kaleidoscope
Who is the other? That's one of the questions one is posed with. This is where kaleidoscope comes in. Not only does the short student film explore the essence of 'the other' and 'otherness' but it also 'the other' in specifically Franklin & Marshall College. Randy Wilkins explores many of the themes that students of today are faced with- themes that would classify them, or their classmates as potential others. The Theme of Homosexuality or sexual preference/orientation (of course these two differ when discussing the self as essential or constructed) is one prevailing theme. Candy is one of the chosen film makers within the movie who explores this. A homosexual herself she blatantly refers to her as the other. Being part of the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual club, she now sees the realities faced.
It is vice versa when it come to the American point of view, as the foreigner minority group- those that are different culturally form them- are perceived as 'the other'. Here prejudice that lead to violence came into play. Homosexuality is a factor that would immediately label one as an 'other' as it is viewed as different from the 'normal' heterosexual preference of the 'typical F&M student', that of course being the 'rich to middle class white male'. They are however a phenomenon of the F&M student body. It is clearly seen here that 'teams' as suggested by Goffman are seen. A stereotype of course but fairly accurate if one looks at the student body at a glance as I did when I first came here. Despite having differences between us we find 'being foreign' as a common area. This was probably a case of the 'otherness' that was even more deeply explored. Here the teams or clicks are ethnic groups. Another strong other theme was that of being a black student at F&M. However, realistically it is I, and all of the other international students that should be perceived as 'the other'. This incident would have alone set the black community apart from the rest as the attack evoked by suspicion was one based solely on skin colour. The assault of a certain Black F&M student as described in the movie as he was suspected for being on the grounds at night as a visitor clearly displays the F&M community's clear stereotype of the Black minority.
Common topics in this essay:
Black F&M,
Gay Bisexual,
Theme Homosexuality,
KALEIDOSCOPE That's,
Randy Wilkins,
'the other',
student body,
international students,
perceived 'the other',
perceived 'the,
f&m student,
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Acceptance Essays
