English 2100 x 90: Fall 2020

Review on “Okja”

The review on Director Bong Joon Ho’s film “Okja” from RogerEbert.com’s Matt Zoller Seitz briefly explains the plot of the film and then proceeds to critic the film making and usage of music in different scenes. Writer Seitz mentioned the director’s choice of music helped to make the film’s scenes relate to the topic of unethical meat processing.  The gentle guitar music “lends a whimsical quality to action scenes while reminding us that this is, in a sense, a kosher film”, which makes the film more enjoyable but not lose its focus on the purpose of the film. http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/okja-2017

I agree with the writer that the director of the film does an excellent job in balancing the film. The film “never allows its philosophical and ethical interests to shove drama or comedy off to one side.” There was a nice balance of comedic and serious scenes, which allowed for the audience to shrift from happy emotions to empathic ones. The scenes had a great transition so the film didn’t feel “forced”. The scenes from the beginning had colorful, vibrant tones. However, it shifted to dark, dull tones after Mija (main character) arrived to New York, where her best friend was taken away by the Mirando Cooperation. The scenes at the slaughter houses were super dark, showing the hopelessness of the animals locked behind fences waiting for death. So I think there was a lot of symbolism in this film that helped the audience focus on the purpose of the film.

The Racial Triangulation of Asian Americans

Reflecting back on the reading, “The Racial Triangulation of Asian Americans” by Claire Jean Kim, one particular quote stood out to me. This quote is: “Before the civil rights era, racial triangulation occurred open, in cultural-racial terms; during the post-civil rights era, racial triangulation has occurred in a coded fashion, in cultural terms decoupled from overtly racial claims.” Looking at this quote, before the Civil Rights Era, Americas openly participated in racial triangulation. There was no need to hide it and deny that it was happening. This is because of all the other acceptable racial ideas that occurred at the time. Ultimately, it was acceptable for people to be racist and discriminate against other racial or ethnic groups. As time moved forward, these behaviors and thought processes were no longer acceptable. This is due to the new normal that came to be in our nation. No longer was it acceptable to deny Blacks the use of a water fountain or subject them to sitting on the back of the bus. Therefore, it prevented racial triangulation from occurring openly. Just because racial triangulation did not occur openly, it does not mean that it went away completely. Instead, during the post- Civil Rights Era the racial triangulation occurred in a “coded fashion”. You had to really look closely to see if racial triangulation was taking place because people tried to hide it since it was no longer aligning with the norms of the time. Similarly, people were no longer overtly racist due to the changes that occurred over time.