Social Justice Movie Assignment

Pay It Forward

This movie is about a young boy who is given an assignment in school to think of a way to change the world and put it into action. He comes up with the idea to pay it forward, meaning that if someone does you a favor, you have to pay the favor back by doing good deeds for three new people. Many of the people in this film lack privilege. The film is based in a small poor town outside Las Vegas. The protagonist Trevor lives with his alcoholic mother Arlene who works low-paying Vegas jobs just to make enough money to get by. His father is an absent alcoholic. Trevor’s teacher Mr. Simonet may appear slightly more well off than many of the people in the area at first, but we later learn that the terrible burns that cover his face and chest were a result of horrendous child abuse by his father. He ran away from home when he was a teen because of the abuse and he was always deprived of having loving parents. Most of the other people in the town and surrounding area lack privilege as well, especially Jerry and the many other homeless people in the area.

Trevor’s pay it forward idea is at first not valued. The members of his class think that it is impossible and stupid, and people look down on his idea because he is a kid. He is often not taken seriously because he is a kid. Trevor’s teacher Mr. Simonet encourages and empowers Trevor many ways through the assignment he gave. The assignment helps develop Trevor’s understanding of his right to create change, his ability to change the world and his ability to think critically about social problems and encourages belief in his own reality. The assignment also encourages leadership in working towards positive change that benefits everyone. Through Trevor’s pay it forward idea, Trevor develops awareness of social realities by seeing all the world problems around him. He also develops awareness of how to respond to make change. He sees the problems and does his best to create a positive change. Trevor recognizes the strength in unity, which is why he comes up with the idea to pay it forward; he knows that he cannot change the world on his own. Trevor collaborates with the disenfranchised and minorities, even though it is not always encouraged. Even though his peers and at times his mother were against him, Trevor was still able to make a positive change through his assignment.

Erin Brockovich

This film is about a single mother who gets a job as a legal assistant and helps to bring down a large power company accused of polluting a towns water supply and infecting the towns inhabitants. Both privilege and lack of privilege are demonstrated in this film. The powerful company PG&E is very privileged, it is a multi-billion dollar company. The company was getting away with everything until people took notice, and even once they did, the company had the power and resources to try and fight the people of the town they had wronged. The people who lacked privilege were Erin Brockovich, and the townspeople. Though their situations do change throughout the movie, at the beginning, none of them are very privileged. Erin is an unemployed, single mother of three. She is looked down upon and judged by other people because of the way that she dresses, how she acts and how she lives. This makes it difficult to find a job, and to claim money for her car accident. The townspeople lack privilege because they are all sick due to PG&E, and the company does nothing to try and help them, they even go so far as to lie to them. Because of their illnesses, many of them cannot work, and they must pay for medical bills, leaving them with very little money. Thanks to the efforts of Erin and her firm, the inhabitants of the town are returned some of their privilege.

In this film, access is taken away from the people living in the polluted area by PG&E, though it is given to them by Erin Brockovich and her firm. PG&E did nothing to help these people, they didn’t value them or their ideas and they didn’t respond to them until the court case was beginning. Erin on the other hand valued a welcoming and inclusive approach to everyone and valued their ideas and opinions. She also responded to everyone equally. PG&E does not give the townspeople a chance to practice agency and try to make change, because they do not tell the people of the town that their water is making them sick. They hide that important fact from them, so that there is nothing they can do to change their situation. In the beginning of the film, the voices of the disenfranchised are not empowered at all, but with the help of Erin and her firm, their voices are heard and they are able to get help. PG&E definitely do not understand that an injury to one is an injury to all, as they cause injury to hundreds of people, and do nothing about it. Though the company does not treat the people of the town with respect or try to help them, Erin Brockovich values all of these people and is determined to create a positive change for them.

