Pariah - Journal Entry 28 Xiongyue Yu

Pariah - Dee Rees

 

The title of the film - the word Pariah in English means lowly person - refers to those who are not accepted by their social group, mainly because they cannot be liked, respected or trusted by people. The protagonist of the film, too, depicts the story of a young black girl of 17 years old who cannot be accepted by the social group she lives in. She experiences a lot of misunderstanding and hurt in her relationship with her family and partner. The teenager Alike eventually wants to accept everything about herself, embraces her homosexuality, and also tries to reconcile with those around her. Although in the end she still does not manage to get her mother's acceptance, she still chooses to live her life. The film is indeed a socially groundbreaking viewpoint set in a delicate and closed social environment, but under the perspective of this female director, there is a more delicate story being told about the emotional world of an ordinary individual. Different social environments affect individuals with different chemical reactions. People passively live in the existing social environment, but use all their active choices to discover and choose a happy ending for their lives. DeeRees' directorial influence, driven by such ideas, comes in large part from her own life, and this empathy and accessibility involving individuals has touched new audiences and sparked new conversations focused on blackness and sexuality in new ways.

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