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Gilgamesh

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Everybody has a conscious, W.E Du bois however states some people have two, a double consciousness is created by society through Discrimination in all of its forms. Discrimination is an unjust act of hate and prejudice towards another group of people, however art can be used as a means to fight against it, the movie The Interrupters shows how someone can break through the barriers of discrimination and bring light to a dark situation. Discrimination is a negative part of life everyone has experienced to different extremes, everyone has a different way to fight back, some people chose to use art.
In the essay “ From the Souls of Black Folk: Of our Spiritual Strivings” by
W. E. Du Bois, he talks in depth about the struggle of African American Life directly following the Emancipation proclamation. Du Bois writes in great detail about the state of mind known as the Double Consciousness. He states “ … the negro is a sort of seventh son, born with a veil, and gifted with second sight in this American World, a world in which yields him no true -self consciousness, but only lets him see himself through the revelation of the other world (Du Bois 132). “ Du Bois is stating that the way an African American is viewed during this time period is different than the way he sees himself. He feels like he is split into two, his American side and his African side, both cultures pulling at him but not wanting to separate from either. (132). The Double Consciousness is a concept that is still felt in society. The double Consciousness relates to any form of Discrimination not only racial. Eli Claire faces this struggle, Eli sees herself as different than everyone, she sees herself in her own way. Society sees her in a different way, marking her as strange and different from the general population. Claire has to deal with both parts and find herself while keeping both parts of her “ Double Conscious”. The Double Conscious is a concept that affects the struggles of the past and present. Another essay “ The Sorrow Songs” by W.E Dubois describes how art can be used as a way to fight against discrimination. Dubois’s goes back to the time of slaves and plantations. A time when the only freedom a slave was awarded was to sing a song to herself and children. It is said that these songs were passed down from mother to daughter for generations to keep the culture of Africa and their ancestors alive when everything else was stolen. The songs turned into a way of expression and a small bit of freedom to the slaves, a way to fight back against the brutality of the slave owners and discrimination of the outside world. It is said that no one can re sing these songs because no one but the negro folk have the emotion and history to put into it. Any form of art can be used as a means to fight discrimination. Discrimination is used as a way to hold people back, and by expressing themselves they are fighting back. Art is also used as a way to bring awareness to discrimination. Movies, songs, poems, paints are all art forms that have been used to portray discrimination against and wrong doing against one group of people. This type of art can be traced to the roots of our country when Paul Reveres engraving spread across the country showing the colonists that they have been wronged and its time to fight back. Art arouses peoples emotions and lets people truly feel those emotions. The documentary by Steven James and Alex Kotlowitz The Interrupters, demonstrates how a piece of art, in this case a film can shed light on a situation. The film focuses on a group of Felons from major gangs who served their prison time and decided that life wasn’t for them anymore. Living up to they’re name they interrupt violence before it can start or escalate around the dangerous streets of Chicago. The Film focuses on three of the interrupters all who played a crucial role in the gangs they were part of. Coming from a gang is crucial for the inturupters as it allows them to know the game and the how to get close and personal with the people. It also generates respect and shows that there is a way out. Ameena Mathews is daughter of one of the biggest Gang leaders in Chicago and a drug enforcer (http://interrupters.kartemquin.com/about). Throughout the movies Ameena focuses on the families that have had wrongs done to them. Most of these families seek some sort of revenge, Ameena comes in to calm down the situation and the two aggressive parties. During the process she helps to comfort the family who suffered the loss. During the movie a guy loses a fight and in response his sisters come out trying to fight the guy who did it using weapons, without Ameena the situation would have turned very violent. Cobe Williams is another one of the Interrupters the movie heavily focuses on. Cobe’s family is also a huge factor in reining him in from his life of prison. Cobe helped people on a one to one basis, like a man named Flamo. A guy snitched on Flamo’s brother and got his mom and brother arrested, Flamo was about to go kill this guy until Cobe calmed him down and stuck with him. Not only did Flamo calm down he started to change who he was and earned a job at security. Like Flamo, Cobe’s other friends also took a 180. He helped turn lives around when it looked like there was nothing left to work with. Eddie Bocanegra Was the final violence inturupter the documentary focused on. Eddie liked to focus on kids during his time. He volunteered at the schools to help elementary school aged kids. “Eddie is most deeply disturbed by the aftereffects of the violence on children, and so he spends much of his time working with younger kids in an effort to both keep them off the streets and to get support to those who need it” (http://interrupters.kartemquin.com/about). Eddie learned to use art as a way to cope with everything in prision. Using what he learned he helps kids by teaching them art and helping them to express themselves. He also helps to council the kids who have seen traumatizing experiences. The film brings to life the violence going on in Chicago and how its affecting the lives of the people that live there and especially how it is changing the kids who live there. Without pieces of art like this movie people wouldn’t be informed on the situation of Chicago because the news gets lost and is never heard of. It is so common for murder and theft to happen there that it isn’t worth the news reporting. In many other occasions Art enlightens the world to discrimination and other forms of hate. Art is a necessary medium for news because its allows people to relate unlike may other mediums. Although Art is a great way to fight discrimination it isn’t the only way and may not be the best way. Another way to fight discrimination is through the ways the interrupters used, by stopping it first hand and stopping the violence before it can evolve. Many people that are being discriminated against or that are doing the discrimination may not have access to the medium of art. That raises the question how can art be an effective way to fight against discrimination when the people it would be affecting most have no way to get anything out of it. Kids in Chicago or slaves back in the time of slavery may not have had access to art. Art is a great way to fight and bring awareness to discrimination for many reasons. Although everyone may not have access to expensive art or be able to watch movies. W.E Dubois wrote his essay about Women slaves who didn’t have acess to any of this either. The art that those women had came from their heart and soul. They passed the art down from mother to daughter until it reached the ears of everyone who cared to listen. Art is easy to spread and people are eager to see it which makes it such an effective way to fight hate. Discrimination will never be gone completely but people can do their best to fight it. One of the best and easiest way to fight this is through Art. People love to relate to it making it such a great medium to fight discrimination. Art also brings awareness to discrimination like the movie The Interrupters. The movie is eye opening to what is going on through the streets of Chicago. Descrimination also leads to the Double Consciousness in which people look at themselves differently than society. Descrimination leads to many things, none of which are good, it is the job of any person to help fight it and push it back.

Work Cited

Du Bois, W. E. B.. "of our spiritual strivings." The souls of Black folk. Bantam classic ed. New York: Bantam Books, 1989. 132. Print.
Bois, W. E. B.. "sorrow songs." The souls of black folk. Champaign, Ill.: Project Gutenberg,Print.
The interrupters. Dir. Steve James. Perf. PBS Distribution, 2012. Film.
"The Interrupters." The Interrupters. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2013. <http://interrupters.kartemquin.com>.

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