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| PROGRAMS AND COURSES |
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People Like Us
Questions to Consider Before and After viewing the Video "People Like Us: Class in America"
1. According to the film-makers, how do people usually identify others in this culture? Similarly, how do they give an "identity" to themselves?
2. What is your view of the four "popular" girls (all in a row) from Anderson High School? They know that other kids are "jealous" of them, and they admit that "they would be too," but their parents just like to treat them to things like cars, clothes, and trips. Do you agree with the one girl's assessment that, "It's not just because we have so many great things, but because they can see that there's so much to us"? Is that why people are so jealous? Or is jealousy the right word?
3. At one point in the film, one young girl, having just been teased by some kids who were being bussed-in to their school from another part of town, makes the following comment: "See those kids? They're ghetto kids." What narrative does she have in mind into which she fits these kids?
4. At one point, the film-makers compare the kind of future career expectations held by the "preps" versus those held by the "non-preps," specifically the Latino and Black kids. What are the differences?
5. Note, in particular, that one young man says, "I want to be a lawyer, but I don't think I'll get to be. That's too much." Is he right? Is that "too much"? Should he set his sights lower?
6. Another wonderful young woman from the same group of kids says, at another point: "We've got to represent, because if we don't, them other kids will just up and punk us because they know they can." What do you think? Is it important to "represent"? If so, what should she "represent"? And how should she "represent"?
7. What is your view of the two girls who are "loners," one of whom is Latino, the other African-American? According to the Latino girl, she is accepted neither by the Anglos or the Hispanics? Why, in particular, won't the Hispanics accept her? She suffers from the same discrimination; she comes from the same background. Why don't they know what to do with her?
8. Near the end of the documentary, one of the commentators says something to the effect that , "I feel we all lose something by living in a society that is so segregated by class differences." Do we?
9. Is there any way to help heal the differences and divisions from which the students at Anderson High School (and so many others) suffer? Would a class on "Racial Sensitivity" take care of the problem? Why or why not?
10. It's relatively easy to ask questions about other people. They are, in a sense, "things" outside you that can be observed and judged. What is harder is taking an honest look at ourselves. There was an ancient Greek proverb, written above the door to the temple of Apollo at Delphi, that gave the following advice: "Know Thyself." Okay, so here is my question: How about you? Do you define yourself largely by the neighborhood in which you live, the clothes you wear, the type of car you drive, and the kinds of music you listen to? Are you much affected by advertizing that tries to sell a certain sort of "identity" -- a certain sort of "belonging" or being "cool"? Do you buy things, for example, because you think it will express your "individuality" -- an "individuality" that looks amazingly similar to the models in Vogue or Women's Fitness or the athletes at the Olympics? If not, ask yourself this: How about your friends? Are they much affected by advertizing? Do they try to buy an identity similar to one they've seen on television or in magazine ads? If you answered "yes" to the second question about your friends (they are affected by advertizing), but "no" to the first question about yourself (I'm not affected), ask yourself this: What would your friends say about you? Would they agree with you? Or would they claim, just as you did, "no" I'm not affected by advertizing, but "yes," my friends are?
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