Author Archives: Julissa Marie Andrade

Bread/Roses/Gender/Labor/Race

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The film Bread and Roses by Ken Loach highlighted the plight of janitorial workers seeking to organize, demand better wages, gain respect from their malicious and exploitative employer. A union organizer named Sam encourages the janitors to demand these things and guides them along the way. There are tensions throughout between the workers, within the family, and attempts from the employer to sabotage the campaign. Though the storyline was less complacent and trite than many others, and somewhat felt more realistic, what I found to be particularly striking was the way in which it was portrayed as a savior narrative. Not only does the union organizer “fall in love” with one of the workers, it is a poor union strategy to have a white male organizer for a group of predominantly women of color. It is also poor strategy to have a romantic relationship with someone who you are working on a difficult campaign with. In fact, I think that these actions are grounds for an immediate termination of a union employee. Of course, the narrative was constructed this way because women (and especially women of color) are rarely centered within a story sans attachment to a male, the development of a romantic relationship, being subject to the ever-present male gaze, and so forth.

In emphasizing the romantic relationship between the organizer and one of the workers, the director loses an opportunity to depict struggles faced by these laborers more accurately and the ways in which a union campaign unfolds. He does this in order to inject a typical and cliche narrative of two people from different worlds becoming involved (the different worlds being their racial/ethnic/class backgrounds). Overall, the director forced a romance where it did not need to be and recreated the white male savior narrative within the realm of a union campaign. This cheapens what could have been a powerful message about collective action and the struggles these workers endure to fight for basic rights. Though this is the case, I would argue that there is still a somewhat nuanced and realistic depiction of the realities janitorial workers face during this process.

Beyond the Instrumentality of Torture: The State, Performance, and Political Power

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On Wednesday evening, we had a difficult yet thoughtful discussion with Nick Cheesman and an activist Pornpen Khongkachonkiet about torture in Southeast Asia. We talked about a lawyer being kidnapped and tortured for his work defending insurgents, the effectiveness of torture (and why this question is entrenched in assumptions), and how torture can be a performative aspect of the state.

In thinking about the ways in which torture is portrayed in film, in television, and more generally in media it is always portrayed as a means to an end and a success. When I think of portrayals, I think there is a ubiquitous assumption that the person subjected to brutality is always guilty of something, that the pursuit of this person is for the purpose of some grander purpose, and that people will be saved in an impactful way that justifies the use of extrajudicial force. In pondering such a difficult topic, I wondered about the assertion that torture is used in identity construction of the state and as a way to impose and perform political power. People often forget that corporeal violence, especially from the state, is a controlling mechanism. If we agree with this analysis, it follows then that the reproduction of this imagery has the purpose of communicating a very particular message.

I wonder how this analysis of torture relates to the carceral state that we live in. How are we reproducing messages that people in prison deserve horrific treatment with proven lasting debilitating and traumatic effects like solitary confinement? How do we distance ourselves from individuals deemed criminals? How do we pathologize criminal acts and ignore the broader societal processes that may encourage these things? Lastly, how does the carceral setting factor into the building of the identity of the state. After all, we do know that people of color are disproportionately locked up and thus their status as “citizens” is diminished.

Reviewing Rose Scholars

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I found it useful to think about Rose Scholars as a program and how we can improve it. Since I have been a member since my Sophomore year, it is interesting to think about how it has changed and how it can continue to change for the next year. I agree that it would be beneficial to provide more opportunities for the scholars to bond and have more discussions. I suggest that there be prompts at the end of discussions to allow individuals to speak to each other in smaller groups about the material that was presented. I typically do this with my friends after rose scholars, but I feel that it would be valuable to have access to different perspectives.

One thing I will say about the Rose Cafe events is that they are a great opportunity to explore topics I would not have gotten exposure to often. In learning from experts about their research, or people on campus about their work, I am able to exercise the knowledge I have obtained in my coursework by thinking about these topics through the lens of my own perspective. That is, thinking about different things with regard to labor, policy, and inequality. I appreciate having this ability, and the requirement of one event for week forces me to make time for this.

