Author: Anthony Viola

Hank aspired to be like his father, running the store when he gets older. But with his mother overhearing the greatness that comes out of being a superhero, she questions why her own child cannot do the same? Eventually, he does just that, but when he puts on his mask, his identity isn’t the only thing that gets covered. Rather, the evident physical traits of his ethnicity get hidden as well. This opens the door to what people say when they think they aren’t being listened to. This is especially evident with the detective. When he brings an actor playing the role of emperor to his precinct, he is immediately taken as a fool. And to add more wood to the fire, the detective makes it a point to call the enemy “sneaky slanty-eyed bastards.” The detective then realizes the superhero standing before him is of Chinese decent as well and becomes awestruck. Hank, in retaliation, pulls the skin near his eyes back and mocks the detective’s words. By doing so, he informs the detective that what he said was insulting.

This event comes up later in the plot, after Hank apprehends Mock Beak and hands him over to the police. The detective reminisces on what he said in front of Hank. Hank states that what he said isn’t representative of who he is, but the detective counters by saying it is who he is, but not who he wants to be.

In the end, Hank comes to terms with himself as a superhero, striking down the offer that Red, the daughter of the emperor, had approached him with. When he is approached by Anchor of Justice, a physically caucasian superhero, he is asked to join him in recruiting men to fight for his country. Just before Anchor of Justice leaves, he keys Hank in on a secret he’s never told anyone: that he too is not classified as the majority group, and is from somewhere far away as well.

As a mayor, Giuliani was unlike any of his predecessors. He sought to tear apart the social welfare programs that LaGuardia and other mayors worked so hard ensure. Giuliana put much of his energy into bettering the middle class, and completely dismantled support for the lower class altogether. On a national basis, he immediately received praise, however, many who were denied social programs actually needed it, or were college students – forcing 16,000 CUNY students to drop out.

Subsequently, he changed the system again, only this time forcing work onto those who were eligible to receive Medicaid and Food Stamps. This was another objective that was both criticized and applauded. The funding that was once allocated to aid-based programs shifted into the white-washed emergency departments and wealthy, private institutions.

Meanwhile, he was also making an impact on the education system. He used testing as a way to increase standards. On the contrary, he had a poor relationship with three chancellors and the teachers’ union. He also hired Herman Badillo to reform the system and lay the groundwork to disband the Department of Education. He also planned on having private companies run the schools among other things.

Furthermore, he had a hand in the arts as well. New York, alongside many urban areas, was highly favorable of the First Amendment right to freely utilize the media. Giuliani didn’t condone such expression and censored a lot of art. His threatening of fund removal of the Brooklyn Museum was a clear example of how excessive his demands got, because they displayed an exhibit showing the Virgin Mary in a negative manner. This caused outrage against the mayor’s use of power and even led the museum to sue the city. They won the case.

This tactic of strong-arming people worked occasionally, as he often threatened several groups throughout the city. He even began to barricade himself in City Hall, keeping a close eye on all information that was to become public record. It got to a point where he spent $13.8 million on renovating City Hall Park and then hand-selecting which groups got to use it, which was also deemed unconstitutional on the federal level.

Then New York got a different taste for Mayor Giuliani. Following the events on 9/11, he became a national hero. He attended funerals and became the face for the media to follow. His approval ratings skyrocketed and his prior negligence was overshadowed.

He was compared to LaGuardia a lot during this time. They had similar upbringings, but LaGuardia had a more open take on immigration, focused on assisting the poor, and advocated for the arts. In these senses, Giuliani was the opposite. In turn, Giuliani will be remembered as a effectual mayor, and may even rank higher than his counterpart for his sheer acts following 9/11.

From the beginning of The Blacker the Berry, Emma Lou walks us through the color spectrum that she perceives makes a black person less likable or fitting than another. In other words, the darker someone in, the less respected they should be, and vice-versa. Both the novels take the view of the female protagonists – Emma Lou in the Blacker the Berry and Irene in Passing. In many respects, they are similar in the way they hold themselves or judge the people around them. But what is it about them that makes them seem to be unreliable?

For starters, readers are only able to gather what they learn through Emma Lou or Irene. In Emma’s case, we see the dynamic of her life to be centered around the color spectrum that she envisions. Beginning with how her colleagues mocked her because of her skin color, Emma Lou takes this and exacerbates it. It makes every destructive moment of her life be blamed on by her skin tone.

Irene is similar in the sense that she is blameful too. While skin color is less the factor for her fall-out, regardless of the impact it has on the novel as a whole, she was more focused on pointing the finger at Clare. It’s clear that jealousy was a strong motive for Clare’s murder, but throughout the book, readers see the extreme actions Irene claims Clare has done. For example, Clare’s supposed affair with Irene’s husband, Brian.

