“Decrease the Heat!”

The Crown Heights riots took place in August, 1991 in Brooklyn, New York, and lasted for three days. The riots were sparked when a Guyanese boy was accidently struck and killed by a Jewish man driving his car. During the accident, a privately owned ambulance, paid for by the Jewish community, arrived first and rushed the Jewish man to the hospital, leaving the boy to die. This caused anger amongst the black community and was later expressed in the form of riots. To help better understand the underlying factors of the 1991 riots, our professor showed the class a movie titled, Crown Height, directed by Jeremy Kagan, which was a film about healing the community.

The movie centered on two kids, one a Hasidic Jew, and the other an African-American, both from two different cultures with one thing in common, hip-hop. To help heal their community, they put together a hip-hop group and performed at schools and community affairs.  In a particular scene, when the community leaders brought the kids from both sides of the community together for a discussion, I noticed they had lack knowledge for each other’s culture. They questioned each other about their clothing and hair and, at times, made racial comments in between. This scene is important because violence seems to come from not being able to identify with a particular person or group. People feel the need to identify with one another. However, if one cannot, it is safe to say that emotional tension may occur.

Pursuit of Happiness

Many people look past the underlining meaning of certain events and fail to understand the true reasons for their actions. Last week, we discussed excerpts from a literature piece titled Little Scarlet by Walter Mosley, a detective novel that took place during the Watts riots of 1965. The Story takes place in Los Angeles California, in which Easy Rawlins is asked to help solve the murder of an African-American woman by the Los Angeles Police Department. We also watched a film titled Heat Wave, which was also inspired by the Watts riots. The story takes place during the same time and featured a young man, Bobbi, who moved from Alabama to the Watts District of Los Angeles, where he landed a job as a messenger for the L.A. Times. Bobbi seizes an opportunity and becomes responsible for the reporting of the Watts riots. Both the novel and film display several emotions we have discussed in class, including a specific excerpt in which I would like to discuss.

Life is based on emotions and seems to be the reason for people’s actions. This is true in the following excerpt which involves Easy Rawlins, questioning Peter Rhone, about his business with Nola Payne. During his investigation, we discover that Peter was in fact trying to save Nola (Little Scarlet) from the riots. Peter states, “There I was, trying to save her and she saved me instead” (Mosley 131). This statement is important because during the time, it was unusual for a white man wanting to save a black woman or black anything for that matter. It was even more unusual for a woman to save a man. Yet, it is exceptional because it shows both individuals willingness to look past their differences. Many men feel obligated to protect women. Therefore, the idea of being a “hero” is a self-gratifying feeling and creates a sense of pride and happiness. This may explain the motive for both Peter and Nola. However, I also find it interesting how some men who rape and abuse women may very well receive the same feeling.