StephanieGaray

I really liked the movie "The Visitor", because it showed the true situations illegal immigrants face in the United States. They fear for their lifes especially avoiding of being deported. Prof.Vale really tried to help Tarqui, like how many other people try to help illegal Americans. Sometimes I feel sorry for the illegal immigrants because the only thing they are trying to do is provided a good home for their family in the USA. Like Tarqui when he got arrested in the subway was very easliy, meaning that then illegal immigrants have to be cautious of what they do. The law is very hard on them, and during the time they are in detention, they are treated as criminals. Criminals of wanting a better life and opportunities. Their dreams are crushed when they feel hopeless and have the feeling of not coming back, because it is too dangerous. Some illegal immigrants manage to travel that dangerous journey again of crossing the border.

Illegal immigrants are warriors and are people who would do anything for even low wage to accomplish a better living in America. Many illegal immigrants work three or more jobs for very low salary. They suffer working in difficult, dirty, and dangerous jobs that risk their lives. This demonstrates how much they want to accomplish the American dream, and live better then they lived in their countries. But sometimes by working in dirty and dangerous places they are contiagued with disease making the environment for the people living in the US more vulnerable of getting infected. Thats why illegal immigrants have to be careful of what they do. 

It's tough to say how many people are in the U.S. illegally, let alone how many are working or using public resources. Every study uses rough estimates. Still, we do have some clues. Illegal immigrants contribute to the economy whenever they pay sales tax and, indirectly through rent payments, real estate taxes. Also, those who use false Social Security numbers pay taxes into the system they don't get back, since people here illegally aren't eligible to receive Social Security payments. In 2003 alone, the government received Social Security taxes on $57.8 billion from wage reports that couldn't be matched to the person filing. Illegal immigrants are excluded from most federal and state entitlements such as subsidized housing or food stamps, and a 2007 congressional report found they appear to contribute more than they use in services. But the money they contribute often goes to federal and state coffers, while many services they benefit from, such as health and law enforcement, come out of local government budgets. Several studies show more than half of the country's estimated 12 million illegal immigrants are uninsured (out of a total of 47 million uninsured people in the U.S.) and thus likely to use public emergency rooms that treat everyone regardless of ability to pay. It's difficult to calculate the amount of free health care - or, for that matter, free public-school education - they benefit from, since it simply isn't known what proportion of these services go to people who are in the country illegally. Another cost of illegal immigrants: Their willingness to accept low wages drives down wages in some industries. Then again, if immigrants didn't take these jobs, some of them might get outsourced overseas. 

How does it feel to be thrown into the unknown?

What is it like to leave everything behind?

And to start a new life all over again?

The life of new culture, new language, new everything.

Is it strange? Is it scary? Is it worrisome?

Please, someone tell me anything!!!

Everyday I hear reports on the news say,

"another illegal immigrant has been shipped back to their home country."

 They are naive to believe America is full of unity,

of many places with much opportunity. 

But why the United States of America?

They want the American dream?

Could someone tell me? 

Why they struggle to be accepted, fit in

if the promise land just treats them as aliens,

animals that have no right to begin.

Begin to live the dream

because there is a barrier, a line that can't be crossed

You could tell by their face the pain

they are human beings who scream for help.

They do have rights like you and me.

Immigrants want to live in a new land and have new hopes.

They want to live in a country of freedom.

A freedom that takes them out of their misery,

where they were tied with chains and ropes.

Now I understand and I feel proud of them.

The power of media is promoting unhealthy self image. In todays society, models and celebraties are seen as the people who are the most beautiful with a perfect body. Models are shown in every ad as a skinny women, who could fit into anything people tell them to. Celebraties just are famous people like the models who tend to protect their physical appearance and be like role models for the society. A quote from "Two ways a Woman Can Get Hurt": Advertising and Violence by Jean Kilbourne, on page 433, " All women are vulnerable in a culture in which there is such widespread objectification of women's bodies, such glorification of disconnection, so much violence against women, and such blaming of the victim." Women are very obessed with thinness, thats why when many girls or women look at the magazines of others, then look their selfs at the mirror, they realize that they might have to change something about themselves to look like  someone in a magazine. Women tend to stare at themselves at the mirror, wishing the mirror will tell them what is wrong with them. The television, ads and pictures are enemies of women who feel unsure of their physical appearance.