 

One thing I think could be an improvement in the events is to offer varied speakers or implement more of the speaking events on campus. I often find that there are lectures I would love to attend but have to forego them because I must attend a rose event that day and there is not enough time to attend both. I also agree with a suggestion made to offer more social events that count as events as I think that this could be a fun way to get to know other scholars and maybe make for a generally different vibe during the cafes.

 

Sports and Random Thoughts

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Paul Wilcox engaged us in a discussion about the Transatlantic Series. Noting the transformative potential of sports, Wilcox noted that they bring people together. As an Honorary Secretary of the Achilles Club, he was able to offer some interesting perspectives about the different. We were able to see photos and videos of athletes at different times in history. As someone who loves to go into the archives to look at materials, this was an especially impactful thing for me to be able to see in the talk.

 I immediately thought of the ways in which sports can be a form of exchange and bring people together, but also how they can maintain barriers and reflect systems of power. I read “What is Intersectionality” in Intersectionality by Patricia Hill Collins and Sirma Bilge for one of my courses, and it illuminated how different power structures come into play on a field that is often portrayed as equal when the players are on it. However, behind the scenes, there are much larger power structures at play. For example, interpersonal interactions can play a huge factor in performance on the field. Bilge and Collins give the example of a Nigerian player on a professional soccer team who was subject to racial epithets from both fans and teammates. These mechanism are a part of a broader system of economic, social, and political marginalization. At times, we forget that these structures creep into our forms of entertainment that are seemingly “fair” and meritocratic. However, they are important and play a large factor in outcomes on an interpersonal and broader level.

A little bit about Brasil

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This past Wednesday evening, I listened to a talk by Professor Andre Simores from Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. We started out learning about the geography of Brazil. I never realized how large and expansive the country is. We also discussed recent political events, important cities, and the olympics.

One of the main topics of discussion was the high inequality levels. This is to say that there is an unequal distribution of wealth within the country. I am currently in a class in which we systematically try to understand the causes of inequality, how to measure it, and concrete policy approaches that can remedy the conditions resulting from a high level of inequality. One thing that we learned is that political instability and corruption can stunt a country’s potential for economic growth. This is because an inability to have faith in institutions means that investors will not take risks and the country will not be able to progress into the process of industrialization.

Another important factor in economic growth is access to education. We learned from Professor Simores that it is often the wealthy who have access to advanced public universities. Since they are able to attend the best private schools, these individuals are able to attend the best public universities after graduation. As a result of the barriers to access into higher education, many stay in the cycle of poverty.

I realized by taking my course, and while listening to this talk that inequality is a highly complex topic to attempt to attack. There is no one prescription for attempting to resolve the issues that arise. It is important to understand that there are hundreds of different ways to solve complex problems like these and no one policy can solve all the issues attached to economic inequality.

 

Fats, Foods and Politics

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Jonathan Robins travelled to Ithaca to talk about his vast knowledge of fats despite the conditions of the roads after the snowstorm. One of the most compelling themes within his talk was the fact that fats – and how healthy each type of fat may be – is contested among nutrition experts. Certain forms of fats have been subject to subsidies from the government, or even attempts to make them seem especially unhealthy for consumption. Moreover, fats can be manipulated to taste differently relatively easily. Thus, manufactures exploit this and sell cheaper fats.

What this talk made abundantly clear to me as a student was that oftentimes people assume that science or scientific subjects are simply within the scientific realm and they often fail to think about the social constructs and broader landscapes within which scientific arguments are created. Though we talked about the environmental impact of processing fats and company and government involvement in the production of fats, I wish we would have discussed the labor conditions that are used to process facts. It seems to me that extracting these materials is quite a laborious process. As someone who obtains things from markets, even I sometimes forget that the things in front of me came from somewhere; and the process by which it arrived is a complicated one that involves the labor of workers, likely a long journey across state lines, is a part of a deep, entrenched geopolitical system with a rich history, and is subject to politics just like any other facet of life. My own focus on global supply chains has led me to think deeply about where I purchase my clothes and other commodities and what I am supporting when I do so. However, it is rather difficult to opt out of purchasing certain products when as a student I am trying to get the best deal.

Attica Prison Revolt: The State Lies

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Last week, I attended a talk about the Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 given by Heather Ann Thompson. This uprising happened in the midst of the civil rights era and the War on Crime under the Johnson administration in which black and brown men were arrested for drug offenses, property violations, and parole offenses. Resulting from this “war on crime” were crowded prisons with egregious conditions. When negotiations came to a standstill, the state dropped tear gas and opened fire on everyone involved, killing inmates and hostages.

