PK was an English boy in a German boarding school therefore he was discriminated against. PK experiences serious discrimination and taunting including being urinated on. PK meets someone named Doc who plays a big role in his life. Doc sets up for PK to take boxing lessons. Even in the boxing school segregation is enforced. Doc, who was sent to prison also, is discriminated against.
Doc was not the typical German that only believed in hate or the holocaust. Doc believes in peace and equality. Discrimination is one of the many elements of apartheid; it’s so vivid and obvious in this movie. Doc was discriminated against on a more complex level. He was not discriminated against because of the color of his skin but because he was German. The people in the prison thought that he was like all of the other mean Germans that they had come in contact with.
This just goes to show how people thing, because of how other people of a particular group or race behave, their behaviors reflect on the other individuals of that particular group.
Although there are other types, the biggest issue in this movie is Black and White racism. In this movie blacks have little to no rights. One of the scenes that really stuck out to me was when PK first met his boxing instructor who was black. PK addresses his instructor as sir. His instructor told him not to call him that because he was afraid that he would be beaten. PK was simply trying to be respectful and was not allowed to.
The scene that would definitely stick out to anyone who has seen the movie is when the boxing instructor was forced to eat animal waste off of a Sergeant’s boot. This is worse than just typical racism. The Sergeant established his dominance not only over the boxing instructor but to me it’s like he established that his whole race was dominant over the blacks. This is how it is throughout the movie.
Personally this movie just adds to the sympathy that I feel towards the people that had to suffer during the apartheid. Although Apartheid has ended, segregation and racism is still very real.
I really would recommend watching this movie for anyone who wants to get a visual of what it was really like. It’s more than what you can imagine and what you can just read in a textbook.
This shows that it wasn't just the blacks being discriminated on entirely it was anyone that was for equality. I really enjoyed reading the part about the boxing instructor not wanting to be called sir, as it a sign of authority or manor and that was not "lightly done" as to recall from "Cry the beloved Country"
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ReplyDeleteThis topic is truly incredible. The racism that is portrayed in this movie is rampant and eye opening. It is very interesting to hear how some of the tables turn in certain occasions. The horrific scenes that occurred, like eating feces off a person's shore, give me a sense of what some people experience based solely on their race, which is baffling.
ReplyDeleteI think the author did a terrific job of getting to all the main points and characters of the movie. It highlights all the important things I need to know. I also enjoy the detail and analysis demonstrated critiquing this movie.
Perhaps he could have improved this passage elaborated in some areas, like the kind of person PK was.
One further question on this topic is how the movie ends.
-Robert Bruce