The word passing on its own has several meanings. It expresses death when someone passes away, it describes movement when a person passes through or by something, but it could also mean passing for something. In this case, the characters describe a sensation in which they had to pass for being white – and not black. At the time, this was a movement many people of color faced, in hopes that it would allow them to go further in life. The book expresses times in which Clare and Irene subconsciously or outright “passed.” Furthermore, it delves into the idea of other people passing. Clare takes this idea and is in a sense brought up to follow through with it. After being raised by her two white, christian aunts, she knew nothing other than passing for white and evidently marrying a white man. Irene on the other hand does it without feeling her integrity as a black woman is lost. We see this especially in the beginning of the novel when she visits a hotel rooftop for tea – and hopes that the server or other customers notice she is not of white descent. Paradoxically, she exclaims her pride in marrying a black man and how she hasn’t lost sense in who she truly is. This becomes a recurring theme in the novel as it spearheads the contrast between Irene and Clare. In the end, Clare is no longer passing for, but rather passing away, as Irene becomes mad and kills her.

When I look back at the journal entries I have done thus far, I reflect on the writing process I went through for each of them. They each required different forms, styles, and diction. One thing I kept throughout was my voice, however, between summarizing and using my opinion, it is hard to see where my voice comes to light. I like the fact that I conveyed the ideas that I wanted to get across. When I would read the prompt, I would focus in on one specific point and then elaborate. However, the downside to this is how I worded some of my sentencing. I felt not only could I have been more informal, but the choice of words I used could be misinterpreted sometimes. This may make it difficult to understand wholly what I am trying to say sometimes.

The main difference between journaling and note-taking is that journaling requires more internal thought while note-taking usually follows ideas that are voiced in class or created during the reading/watching of a piece. They both are structural and both seek to build on a topic within a writing or media work.

I enjoy creating these journal entries, however, I wish there was more of a clear understanding of how much I should write. Although I reflected mostly on my own entries, I couldn’t help but to compare them to that of others. I find that I write less content than others do. It makes me question whether or not I am doing enough or not enough at all. Otherwise, I am very pleased with the work I have put out and look forward to doing more.

Throughout Shaun Tan’s illustrative book, The Arrival, the author indicates a tale of immigrants coming to America for the first time. What they expect to see when they arrive is unclear to them. Most hope for opportunity to come their way, while others do it because the suffering in their native countries is unbearable. Either way, many of these immigrants felt they didn’t have a choice but to leave. It wasn’t something they wanted, but rather what they must do to survive or prosper. In retrospect, they were weary about coming over in the first place, and now they can’t turn back.

One of my favorite biblical stories is that of Lot and his wife. When God orders them to leave the city of sin, they are also instructed not to look back. Lot listened to his Lord’s orders while his wife made the mistake of glancing back, resulting in her turning to a pillar of salt. Some may argue that she peeked behind her because she felt nostalgic towards her prior hometown. How could anyone blame her? In the case of the immigrants who flooded New York Harbor in the early 20th century, they didn’t have an omnipotent being advising them not to look back. However, when the immigrants glared back, all they can see is the ship that brought them from their homeland.

On the title page, a square picture of a man with a hat is displayed. He is a good example of looking back, as the reader cannot view his face – his head is turned away facing what was behind him. The other page that includes the publishing information has such information inscribed on an inspection certificate. One that would resemble what an immigrant would receive on Ellis Island. Graphic designs pierce the page to create an aesthetically antique look.

All in all, the immigrants may not have wanted to come to America. Their decisions were based on their need to live or their desire to succeed. Some came with hopes of going back, although rare, this was their dream. And America provided them with a way to achieve such a dream.

In the beginning half of The Godfather: Part II, Michael Corleone is being shot at through his bedroom window. The camera focuses on him entering his bedroom where you can see the layout of the furniture and miscellaneous items. It isn’t until from his perspective approaching the bed that we see his wife falling asleep, with a blanket over her that has their monogram stitched into it. Where Michael sleeps is a picture of a car with him in it, being chauffeured around. The camera zooms in on the question “Do you like it?” written in crayon at the top of page. His son, the artist of the picture, also sketched two check boxes for ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ A still shot is taken of him as he walks to the dresser to presumably choose his answer, he asked by his wife why the drapes were open. The camera moves away from her in the middle of her question, allowing for off-camera dialogue to transpire. Based on this, the audience begins to focus back in on Michael, standing blankly with a half-smirk. He begins to gaze outside until his eyes widen instantaneously and he drops to the ground. The camera shots start to become more scattered as they follow the bullets damage to the bed, the wall, and the other furniture. In a cloud of debris, Michael becomes the focus. In a still shot, he is shown crawling along the floor and within a few seconds, his body is guarding his wife. The firing ends and the two of them lie on the ground. Seconds past as the viewers begin to question if either of them are hurt, but Michael answers this by clarifying he’s fine and asking his wife if she is too. It doesn’t take long before Michael is outside ordering his men to not let his shooter escape, and the scene comes to a close when Michael paces in his living room with his children, wife, and mother all around him. His wife and him exchange a look, but all we can infer from this scene is her anger from allowing things to come this far.

