Reflection on The Video

I thought the Mambo Mouf clip was very weird at first. I didn't understand what he was trying to convey in his skit. However after thinking about it alittle, I feel that he used comedy as a pathway to convey discrimination against women. Also, I feel that the characters he exhibited were so developed that it enhanced his skit as it not only was funny but also expressed significant stereotypes. I think the few times that the audience wasn't laughing was very significiant. Although the whole skit was supposed to be funny the silent moments form the audience showed that they understood the seriousness of the issues discussed in the skit.

Comments about the video clip

I enjoyed the clip that we viewed in class becuase they put the issue of violnce against women which is somewhat covered up, out in the fore front and used comedy as a relief. This allows women to her aere afraid to say anything a chance to talk about how they feel on the issue and what they have experienced.

Mambo Mouth Performance

I thought that the Mambo Mouth performance was a great way to show how power is used within human relationships and the impact in which power can have over people. The skit portrays a Hispanic woman who basically gives a monologue on her experience with rape. While it is interesting how comedy can seem to lighten a seemingly devastating and horrific situation portrayed in this skit, one thing that really stuck out for me was the motion of revenge. In the relationship portrayed in the skit between the man and woman, it is the man who is exerting his power over the woman through rape, not once, but multiple times. Over time it seems that the woman's attitude changes from being hurt to feeling anger, pain, and devastation. This message really hit home as to what we have been talking about in lecture and discussion in terms of the human experience and the role that power has over it. Power, seemingly if not balanced, creates the possibility of oppression of the powerless and corruption of the powerful. Overall, the skit "strips the sheets" off of what is rape and exposes the experience of rape. It truly was interesting and powerful and I really enjoyed it.

Video and Violence

I really enjoyed the video that we watched in class because it puts the issues of rape into a different perspective. Instead of looking only at how the victim reacts to rape, the video also addresses the actions of the rapist, but in a funny way. Videos like this can really help people who have been victims of rape because it lets them see that they can tell people about the things that have happened to them, like the character in the video we saw. One of the types of violence that is addressed in the video is cultural violence, where a person's cultural background influences their susceptibility to violence. The video features a hispanic woman who discusses how she gets raped by her boyfriend, and won't do anything about it. The video shows that hispanic women are stereotypically weak and won't tell anyone about it if they get raped. I also thought that this discussion was a good supplement to our reading of Kindred.

Violence/Video Reflection

I generally understood and appreciated the various aspects of the video we saw in class last week. The fact that it was a comedic commentary on rape made it unique and interesting. How can a topic so serious be conveyed so well in such a light-hearted form? Often, when put in serious terms and serious formats, ideas of breaking the power struggle of rape becomes lost in the gravity of the situation. If a person is reading about rape in such a somber format, they're more likely to become more depressed, and feel weaker and therefore less motivated to break free especially because in most written analyses or mentions of rape, the focus is always on the victim. However, when presented as a comedy, victims of rape are more likely to see their situation objectively - and therefore gain confidence and motivation to break free.

Apart from the advantages of using a comedic medium, this video also presented ideas of political platforms presented in non-traditional ways. By including ideas of race, class, and gender the video succeeded in conveying the comedian's perspective of a very specific demographic of society. It would have been more accurate if it had included many more demographics as its not alwasys hispanic women that get raped. There have been many reported cases of rape against men, and rape of people of different race.

Overall - I thought this video contributed well to our discussion of violence and Kindred.

Violence

The violence that I chose that stood out was epistemic violence. The reason I chose this violence because it deals with violence that is scientific and can harm individuals such as experiments.

Matrix of Domination

Hi all,In case you haven't heard of or don't have access to Patricia Hill Scott's text, Black Feminist Thought (whichI would encourage you all to take a look at), here is a website that has excerpts from her text particularly about the Matrix of Domination. Please take a look at sections of this reading before our next class on Tuesday, April 8.

Black Feminist Thought in the Matrix of Domination