I think that our discussion of “The Commitments” this week has been a rather revealing one for the way that I tend to analyze the texts we have been reading this semester. I’ve found that just due to the nature of the course’s objectives, that I come to every piece of literature with the lens of race, and the history of oppression. When I examined “The Commitments” this week, I was not able to see the economic impact in the novel at all. I was immediately drawn to the race aspect of Rabbitte’s comparison of the Irish and African Americans – and everything followed suit from there. Consequently, my examination of how the movie focused so much on the economic standpoint of Ireland was also based on race (though to a lesser extent). I’ve learned this week that I should try to broaden my lens, rather than focusing solely on race and oppression when drawing comparisons between these two cultures.
2 Replies to “Economics, or Race?”
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I addressed a very similar issue in my blog as well. I agree that The Commitments helped me broaden the way I look at the gestures. I think I was initially drawn to a race comparison rather than an economic comparison because an explanation of the economic state of Ireland was lacking in the book and more prominent in the movie. This is a really important shift as we near the end of class to continue to be flexible in the way to look at the Black & Green Atlantic as our definition continues to change and develop.
That’s a really good point. I hadn’t though of the distinction between class and race so clearly as an aspect of our class before this week. It adds another important layer to our ongoing conversation about these gestures and also I think helps us see where the Irish are coming from when they make their comparisons. I think it will help us to understand even better where to gestures do and do not work and make distinctions between characters like Joey and characters like Jimmy and The Commitments.