Categorizing by Looks (CC)

The other day, I saw a scene from this funny movie called 21 Jump Street, which was a remake of the original TV show. The movie stars Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum as new cops who go undercover to bust a drug ring. However, the scene that got me to write this blog post was when they were first being introduced to the captain of Jump Street. He addresses the idea of a black captain stereotype and then tells everyone that they should embrace their stereotype about being young, which made me think of What is the What.

When he was trying to get into college, they said that he was old and from his appearance, people would think of him as a sexual predator. Its this type of categorizing and stereotypes that has caused Valentino to be "shunned" in society. Rather than be allowed opportunities in America, Valentino is automatically stereotyped as someone who would only cause trouble, causing him to face problems in America. Its also possibly the reason he was turned away at the hospital and why the police did nothing after he was robbed. From this stereotype he faces hardships that make him question whether leaving Sudan was the right choice.

Its unfair stereotypes like this that affect not only Valentino, but also a lot of people here in the United States. Its amazing how I was able to get unfairness in America for people (ie Blacks, Hispanics, etc.) just from 21 Jump Street.

Inside the Characters of Breaking Bad (RD)

(Warning: Breaking Bad Spoilers Below. Also, I would like to note I did not steal this idea from Jack, I had been thinking of doing a Breaking Bad post for a while and apparently he also wanted to do one).

Breaking Bad was definitely one of the greatest television shows ever and it is due to the amazing writing and acting. While Walter White is the main character and definitely the one whose character we have all come to know and fear, I chose to instead focus on two other characters; Jesse and Todd.

 

 

First, I'll start with Jesse. We all know Jesse as being Walt's partner and as a irresponsible kid who could have been good, but went to drugs. Jesse was definitely the heart of the show, as he was able to bring out the emotions from the audience. His ethos was close to perfect, as everyone could believe his story; a kid who had potential in life, but decided to go to drugs. As for logos, although he seemed stupid at times, he showed some knowledge in chemistry mainly due to his knowledge on meth. He also was the one who said what everyone was thinking (i.e. kill Tuco, wrong of Todd to kill the kid). Finally, his character was able to elicit more emotion than any other character on the show. Everyone sympathized with Jesse and felt bad for him whenever he was treated like trash or dealt with difficult situations. Overall, he was, by far, one of the best characters on the show.

 

The other character I decided to analyze was Todd, the guy that helped them rob the train and whose Uncle helped kill the 9 people in jail and also Hank and Steve. While many people see Todd as trash and hate him, I want to take this time to defend him. His ethos showed him as a naïve kid; someone who didn't know anything and thought, for example, that killing the kid would help them. Also, considering who his uncle is, I'm not surprised he turned out the way he did. It was either listen to Jack or be killed, not great choices. He also elicited sympathy not only from his uncles cruelty, but also when he fell in love with Lydia and tried to hook up with her. As for logos, like I said he was a stupid kid, but when he did have good ideas, they would usually be good ones, like keeping Jesse alive. While I can't say that killing Andrea or imprisoning Jesse was good, I do believe that Todd was a likeable character and I was sad when Jesse killed him.

 

Overall, Breaking Bad had a unique set of characters and they were what made the show what it was. While I'm sad that it's over, I'm happy that it was able to entertain us for 5 seasons and provide us with amazing television.