Inocente Pick Flick of the month

Two years ago, my first post on this blog was about Academy Awards of 2011. I talked about the lack of diversity among the awards. So I thought it would be worth it to look back at this year's Academy Award recipients. It is very apparent that there needs to be more diversity in directors, actors and the subject of the film itself.
In 2012 Hollywood did recognize some of the more diverse films of the year. Beasts of the Southern Wild which follows a six year old black girl and her father living in the Bayou of Louisiana in very poor conditions. This was one of our "Pick Flicks of the Month" so I do recommend you all seeing this film. Beasts of the Southern Wild was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress in a lead role for Quvenzhane Wallis. They didn't take home any wins, but were very highly recognized. Other films illustrating diversity include; Life of Pi, Django Unchained and Documentary short winner, Inocente.

Inocente, documentary short, follows a homeless, undocumented immigrant teenage girl in San Diego as she relentlessly pursues her dream of becoming an artist. This story is told entirely in her own words, as she realizes her life is at a turning point, and for the first time, she decides to take control of her own destiny. This is our Pick Flick of the Month and you can check this short film out on iTunes here and I do recommend it to everyone.

What were your favorite films of 2012? Any films illustrating diversity that you would like to share?


--Krystal

Contributing factors to Poverty

Monday, the NY Times published an article entitled "Prison and the Poverty Trap." A few highlights from this article include; "Among African-Americans who have grown up during the era of mass incarceration, one in four has had a parent locked up at some point during childhood" and "For black men in their 20s and early 30s without a high school diploma, the incarceration rate is so high — nearly 40 percent nationwide — that they’re more likely to be behind bars than to have a job." Wow. Those statistics are staggering.

We have addressed this issue of the disproportional prison rates among the racial lanes, but to see these numbers and how this greatly impacts not only the individual but their family and ultimately the community as a whole. This is truly an example of the cycle of poverty. Lets take a minute to look at our Nation's capital, our community, the District of Columbia. Nearly 20 percent of District residents live in poverty. Meaning 110,000 District families earn less than $22,314. Since the economic recession, many formerly middle class families have slipped into poverty. What happens when our community, our neighborhoods are so greatly impacted by poverty.

Neighborhoods are where we find many of the opportunities that shape our lives especially the most impressionable lives of young adults. Too often neighborhoods with high poverty are deficient in the opportunities that can increase positive social, economic and educational outcomes for their residents. These outcomes not only directly impact the people of those neighborhoods, but also the community as whole.

How can we help to end this cycle of poverty? How can we provide these positive influences to a neighborhood stricken by poverty and other social issues?


--Krystal

Democracy in the Library

Democracy is no better represented than in the library. The library is a community gathering place, open to the public. It is a place for children, teens, and adults to come and discover culture through books, magazines, music, TV shows, and films. It is a place to access the Internet for free and a great leveler of social status. In many cases, the library is the only access people have to computers, Internet, and other resources. 

I have recently started working at the library, and have been reflecting on the job and the people I serve. I have found that the library is an amazing space for justice and leveling social status. It is a place to engage people's minds and gather with the community. 

I think democracy is best symbolized in the way the library functions, and I am happy to meet a wide spectrum of community members' needs as an employee of the library.

With public libraries expanding to include downloadable materials, the libraries continue to meet patrons' needs and grow in the community. Despite these technological investments, the library continues to largely offer services for free. 

What are other places in the community that are representative of democracy? How could our society and political figures better follow the model of the library to serve? 

--Megan

The Time is Now

I saw this speech and it gave me chills. I don't know how anyone can watch this video and not feel the need to make a difference. I suppose the same people who made excuses after hearing the horrific stories of Newtown, Connecticut and seeing the footage of those desperate families are the same ones who will continue to make excuses. For many it is painfully obvious that we need more strict gun laws, yesterday.

Where do you stand?

--Krystal

The Gun Fights

The fight for gun control is on. The President is calling for stricter gun laws and the NRA and others are personally attacking him for this. Many don't want to see any regulations or restrictions on gun laws at all, finding even the idea of stricter background checks and bans of military-grade assault rifles attacks on liberty.   People are refusing to see what the Obama administration has called for as reasonable, though it is. Out of fear, the NRA and media have hyped the new proposed bans, regulations, and laws to be monstrous, and overbearing, a violation of personal liberties. It seems anything this President does will be given a negative spin.

The President made an attempt to empathize by saying that he enjoys shooting skeet for sport. This created a huge media frenzy, begging for photographs of the President shooting a gun. It is amazing how little privacy we allow the President (or any celebrity figure), just assuming that we are entitled to the details of his leisure life and time with family.

Of course, as soon as a photo was released, the media decides to backtrack, saying that one measly photo doesn't make up for all his laws and campaigns for gun control, his voting record, etc. 

The Daily Show did a parody of this last week, playing on a Dr. Seuss book. Watch here! 

Gun control will be an ongoing discussion during the President's second term, and we will have to see what sort of compromise is made.


--Megan