Also, another way the media promots unhealthy self image is how the ads portray women as objects who are abused and exploited. Many women are viewed as the blamed victims, because they are the ones who dress sexy and provocative. I believe that women are abused such as, raped because some men out there are crazy and sex freaks. They are men who weren't brought up in a good household with morals and virtues, thats why they kill and hurt women. The media gives men ideas giving advertisments like example,page 422 " A perfume ad saying," Apply generously to your neck so he can smell the scent as you shake your head 'no'". Men by reading this ad would think different and say that the women by shake her head no means yes. They would take advantage and won't respect women they will think that every women should be treated harshly the same.

When I was in high school, there was a girl who imitated a famous singer their style, hair color, way of speaking everything. She was to me very insecure of herself because she had no personality. Thats the power of media, she acted like that person and even sang similarly as the person. She even did plastic surgery on her boobs to be like the person. I felt really bad of her because she was becoming someone that already exists. When women look at other women, and then look at themselves in the mirror they feel insecure because they notice that they need out that women in the magazine, ads has. I believe this concept should change but society and media are the evil  who don't stop sending the negative messages to women or about women.

The quote "I hope my baby doesn't turn out prieto", by Judith Ortiz Cofer from "The Story of My Body" in p. 394, means that a woman hopes not to have a dark skin baby. It relates to me because before I even started dating, my mother would all ways tell me that the guys I went out with had to be white or european with blue or green eyes and tall. She always told me that the guys in her country whom she dated were similar to her description and wanted me to be lucky as her. "Give me a Break!". Back then my mother was very controlling and racist. Even though one of my sisters married a man darker then she, it was like milk and chocolate nicely combined together and one of my other sisters married a Japanese. My mother approved and was ok with it. One personal experience, I remember my first boyfriend multicultural, Brazilian and Puerto Rican, my mother approved just because he was light skin and had green eyes. Then when I had my second boyfriend, that was terrible, I argued with my mother over why she didn't accept him and what was wrong? He was Colombian with fair skin, but my mother wasn't impressed, she told me that a white or european is better for me not someone from her country or any South American country. I couldn't understand her of why mother would be soo racist and even with people from her country. Her reason was she wanted a better life for me. During that time I didn't understand her, but now I do. Now, my mother has changed her perspectives and is open-minded. She wants me to just marry a good man that respects me and loves me. Also, I am the one who is in all my right to choice who I want to marry.

     Niaz Mosharraf, 17 years old, came to the United States in 1997 from Bangaldesh with his family for a better and higher education. On his first day of school, he was asked from his teacher "Where are you from?". He responded proudly "Bangaldesh", right away teacher was so ignorant to ask "Where in India is that?" That was the start of classmates and neighbors judging Niaz by his appearance calling him ghandi, hindu, and other names that he was none of. So he created a video "America for Dummies", that showed how much Americans out on the street know of history and foreign countries. To his surprise all the people could recognize the celebrities better than any other important person of another country from the pile of pictures Niaz showed them. Niaz also did more research and interviewed two high school teachers, they both said that students are more concern to get good grades then learn more of what they studied. To support this fact there were students interviewed and they agreed that they don't give a dam to what is on the news or about politics. They just care about getting good grades and passing the course. 

      The message of the video clip is saying that American's don't know or care about what goes around in the world. That is why many question why wars and terrorists attacks occur. This clip tells us to wake up and smell the coffee. Eventhough, we receive a good education we don't apply what we learn in our daily lifes. We are like robots, who don't give our opinion about the foreign issues because truely we don't know anything about the world. Also, people should not judge a person by how they look. The message also states that Americans usually watch what interests them, for example like entertainment news and other nonsenses.   

       The video clip "America for Dummies", does relate to me because I am a person who loves to watch T.V., but just looks at thinks that interest me. Don't get me wrong, I do look at the news but sometimes don't pay attention to it much. I am also a person who just studies to get good grades and sometimes the things I study just fly out the window after I leave the classroom. Now, by looking at the clip I realized that yes i do have to look at more BBC, CNN, and also read the New York Times. Well, not that dramatic but I know that our President Barack Obama, will deal with a lot of foreign policies and I have to be in top of that. There is a change going in the United States, and I want to be more informed.