Thursday, May 5, 2011

Poverty and its Stereotypes

People are usually quick to label, quick to assume. If you go to a school where most of the population i upper middle class and you live in a trailer park, with no way of transportation other than your two feet, you'll probably hear names being thrown at you such as "trashy", "ghetto", or "white trash". People use these words so nonchalantly that they forget how offensive they truly are. People who live in poverty are usually labeled as "lesser" or even "lazy" and people often question why they don't choose to get a better job. It's not that easy.

In the movie we have been watching this week, they introduce a woman named Tammy and let us take a glance into her lifestyle. Tammy lives in a trailer, with three sons, and a car in need of repair just resting on her lawn. She works at Burger King, never takes off her work uniform, and walks 10 and a half miles to go to her brutal job. At Burger King, she greets most customers, kindly, while cleaning the restaurant. Then, after her long shift, she has to walk 10 and a half miles back home. She mentions that people often yell out names to her while she's walking on the side of the road, judging her instantly. Her eldest son looks at her life and automatically knows that he doesn't want to be stuck in this low-pay working class when he's grows up, so he tries everything to dress differently, teach his brothers to act "preppy", and even judges his own mother. He battles with this desire to break the social class system and work his way to the top. If he succeeds being working class, he will most likely not be accepted in his new class because society doesn't see that as where he "belongs".

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