Thetopicofimmigrationisverybroadandhasalotofdifferentviewstowardsit.

MainstreammedialovestotalkaboutimmigrationandhowitaffectstheUnitedStates.Donald
Trumpwhoiscompetingtorunforpresidenthasstrongopinionsaboutimmigrationwhichis
makingthisahugetopicfortheAmericanpeople.ThemoviesAmreekaandDirtyPrettyThings
arebothaboutimmigrationbuthavetwodifferentviewsonthetopic.Bothofthesemovieshave
elementsthattranslateintothingssaidbythemedia.
Mainstreammedialikestofocusonwhatimmigrationdoestooureconomyandjob
availability.SomanyjoblessAmericansblameimmigrantsfortakingallthejobsandleaving
therightfulcitizenswithnoworkandnowaytomakemoney.AmreekaandDirtyPrettyThings
bothshowimmigrantsthathavejobs.InAmreeka,themomtakesajobatWhiteCastleandin
DirtyPrettyThingsthewholehotelandsewingfactoryisrunandemployedbyimmigrantsthat
movedtoBritain.Themediaalwaystakesthesetypesofsituationsasexamplesofhow
immigrantsarepestsandselfishintrudersthatwanteverythingthatwehave.
ItstruethatmostimmigrantsinAmericaareillegalimmigrantsthatdonthavethe
correctpaperworktolivehere.Themediatalksaboutfalsepaperwork,illegalbordercrossing
andstayingpastvisaexpirations.InDirtyPrettyThings,thetwomaincharactersaretryingto
getoutofBritainbutdonthavethecorrectpaperworktoleavethecountrybecauseoneisan
illegalimmigranttoBritainandtheotherdoesnthavemoneybecauseshecantworkforsix
monthstime.Theonlywaytheywouldbeabletoleaveistoillegallyobtainpassportssothat
theycantakeaplaneoutofthecountry.Intheend,thetwocharactersareabletogettheir
counterfeitpassportsandleave.DirtyPrettyThingsconfirmsthestatisticsofmostimmigrants
beingillegalandthemediastalkaboutthetopic.
Manypeopleseealinkbetweenimmigrationandcrime.Themediaaswellas
recentpresidentialcompetitorDonaldTrump,agreethatwhentherearemoreimmigrantsthat
thereisanincreaseincrime.InDirtyPrettyThings,therearemanysceneswherecrimeis
involved.Thebiggestcrimeiswhenthehotelownerperformsillegalsurgeriesinhotelroom
310wherehetakespeoplesorgansaspaymentforfakepassports.Therearealsosceneswith
prostitutionaswellasrape.Thesescenesexposethecrimethatisinvolvedwithimmigrantsthat
themediaalwayslovestocoverandshoweveryone.Themediaalwayscoversstoriesinghettos
thatareamajoritypopulationofpoorimmigrants.Thismakespeoplebelievethatallcrime
stemsfromminoritygroupsofimmigrants,whichkeepsputtingcrimesintomoviesthatinvolve
immigrants.
OnebigwaythatAmreekablatantlyshowsmostpeoplesandmediasviewon
immigrationiswhenMunas,sistershusbandsbusinessstartstofail.Thehusbandownsa

doctorsclinicwheretheyliveinIllinois.Atfirsthisbusinessissuccessfulandtheywere
makingplentyofmoney,butwhenMunaarrivestoAmerica,sheoverhearsthemarguingabout
howtheydonthaveenoughmoneytokeeptheirhouseandhowherhusbandsclinicisnt
gettinganymorepatients.PeopleintheirtownhavelearnedthattheywerentborninAmerica
butimmigratedfromPalestine.Thisputspeopleoffbecausetheythinkthatallpeoplefromthe
middleeastareterroriststhatareouttodestroytheUnitedStates.Themediaalwaysputsout
thatallpeoplefromthemiddleeastareouttogeteveryoneanddestroyourcountry.These
opinionsnestthemselvesinpeoplesmindsandcausethemtostereotypeallmiddleeastern
peopleasterrorists.ThisisexpandedinAmreekathroughthefailureofthehusbandsclinic.
Ithinkthatmostthingssaidonthemediatodayaboutimmigrationandimmigrantsare
negative.Itshardtomakeamovieaboutimmigrantfamiliesthatdonthavesomething
negativehighlyinvolvedintheplot.Alotofwhatpeoplewatchandhearaboutnowadaysis
negativesowhatalotofpeopleonlyfocusonisthenegativestuff.Wecouldlookmoreindepth
intothepositivesofimmigrationandhowourcountryissuchagreatplacethatpeoplemove
fromallovertheworldtolivehere,butwhatoursocietylooksatisallthenegatives.Allthese
negativestranslateintoourfilms.Thoughitisextremelyhardtomakeamoviewithno
negatives,especiallyafilmaboutimmigrants,wecouldtrytomakemorepositivefilmsbutless
peoplewouldgoandseethembecausethatisntwhatoursocietyisfocusedon.Asaresult,the
elementsfromAmreekaandDirtyPrettyThingsareexpandingonthenegativitythatthemedia
putsout.
ThetwomoviesAmreekaandDirtyPrettyThingsgoextremelyindepthintotheissues
ofimmigrationandthelivesofimmigrantsandportrayhowthemediathinksoftheimmigration
topic.Thesetypesofmoviesdoextremelywellinshowingthepublicwhatthestrugglesof
peopletryingtogaincitizenshipareandhowharditisforthemtobeacceptedintosocietywhich
makesthemgreateyeopeners.Bothofthesemoviesfocusonsomeofthebiggestthingsthatthe
mediafocusonsuchasjobs,theeconomy,andillegalimmigration.SomanyAmericansargue
abouthowimmigrantstakeourjobsandhowtheyarentgoodfortheeconomy.Theyalsotake
sidesandspreadhateaboutillegalimmigrantsandhowwithimmigrationcomesahighamount
ofcrime.Withthis,theyalsoexplorehowimmigrantsseetheirnewsituationslikehowthe
husbandsbusinesswasfailinginAmreekabecausehewasfromPalestinesohisclientsthought
thathewasaterroristjustbecauseofwherehecamefromsincethemediaisalwaystalking
downaboutterroriststhatcomefromthemiddleeast.Itsextremelyhardtoseepastwhatour
mediaistellingusandthisclearlytranslatesintoourfilms.AmreekaandDirtyPrettyThings
givetwopointsofviewforimmigration,helpingusunderstandwherethemediaisabout
immigrationandhowexactlyittranslatesinformationontheissue.