Chopping Up Negative Stereotypes of Poverty? Not Quite The film Chop Shop directed by Ramin Bahrani follows the life of a twelve year old boy Alejandro, known as Ale, and his older sister Isamar, known as Izzy. The two live in a makeshift room inside a car repair garage. During the day Ale works for the owner of the garage and Izzy works in a food truck nearby. Unbeknownst to Ale, Izzy also works as a prostitute at night. They eventually are able to save up enough money to purchase a food truck of their own but later discover that it will be $10,000 to repair the inside and get it in working condition. Ale is forced to sell it for parts. Later that day, he confronts Izzy while she is working as a prostitute but she just runs away and they
…show more content…
The first time Rob, the owner of the repair shop, is shown paying Ale, he counts his money right there. Rob asks, “What are you counting it for?” clearly annoyed at Ale’s actions. The next time Rob pays him, he again counts his money in front of Rob. Rob says, “What did I tell you. Don’t do that in front of me again, you hear me?” This is a stark difference from what Ale experiences when he works at night for Ahmad, a chop shop worker, to strip a stolen car. When Ahmad pays him he says, “Count it. Check it.” telling Ale he should count his money. This contrast makes the difference between the poor and the middle class apparent. As a member of the middle class Rob values money but he does not have to rely on one source of pay for his livelihood. He sees counting money as vulgar because it goes against the norms of his social class. On the other hand, Ahmad realizes how important even small amounts of money are to Ale, as he feels the same, so he encourages him to check it to make sure he was given what he deserved. Success in the film is depicted as having enough money that you do not need to constantly quantify it. Out of all the characters in Chop Shop, Rob, a member of the middle class, is the one with the highest social standing. Ale’s position in society causes his to rely on others for money and shelter. Ale is forced to learn how to live and …show more content…
In Seeing and Making Culture: Representing the Poor, bell hooks mentions that “many films and television shows portray the ruling class as generous, eager to share.” Chop Shop is no exception to this statement. The member of the ruling class most prominent in Chop Shop is Rob. Rob gives Ale a safe place to stay and even allows his sister to stay with him. While Ale works for Rob during the day, he has lots of free time which he spends hanging out with his friend Carlos or his sister. There are some rules for Ale while he lives in the garage, like he is not supposed to have visitors over, but overall Rob is fairly lenient. This relates to the idea bell hooks mentions, with shelter rather than currency. Rob generously provides Ale with both a place to stay and a job. In reality, it is likely that a repair shop owner would not trust a young boy and would not give him a place to stay for free. This portrayal muffles the difficulty many impoverished people face and gives an unrealistic view of
The first time Rob, the owner of the repair shop, is shown paying Ale, he counts his money right there. Rob asks, “What are you counting it for?” clearly annoyed at Ale’s actions. The next time Rob pays him, he again counts his money in front of Rob. Rob says, “What did I tell you. Don’t do that in front of me again, you hear me?” This is a stark difference from what Ale experiences when he works at night for Ahmad, a chop shop worker, to strip a stolen car. When Ahmad pays him he says, “Count it. Check it.” telling Ale he should count his money. This contrast makes the difference between the poor and the middle class apparent. As a member of the middle class Rob values money but he does not have to rely on one source of pay for his livelihood. He sees counting money as vulgar because it goes against the norms of his social class. On the other hand, Ahmad realizes how important even small amounts of money are to Ale, as he feels the same, so he encourages him to check it to make sure he was given what he deserved. Success in the film is depicted as having enough money that you do not need to constantly quantify it. Out of all the characters in Chop Shop, Rob, a member of the middle class, is the one with the highest social standing. Ale’s position in society causes his to rely on others for money and shelter. Ale is forced to learn how to live and …show more content…
In Seeing and Making Culture: Representing the Poor, bell hooks mentions that “many films and television shows portray the ruling class as generous, eager to share.” Chop Shop is no exception to this statement. The member of the ruling class most prominent in Chop Shop is Rob. Rob gives Ale a safe place to stay and even allows his sister to stay with him. While Ale works for Rob during the day, he has lots of free time which he spends hanging out with his friend Carlos or his sister. There are some rules for Ale while he lives in the garage, like he is not supposed to have visitors over, but overall Rob is fairly lenient. This relates to the idea bell hooks mentions, with shelter rather than currency. Rob generously provides Ale with both a place to stay and a job. In reality, it is likely that a repair shop owner would not trust a young boy and would not give him a place to stay for free. This portrayal muffles the difficulty many impoverished people face and gives an unrealistic view of