Analysis Unit Reflection

11/18
Analysis Unit Reflection

At the beginning of this unit, I assumed I knew what to say and think because of the way I’ve been raised. I walked in the first few classes with the preconceived notions that poverty is not a choice, and that wealthy, upper class citizens assume things about poverty that aren’t true. However, these ideas were shaped, countered and expanded with readings from our SUPA course pack, as well as the movie The Pursuit of Happyness. These readings included “Seeing and Making Culture: Representing the Poor” by bell hooks. Her article in particular taught me some of the most important ideas in my essay “No Disgrace”.
In her chapter, I read about the reasons the upper class might not jump to discuss the issue of poverty. One of the reasons she listed was particularly intriguing to me both because I had never fathomed it before and also because it made so much sense. The rich dismiss the issue of poverty and justify their ignorance with the assumption that the poor have put themselves in this state, rather than acknowledging the cycle of poverty and how it keeps the impoverished there without their consent. This cycle is made up of racial discrimination, the contrast in well funded educational systems and poorer educational systems, and misrepresentation. Watching The Pursuit of Happyness made me realize how some poor can be represented as more deserving than other poor citizens, in that they work harder, have stronger values, or are simply well-dressed. This is an extremely simplified version of the reality many poor citizens live in today’s society. The complicated truth includes being born into families lacking in money, going to a badly funded school, growing up seeing misrepresentations of poverty that destroy confidence, and if graduating, going to a community college to get a job that makes barely any money. Then the cycle continues, with factors such as mental illness and racial discrimination added in.
I had never contemplated the idea that upper class citizens use the “poverty is a choice” argument to justify their own obsession with being rich and/or getting richer, but it makes sense. Who wouldn’t want to be rich? Despite this logic, bell hooks asserts that being impoverished doesn’t necessarily stop someone from leading a “rich and meaningful life.” Even though the main character in The Pursuit of Happyness was poor, he was never content until he had ‘moved up’ in the world and was making more money. I did wonder that perhaps the story was hyperbolized so that the main character was so poor it was not possible for him to be content; another way of justifying his need to gain wealth. On the other hand in Good Will Hunting, most of the poorer characters seemed to live more comfortably while still being impoverished, which allowed them to expand their concerns outside of just making more money. An example of this would be how Will and his therapist, Sean, were much more concerned with Will’s emotional well-being after being abused for most of his life than choosing one of the prestigious jobs offered to him by Professor Lambeau.
Professor Lambeau in particular was a character I enjoyed analyzing because I felt he reflected a similar behavior to upper class white citizens I am familiar with in my own life. His need for high public standing and for everyone to know his name feels similar to how I feel my classmates are raised to pursue the highest grades and get into the best college, no matter what those accomplishments actually mean in the grand scheme of life. Even though Lambeau had won the Fields Medal, which is an accomplishment, Will and Sean are sick of hearing about it, especially when Lambeau has no social skills and is seemingly heartless towards Will in how he would rather see Will working in a job he sees as ‘successful’ than see him overcome his emotional obstacles.
The learning I had during this unit was essential in enhancing my understanding of what it means to be impoverished and reshaping the assumptions I had made just because of what I was raised to think. Representation is extremely important to society’s understanding of certain groups of people, and I’m glad to live in a generation that works towards more accurate representations of these groups in the media.