The second most popular immigrant group to enter New York City in the late 19^th century was the Italians. If one looks back to the number of Italian immigrants in 1850, they would find less than 1,000 according to the city’s official count. Then, when immigration for Italians was at its peak in between 1880 and 1914, over 250,000 Italians stepped into the city. By 1920, 391,000 foreign-born Italians inhabited the city, equaling more than the Irish and German combined. Unlike Jews, it was rare for Italian families to come all at once. Most of the time, men came alone with aspirations to make enough money to head back to their home in Italy, and by agricultural land. At some points, the number of Italians who returned to Italy was upwards of 50 percent. Other times, the men found solace in the growing city, and sought to make enough to migrate their families over into America.

The most well-known consolidation of Italians was of course Little Italy in Lower Manhattan. However, due the sharp rise in Italian population, there were several wards that consisted primarily of foreign-born Italians. Although most of them identified as such, it became clear that they normally stuck with what they knew – meaning they grouped with individuals from their specific region of Italy. For example, Greenwich Village was overflowing with Italians mainly from Northern Italy – cities like Genoa, Piedmont, and Tuscany. An author located 25 separate areas that were made up of 2,000 to 100,000 Italians each.

The location of these areas were crucial in the immigrants finding labor. One of the first Italian districts in Brooklyn was lined near the pier. In the beginning of this period, the padroni also assisted in where Italians were to settle, since they helped these immigrants find work. However, their practice of harshly working their clients and taking a portion of their salaries was outlawed by the turn of the century. Most found work in construction, on peers, and in garment factories. The fortunate ones found work doing municipal work, such as sanitation.

When it was time to head to home at the end of a work day, most found themselves in cruel living conditions. Abandoned by Germans and Irish, many tenements were falling apart and were infested with rodents. Italians utilized these quarters and stuffed them with their families. There were points, according to Jacob Riis, that families were forced to live in dark cellars and children had to live in the street. On top of that, these buildings usually had a foul smell and were not safe in general. Their neighbors in America began to believe Italians were plagued with bad lives and began associating them with criminal activity too. Especially the Sicilians, Italians were then looked at as people of the Mafia – creating “Black Hand” letters that forced business owners to pay dues in return for their protection. Negative public opinion climaxed when a police lieutenant investigating such activities was murdered. However, these thoughts quickly faded, and even some argued the value of having Italians as residents and workers. It even allowed for an Italian to be elected into the House of Representatives, which was unquestionably unrealistic before World War I.

The argument that persuaded people to believe Italians were hard-working led many of them to jobs in the garment industry, where they were met with a unionized struggle Jews were facing at the time. Surprisingly, many of the immigrants joined the union. Others became “scabs” – or people who took the position of workers who went on strike to scare them. Although Italian men, women, and children were all expected to work in a household, it was rare to find a woman who traveled from Europe by herself. Married women were depicted in these working environments, although children bound them to their homes, where they managed to continue working through an idea called “homework.” This idea prospered for struggling families, and even made it feasible for very young kids to work as well.

Although many would expect children to be in a school setting, there were several factors preventing that. For starters, they were needed to work simply because of the low economical standard that came with being an immigrant. The second is many Italians didn’t believe in the schooling system, in the sense that it wouldn’t benefit their children in the long run. And if they were to choose, most Italian families sent their sons, and only to public schools. Italians were predominantly Catholic. Regardless of the growing Italian-Catholic diocese which formed schools, the Italians could hardly afford it and didn’t feel comfortable with the Irish nuns. This was a result of the Irish believing Italians were false Catholics because they didn’t attend mass or followed prayer as often as they should.

However, there were some well-respected parishes. Our Lady of Pompeii, located in Greenwich Village, was led by Father Antonio Demo until the Great Depression. He was a well-known confidant and encouraged involvement within charity outside of those ran by strictly Catholics. With such parishes came the festa, which were celebrations focused on a particular religion event, usually that of a saint. With this growing likeness towards the Roman Catholics, Italians began to identify more just as Italians or Italian-Americans as World War I approached. It took a long time for many to detach themselves from ethnic influence, but overall, many began to feel half patriotic and half italiano.