Physical Acts of Power Hollywood films often portray various American ideologies that can be seen through the nation, empire, and domesticity. These ideologies can be considered to be representations of the history of the United States or the current state. Through the examination of Andrea Smith’s “Indigeneity, Settler Colonialism, White Supremacy,” Clyde Woods’ “Les Miserables of New Orleans,” Dylan Rodriguez’s “Forced Passages,” and the film Glory, it is clear that the state maintains power over indigenous people. Evidently, one can see the physical actions orchestrated by the state to maintain power. In “Indigeneity, Settler Colonialism, White Supremacy” by Andrea Smith, she analyzes the three pillars of white supremacy; slavery, genocide,
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Wood (2009) states that “The source of these disaster was a dominant bloc deeply committed to preserving social inequality” (p. 772). Forming communities on land that is not ideal for living and unsafe against natural disasters creates communities of inequality. Creating the notion of a new black army that needs to be trained and civilized reaffirms the social inequality between African Americans and whites. Even though they can fight in the war, they do not have any freedom. He explains that “Throughout history, social-spatial enclosures have been used by dominant social movements to establish stable control over specific territories and their populations” (Wood, 2009, p. 774). These social-spatial enclosures can range from colonization to gated communities. In the case of the film Glory, the social-spatial enclosure for the African Americans is the black army. The black soldiers are motivated to join the army and believe they are fighting for something but they are actually used as bodies to fight. The white army leaders are able to control the actions of the blacks as well as “keep them in …show more content…
Although all the physical attributes that contribute to this power are different, they all result in the state physically creating policies in order to have power. These physical policies can range from the prison regime, Hurricane Katrina, and the history of slavery. These physical actions are also seen in Glory with the creation of a black army, which differentiates the army as well as the physical punishment over the black soldiers. It seems the state still maintains power over the people despite their attempts to conceal
Wood (2009) states that “The source of these disaster was a dominant bloc deeply committed to preserving social inequality” (p. 772). Forming communities on land that is not ideal for living and unsafe against natural disasters creates communities of inequality. Creating the notion of a new black army that needs to be trained and civilized reaffirms the social inequality between African Americans and whites. Even though they can fight in the war, they do not have any freedom. He explains that “Throughout history, social-spatial enclosures have been used by dominant social movements to establish stable control over specific territories and their populations” (Wood, 2009, p. 774). These social-spatial enclosures can range from colonization to gated communities. In the case of the film Glory, the social-spatial enclosure for the African Americans is the black army. The black soldiers are motivated to join the army and believe they are fighting for something but they are actually used as bodies to fight. The white army leaders are able to control the actions of the blacks as well as “keep them in …show more content…
Although all the physical attributes that contribute to this power are different, they all result in the state physically creating policies in order to have power. These physical policies can range from the prison regime, Hurricane Katrina, and the history of slavery. These physical actions are also seen in Glory with the creation of a black army, which differentiates the army as well as the physical punishment over the black soldiers. It seems the state still maintains power over the people despite their attempts to conceal