To the director of the movie Gentlemen's Agreement: In my personal opinion, your way of expressing the issues of anti-semitism using the theme of "passing" is really creative. The inherent sueriority of the method of passing used as a way for investigation is that it put people into a realistic context to experience all kinds of struggles and dilemmas a minority may fae under various circumstances. However, in my personal point of view, rather than using an actual "bystander" in the anti-semitism issue instead of an aJew makes the information conveyed in the movie seem to be like a "second hand source"--any creator of novels or films cannot discern the true feelings of a certain character without actually describing his or her feelings from his or her point of view. On the other hand, the way of expressing themes in the movie seem to be like a disorderly hodgepodge: emotions between family, love affaires, social issues... If a piece of film is piled up with more than two themes, it's inevitably going to be confusing. Last but not the least, the way the main theme of passing for investigation on anti-semitism came up too suddenly for the audiences to acutally perceive it in a proper way.
How do get "the right to difference"?
The following is a letter written to Willow S. Lung-Aman, author of “Trespassers? Asian Americans and the Battle for Suburbia.” Dear Ms. Lung-Aman, After reading your book “Trespassers? Asian Americans and the Battle for Suburbia,” I was intrigued by your call for respecting “a right to difference.” You suggest that people of different identities should have to right to express one’s difference without exclusion or discrimination. In principle, I do not dispute that one should have genuine freedom of expression, but I am concerned how this can be realized. The first problem relates to the difficulty in convincing privileged communities to let go of their vested interests, which has existed since the beginning of human history, so I’ll move away from that. The second problem, related to the first to some extent, is how can we ensure that institutions can remain dynamic enough to allow for change. Just a few thoughts. Sincerely, Kare...
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