Race
Racism is not good. However, it is important to note that race issues were done within the sixties. Despite this aspect, racism stems from some truths and ignorant beliefs, although they do not provide a picture of the racism issues in the world today. Racism comes up like black people being shipped to Columbia, the main city to be used as workers. They are treated as slaves and considered second to their wealthier counterparts. For instance, in the Devious maid’s movie, the whites are portrayed to betray the black race. The blacks are considered to be servants to the whites. They were mostly used as maids in the houses of the wealthy community.
Class
It was not a vital issue in the game. However, it could have been but slammed over. There are indeed people of the upper classes who discriminate against the lower class people, especially the black ones. In devious maids, also the upper-class people treat the lower-class people to be of no much value. For example, the whites expected Marisol Suarez to be of lower class just because she is a Latina. The wealthy community did not understand how possible it was that she a lawyer. The 2 broke girls also portray the essence of class in how the two girls were raised. The shameless movie also addresses the class.
Power
It is used to change how class and choices can be viewed. Power is a systemic issue in both real life and the game. For instance, some of the whites are considered lower to others because they are ones of the few whites who do not fit in with the others. In devious maids, power is portrayed because the whites are shown to have control over the blacks and other races. Power in this movie is associated with money, and the whites are considered to be the ones with money.
Ethnicity
In this aspect, it is where people are judged based on certain stereotypes. These stereotypes include how they speak, cultural practices, and traditions. Ethnicity is encouraged in the devious maids because the whites are discriminatory to the blacks. For instance, they are considered to wash the clothes they cannot afford, which is ethnic in how Genevieve addresses the minority characters.
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Cultural Analysis: Race, ethnicity, class, and power
In the world today, shame roots itself from the working class’s ideals surrounding themselves in the United States. Many people struggle to take care of their families, or even they and others are suffering from social discrimination scorns. However, nothing much can be done since the most fortunate and government money rooting individuals are busy feeding their kids, taking them to good schools, and even driving luxurious cars. At the same time, the lower-class people tend to scramble for the remaining crumbs. Several stereotypes have developed for the past years and more so sourced from the television. Numerous false ideas have been pushed towards the upper and middle classes. People have believed that the upper and the middle class are not under the threat of being discriminated against because of their race, especially because most of them are the whites.
The series of 2 broke girls narrates the story of two women who were in their mid-twenties and were struggling financially to start up their cupcake business. The story was on an American television sitcom aired in 2011. Max has two jobs. One of the jobs is babysitting the twin babies of a wealthy lady, which sums up her life hardships. The other woman is Caroline, who has started to struggle because her father has been jailed. Although part of the show indicates that she is settling in the lower-class kind of life, it is funny that she is finally financially unstable.
However, contrary to the life that the two broke girls were living, it could not be entirely argued that they lived in critical low-class life. They both lived in a relatively large apartment that was fitted with quite a lavish furnishing. The woods placed on the wall and the floor made the apartment modern even if they looked quite worn and dingy. The clothes they wore were quite lavish and stylish, and with the current fashion, they would be categorized as being fashionable and stylish. Additionally, they still could support Caroline’s Pet house, which was located in a spacious garden. The issue of the working class being misrepresented is misleading and illogical. In this situation, claims made by the lower class are taken as exaggerations. Their claims of economic injustice are treated as needless nagging.
Depicting the concept of working-class from the British Series Shameless, which is a comedy-drama that was set in Chicago, it takes us into the life of Frank, who was an alcoholic and a father to six kids. The Gallagher family is struggling because of the scarcity of adequate income. Their father does not provide for them and, this forces Fiona, the eldest sister, to start raising her siblings despite her also being a child and had no parental guidance. The show portrays that many kids take low-class life as a choice for them. Witnessing some of these people who have passed through these experiences is the best way to confirm the reality in them. “Shameless” characters have as many innocent intentions as they have the immoral ones. Shameless highlights that its characters are not living lowly because they commit prostitution, drug-dealings, and legal scams, among others. The truth is they commit these acts because they have low-class lives, which jeopardizes their situations the most. The Gallagher family lives in a house they are struggling to keep, although fortunate to have it. The six children work together to help pay electricity bills. This show portrays how hard it might be to get out when living in a low-class life. Many people cannot help this family, although they can do so because they have been fed with the wrong information that the lower-class people do not need to be helped.
From the series, it is evident that social class could also be determined by drug abuse. For instance, Frank, the father of six children, is constantly engaging in alcohol intake and forgetting that the children also need care and attention. Fiona, a child, is left to take care of the children, even without her parents’ guidance. From the movie, several individuals tend to engage in legal scams, drug dealing, prostitution, and car theft, which cannot sustain their lives. However, the characters’ motives are well known and understood because the characters tend to engage in these activities to raise themselves from their low-class lives.
In devious maids: a real class act, film, and television have molded American culture. For instance, these mass media forms react to how viewers perceive timely social issues and speak directly to progressive changes. The entertaining television shows need writing that encourages, challenges, and allows stereotypes to play an imperative role in society. Devious maids is a show that greatly addresses and owns these stereotypes. This show’s writings showed how social standards and norms existed in terms of age, ethnicity, class, and power. The caste system is one such social stereotype where minor characters are seen as submissive to well-off characters. Devious maids, set in Beverly Hills in California, concentrated on the lives of certain maids who worked for rich homeowners. The show encourages racism and ethnicity, where the whites are the only ones considered to be prosperous because they were portrayed as living glamorously and luxuriously. This show portrayed them as the only characters who displayed happiness, success, and fame as other races are shown to have little to nothing as they struggle to survive.
Marisol Suarez’s identity is established because she was an undercover lawyer to investigate the killing of a maid in the neighborhood. When the rich community realized that she was a financially stable Latina, it was hard for them to come into terms with her true identity because she worked as a maid. It was hard for them to understand because they never thought Marisol would have a well-paying career as a Latina. This stereotype continues in this show as the affluent characters do not want to be the minority characters. For instance, when Everlyn Powell, a white American socialite, becomes a Marisol friend, she was always forced to comment that Marisol was not her help and that she was financially stable as well. When Everlyn was faced with marriage challenges, her friend suggested that she should get a job. However, she is afraid of a lower-class job than a white person should be working for. For example, when she finally gets Marisol’s job, she tells her to keep the job a secret and not to allow anyone to find out. She distanced herself from her rich friends because she was afraid of them knowing that she was working as a “help.”
The writers also explain about the “cinderella” stereotype in this show. In this situation, a person can be involved in activities they are not eligible to be involved in, hence breaking free of the caste system. When Everlyn sees her separated husband on a date with Zoila, a maid, she is not worried because her husband was the one who was embarrassing himself. This show portrays that class comes with power. No matter how hard a person works, what is significant is whether they have money. The show highlights some of the comments that Genevieve summarizes in the class system. She said what these minority characters were doing was heroic. For example, they were washing clothes they could not afford. They were polishing silver they would never dine with. They were mopping floors for people who were not interested in knowing their last names. These experiences make her think that they cannot succeed in life. There is also the issue of age inequalities and how it conforms to the social norms. This show has succeeded and attracted many viewers because it directly speaks and embraces cultural and social stereotypes.
Generally, there is always evidence in the elements of low class and social struggle. For instance, Shameless, a television show, is a complete representation of Americans living in low-class lives today. The concept of social class is a vital topic of discussion in modern society. Therefore, it is essential to look into it broadly.