Christie Fitzgerald
November 13, 2012
Professor Ellis
Event/Service Analysis
Tonight,
I attended the showing of a movie that followed four different individuals with
diverse backgrounds around, all facing similar struggles in our economy today.
The theme of this presentation had to do with moving forward, having hope, and
being the leader and taking charge of your own life. This movie also relates to
the book we started, “Shane” by Jack Schaefer. “Shane” offers a similar theme
of growing up, while being loyal and taking charge, something that the people
in the movie talked about as hope for the future.
In
the movie, I was introduced and followed the lives of John from California,
Sheila from Chicago, Ronald from New Orleans, Louisiana and James from Charlotte,
North Carolina. These four live on opposite sides of America, but all share the
fact that they are currently living in poverty. I was surprised when I heard
the statistics about how there are actually forty-six million individuals that
live above the poverty line presently. The poverty line is defined as earning
less than $23,050, the typical amount to live the “American Dream” being
$50,000, a year for a family of four. Surprisingly, suburban poverty is now at
a higher rate than urban poverty.
John discussed the
stereotypes that many people think of when they think of being poor: lazy,
stupid, having no skills and not being able to take care of their families.
However, his life was not always this way, and up until a few years ago, he had
a job at a bank where he made money in the six figures and lived very
comfortable. When the economy dropped, he lost his job at his bank, along with
many other Americans.
Sheila
lived a bit differently, and ended up back in the same house she grew up in
when her mother died. She was married with children when she fell down the
stairs at a Chicago train station, ultimately leaving her unable to work when
her brain crashed into her spinal collar. Although she didn’t necessarily want
to, Sheila sent her children to private schools on full scholarship, making it
difficult for her children who saw the fancy and expensive things the rest of
their peers had.
Ronald
is a fisherman working in Louisiana. When Katrina hit, it wiped out much of his
fishing. During the oil spill of 2010, half the oysters were wiped out. Three
years later, and the oysters still are not there. Ronald’s story explains how
sometimes its mother natures responsibility, but he is the one who suffers from
it.
Lastly,
James told his story of how he was poor as a child, and unable to get the
education he needed. Since he never went to school, he grew up uneducated, and
having no real skills (like the stereotype John previously described). He lost
his job at a race track a few years ago; he couldn’t work anywhere else since
he didn’t necessarily possess any other skills. A restaurant in his town then
opened up, and decided to help him out and hire him. That single restaurant
gave him hope for his future.
Like
James finding a job, Shane decided to take action for his life, and stand up
for himself. Although the individuals in the movie don’t call themselves heroes,
they have hope for the future and for themselves and their families. Shane sticks
up for the family he has grown to love because he doesn’t want to see them get
hurt again. This relates to the people in the movie because they are doing the
best for their families, and don’t want them to get hurt even more than they
already might have.
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