Rabbit Proof Fence

This movie is set in the Australian Outback in the 1930’s. It is about three half-caste girls who make their way home through the desert after having been taken from their families. The people with privilege in this film are the white people, and the people who lack privilege are the half-caste and aboriginal people. Aboriginal and half-caste people are treated as inferiors. Half-caste children are taken away from their families to government camps, and there is nothing that they can do about it. At the camps the children are forced to assimilate. They are forced to practice religion and they are prohibited from speaking their native language. If they misbehave they are tortured. The half-caste children have no choice in anything.

The white people in charge of the half-caste children do not value or respect the ideas or culture of the children. Instead they try to force their own values and culture onto the children. Most of the aboriginal people feel like there is nothing that they can do to change the situation. The only children to successfully challenge what is going on are Molly, Daisy and Grace as they run away. The white people are trying to create what they feel is a positive change but in reality it’s a very damaging and negative change. The aboriginal people have no voice and no say in what is happening to them. The white people in charge do not work at all to find a common ground, they just go with what they think is right.

Schindler’s List

This film takes place in Poland during the Holocaust. It is about a German businessman named Oskar Schindler who turns his factory into a refuge for Jewish people to save them from the Nazis. The people in this film who lack privilege are the Jewish people. Their privilege was removed from them by the Nazis. They have no say in what is happening to them and most people have no way to save themselves or their families. Oskar Schindler represents those who have privilege. He is German, and he has lots of money. He uses his privilege to help those who have no privilege.

The Nazis do not demonstrate any respect for democratic processes or civil society. They have no respect for the lives of the Jewish people. There is not much chance for the Jewish people to create a positive change or improve their situation. Approximately 1000 lucky people get a chance to be saved by Schindler, but the rest of the Jewish people are not so lucky. Most Jewish people are forced to flee or hide in order to survive. There is not much chance for empowerment of the Jewish people. The Nazis most definitely do not understand that an injury to one is an injury to all, as they have no problem killing thousands of innocent people. Schindler helps out the Jewish people even though it is a great personal risk to himself.

Blood Diamond

This film is about the conflict of diamonds in Sierra Leone. The story follows Danny Archer and Solomon Vandy as they form a partnership in order to locate an extremely valuable diamond, and as Solomon looks for his son. The people with privilege in this film are the people who work for the diamond companies. They are not involved in any of the dangerous work, they just reap the rewards. The people who lack privilege are the people living in poverty and those involved in the conflict of diamonds, and those who are caught in the middle. The children who are forced to become child soldiers lack privilege as well. They are often taken away from their families and they are forced to kill. They are robbed of their childhoods.

Respect for democratic processes and civil society is not a concern for those involved in the conflict of diamonds. The child soldiers are taught negative things and there leadership skills are not developed, but their fighting skills are. They are not encouraged to find their own voice, they are encouraged to conform and turn into heartless fighters. The voice of the disenfranchised in this film is not empowered by many, though journalist Maddy Bowen attempts to make known what is happening in Sierra Leone to the rest of the world. Those involved in the conflict of diamonds do not take action with empathy. They are greedy, and don’t care about what happens to others.

Iron Jawed Angels

In this movie, women’s rights activists fight for American women to win the right to vote, putting their own lives at risk. In this film, men have privilege, while women lack privilege. Women lack basic rights that men have, such as the right to vote. The female activists fighting for women’s suffrage receive terrible treatment; some of them were even imprisoned and force-fed.

The suffragette’s ideas and opinions were not valued by many male government officials. No one wanted to hear what they had to say, especially in the beginning of the film. As the film progressed, the suffragettes started getting through to more and more people, eventually winning the right to vote. But it was a hard road to get there. The suffragettes understand their right to create change, and they encourage other women to become agents of change. They nurture empowerment of everyone. The suffragettes all work to make the USA a better place for women. They understand their position and privilege in society and try to better their situation. The suffragettes work to empower women. They recognize the strength in unity and try to get more and more women to help their cause. Because of all this, they were able to make a positive change for all American women.