Newspapers and the media painted the uprising as evidence of civil rights era excess, and portrayed the prisoners as “cold-blooded revolutionary militants” who murdered many. A media frenzy immediately ensued which false reports multiplied. At every level of government, Thompson asserts, there was complicity in a cover up. State Troopers destroyed evidence by clipping videos, distorting photographs, and doing anything to get indictments for inmates.

One thing that struck me that Thompson pointed out was the fact that prisons are public institutions, yet they remain heavily shrouded in secrecy. I also find it egregious how basic the demands were. They involved simple things like more sanitary conditions and better quality of food. Since this is a public institution, it seems reasonable that anyone can have access to certain records but Thompson points out that many are difficult to access. I think that since a popular conception of prisons is that they are meant to punish rather than rehabilitate, many simply do not care about the horrific conditions that some of these prisons contain.  However, I think that this is a pressing human rights issue and a problem that the United States should take seriously.

 

 

Lining the Walls

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Before Wednesday night house dinner, we had a reception to welcome new art into the Rose House dining hall by Nicholas Carbonaro. While looking through the different pieces, I was fascinated by the lines and beautiful colors put together to create imagery. Examining the paintings up close was a much different experience than looking far away. Some of these art pieces were transferred onto shirts and presumably are sold in stores.

One thing that struck me was the process by which this might happen. I wondered what it might feel like for someone who produces art to have their pieces be put onto shirts and other objects to be sold. Is there something about the process of each individual piece that gives the art meaning? That is, if I paint an image on the canvas and that image is reproduced, is this reproduction somehow changing the art in such a significant way?  What about the process of marketing and selling of it? Does this diminish the integrity or meaning of the piece?

 

Feedback about Feedback

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This past week, Professor Cynthia Hill talked to us about what to do with the feedback that we receive in our classes. What does it mean when the Professor marks ok on your paper? good? awk? We dove into what these terms might mean to each student. As we soon learned, much of the feedback we get back is about the writing style or grammar rather than the ideas within the assignments. Perhaps we received feedback for an awkward sentence structure, a small grammatical error, or diction choice that just doesn’t fit. Oftentimes, when we only receive feedback on the writing of our paper, we miss the opportunity to discuss and develop novel ideas. We also talked about how the use of rubrics can constrain creativity by coaxing the student to follow guidelines for the grade.

I found this to be a particularly insightful point about the feedback we so often receive as students. I immediately thought of what has worked for me with regard to the work I have produced at Cornell. During one of my classes, my Professor slowed down the writing process by making outlines and drafts due over the course of one month and having mandatory conferences. I never received a grade on my drafts, and she always returned them with a lot of feedback. Since the class was structured this way, a fantastic opportunity to discuss not only my own writing style, but also the ideas within my paper with my Professor. It was during these one-on-one conversations that I brought an interesting argument to fruition. I wonder if this structure could be helpful in focusing on ideas rather than grammar in other courses.

I Am Not Your Negro and The Role of Art Production in Social Justice

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On Wednesday evening, I attended a film entitled I am Not Your Negro directed by Raoul Peck, a Haitian filmmaker. The film is based upon an unfinished manuscript “Remember This House” by James Baldwin, an influential author from New York City. This piece was about three leaders/colleagues/friends of Baldwin: Malcom X, Medgar Evers and Martin Luther King Jr. All three of these leaders were murdered at a young age.

Peck juxtaposes images of violence imposed upon black protesters in the 1960s to similar imagery from today’s Black Lives Matter protests. Despite the passage of 50 years, state-sanctioned violence continues to be the norm when folks of color (in this case, black protesters) attempt to exercise what is supposed to be a first amendment right. This imagery revealed an appalling connection to brutality committed in the 1960s. Though it was difficult to watch, the message was clear.

This documentary made me think about the relationship between art and social justice. What kind of art is canonized? Who is lauded? Who received prizes? How does film subvert norms and how does it serve to reinforce them? Clearly, this film was a production that did work to challenge the belief that “we have a come a long way” on the topic of racism in the US.

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