Civil Unrest draft

Civil unrest has mostly been targeted against government values and ideas. Many groups of people have created small communities in which they protest or bring awareness to the certain issues. They come in many different forms such as films, artworks, novels or poetry and much more. The film “The Purge” directed by James DeMonaco in 2013 represents futuristic America where all crime becomes legal for 12 hours. During this time, all murders, robbery and assault is legal. The film focuses on rich family being invaded by another group of “purgers” who want to kill a man. The context that i want to focus on is about the African American man that is on the run from a group of white. One of the scenes that i want to analyze comes from the beginning of the film where a black home is seeking shelter and safety from a group of people that are hunting him down. His cry for help is heard throughout the whole neighborhood nobody seems to acknowledge him. After numerous screams the  son of a family disarms the securities of his home to allow the homeless man who is in ragged clothing  to enter. This is because no one else was helping him. The man begins to run across a big lawn towards the door of the house. This whole scene shows the class difference between the white family in the home and the black man trying to run away from his death. The suspenseful music along with the confusion of the family leads to a more fearful scene. The man barely makes it to the door as the security of it shuts down. The camera is panned on the black man who is tired as well as shocked to see that a little white boy was the only one to help him out in a big neighborhood. I can also see the boy’s innocence being shown as he was unaware of the dangers that he just put upon his own home. Although it was a mistake to allow a stranger into his home, he felt the need to help because no one else did. The stranger has yet to say a word up to this point which can also bring suspense as to who he actually is and what he is running away from. He also does not thank the boy for letting him in, neither does he introduce himself when he was confronted by the rest of the family. He could be a dangerous person for all we know up to this point. All we know is that he was running away from people that were trying to kill him. All these questions that are yet to be answered leave the family horrified as he disappears into their home. Everyone looks confuse except for the boy that let in the stranger. Seeing as this whole family is white as well as the group in the upcoming scene, it leads to show that this was an attack against a minority in society.

Another form of civil unrest also comes in poetry with groups of people protesting against the idea of war. James Schuyler wrote a poem that was part of “Poetry Against the War”. His line begins with a calm and happy thought about the May mist being present. Its not a strong mist, its just enough for it to be admired. But this is immediately followed by the presence of poisonous berries. However, he continues to talk about nature and the happiness around him. He talks about a white cardinal bird enchanting him.  The cardinals symbolizes joy, health and rejuvenation. He then mentions that war is wrong which is the second time it is mentioned in about 10 lines. I noticed that he tries to hide the idea of war behind a very happy environment as if he does not want any one to notice it. Although he states that its wrong he tried to describe the peacefulness of his surroundings. He claims that he sees a car but stops himself and notices that he is in the middle of a war. Instead of seeing the beauty of nature he starts to notice the reality of it. He sees people running away and “parrot tulips likes twisted guts”. Blood begins to be recognized after the person sees it as a peaceful sign. The “silent scream” represents an internal dilemma that he has. He is unsure of what to do with dead soldiers on the floor that have colored the green grass red. Indecisive about knowing what to do with the body, he knows that the war going on is wrong. He states that the “drive is wet with mist” meaning that the mist that what he saw before was what he wanted to see and not the actual thing. The drive begins to get difficult since mist makes it harding to see and go through. You are unaware of what is on the other side of that mist. Beyond the mist is where the war is going on. The mist is probably the smoke from any gunfire or explosions going on because of the war happening. He lastly, talks about children being more important than the flowers that he has been talking about throughout the poem. He follows that sentence by saying “what a choice to make” as if the land where the plants are located in are more valuable than the children living in it. I think it was comparing on where the war was taking place rather than worrying who was involved in it. At the time young adults and teenagers were part of the war and he could have been talking about the cruelty these people must have gone through. This could mean the effect of the war not only being among the adults who are participating in it, but also the children who must endure it. He ends it off with stating that the war must end, however it continues because they have no control over it.