The clichéd saying “One must sacrifice to get what they want…” maintains an underlying theme in the film Dirty Pretty Things. The protagonist characters Okwe, Senay, and Juliette are eternally trapped in a system forcing them to make sacrifices in efforts of maintaining survival. The city of London engulfed in criminality and poverty seemingly serves as an iconic symbol of the world in that no matter where one resides there is a socially constructed power structure forcing them to abandon what often is valued most in hopes of continued survival.
As the film draws to a close the trio present Senor Juan’s kidney to his contact in the illegal exchange system. The questioning disposition of the contact illuminates that through sacrifice one is able to assert invisibility which enables them a means of survival. “Because we are the people you do not see. We are the ones who drive your cabs. We clean your rooms. And suck your cocks.” (Okwe) As Okwe and Senay flee their native countries of Nigeria and Turkey both sacrifice the familiar and familial. A sense of survival within London means each must maintain lives stripping them of their identity (the maid, the bell hop, the cab driver, etc.) which seemingly points to the world of immigration in that these individuals rely on their sense of invisibility as mechanism of survival. Juliette being a native of London maintains the familiar territory by sacrificing her body as a means of funding her life. This seems to point at the notion that this socially constructed system entraps all through the formation of the economic system. All are mere unvalued, unnamed bodies utilized to continue the flow of a system.
Although many are able to maintain existence through invisibility (the sacrifice of their identity) they longed for a sense of legitimacy, a sense they were deprived of as refugees and immigrants within the city. The act of selling a kidney to obtain a passport allowed the individuals to exchange one sacrifice for another in that they sacrifice their body and often times life for their desire to be able to maintain their identity. Being an immigrant and refugee Okwe and Senay possess invisibility yet as their survival is threatened they must result to other techniques. While Okwe is forced into serving as a doctor in the illegal operation Senay is forced to perform oral sexual acts upon the shop keeper of the sweatshop she works. These paralleled actions show the stripping of one’s moral and sexual rights violated through manipulation to attain survival.
Throughout the film the images of Okwe’s forced participation in the illegal exchange, Senay’s forced oral sexual actions, and Juliette’s sweeping into the prostitution ring illuminates the societal pressure which forces one to sacrifice morals and the body to maintain life. These images illuminate how individuals are viewed merely as tools within the economic structure.
You present an interesting argument that the characters of Okwe, Senay, and Juliette are trapped in a system of power that forces them to sacrifice their moral values and even their bodies – sacrifices that make them invisible – in order to survive. However, I wonder if you take on a bit too much here. Can you adequately prove and tackle all of these things in such a short close reading? Apart from possibly limiting the scope of your argument, my other notes would be to work on creating clear roadmap for your reader by developing strong, concise topic sentences, transitions, and conclusions. Your ideas are intriguing, but it is important to make sure your reader knows every move you will over the course of piece.
ReplyDeleteI think your argument that these three characters have to sacrifice to survive, all the while remaining invisible, is very interesting. However, I thought your paper was a little hard to follow. For your revision I would work on organizing your paper to make your thoughts clearer and easier to understand your argument.
ReplyDeleteAshley,
ReplyDeleteI really like your argument. It was really easy to find and straight to the point. I think it is very interesting that you chose to talk about the morals they abandoned to get what they want. It could be interesting to examine the characters as the "others" when using the quote “Because we are the people you do not see. We are the ones who drive your cabs. We clean your rooms. And suck your cocks.” (Okwe)
Just a thought if you were looking for something more, if not I think you did a great job.
I think the argument you present about sacrifice in order to survive is strong. However, I thought your thesis was a little too wordy and could be presented in a clearer way. I also thought that your examples were good but could be more organized and clear.
ReplyDeleteI think that you have a great argument and you set that up nicely in the beginning of your paper, but I thought the rest of the paper was not easy to follow. I would try and revise the rest of your paper so that there is a clear organization of your argument. You make great claims about survival and sacrifice, just make it more clear in your body paragraphs what your structure of the argument is.
ReplyDeleteI like your opening, but think you get a little lost throughout your paper. You have a stand-alone quote from Okwe that needs to be explained in context of your argument. Go into more detail about how invisibility is a means of survival, you briefly mention that invisibility = sacrifice of identity, but you don't support that argument thoroughly. Why are the two elements related (invisibility and sacrifice of identity) and why is that important/interesting?
ReplyDeleteYour argument for this paper is interesting and seems representative of the film's theme. However, I think you could work on the organization of this paper. As it is right now, I find it difficult to follow your logic through to the end. As you edit this paper, make sure your reader can follow your train of thought without having to stop and ask for clarification.
ReplyDeleteI like your ideas, and I think you do a pretty good job of exploring and evaluating them, but as some others have noted, the syntax is just a little confusing sometimes. Don't fear short and sweet sentences; often, they're more powerful than ones full of smart-sounding words.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I think the idea of the economic system being an overwhelming dehumanizer is really interesting and worth investigating more. You sort of just jump into that idea without much explanation and analysis of it.
I like how you point out that Okwe and Senay are barely surviving due to their invisibility, but it seems that their situations are fixed. Are you arguing that it is impossible to escape the low economic standing? I'm a little confused...
ReplyDeleteYou have really powerful thoughts going on in your paper. I was hoping someone would write about Okwe's lines as they sell the kidney. The only thing, for me, is that your writing was sometimes hard to follow. You get a little wordy, and I think commas would really help us readers hear your voice coming through. I'm sure your final draft will be great!
ReplyDeleteI like that you make some strong points and claims, but i would very much like to see you delve deeper into the why and the how, and the importance of showing us this lifestyle. i'd like to see you talk more about the entrapment of the three characters and the different kinds of sacrifices they make, and how their choices impact their personalities and values/morals (senay is muslim, and sacrifices her virginity to get to america. that is HUGE for a muslim girl to give up.) i think you have a good beginning.
ReplyDeleteAshley,
ReplyDeleteYour close reading brings a lot of interesting points to the table, and I enjoyed reading them. Your individual ideas are clear, and your main point--that sacrifices must be made to survive--is mostly clear throughout the text. I would recommend that you clear a more clear and concise structure for your close reading. It reads now as more of a stream of notable observations, and I think if you make a clear connection between them your essay will be much stronger.
I really enjoyed the last sentence of your essay--for me, this answered the "so what"--but I think you could go further with this. I'd recommend to incorporate it into your thesis and argue it throughout, along with your point about self-sacrifice. You're off to a great start!
Great evidence and argument. I understood what you were arguing and you pointed to key points in the film that supported that the three characters had to sacrifice themselves to survive. Why is this brought up though? Do you think this is a problem and unjust? Why does the film portray this theme?
ReplyDeleteCool argument and an interesting take on the film. You have plenty of great ideas regarding the film.
ReplyDeletesuggestion: make your last sentence of your first paragraph more clear. As it is, it is easy to get lost in all the wording. The overall statement is great, but a better organization of it will make it far better. Perhaps elaborate more on your final sentence. It has a lot of potential.
I really like the track you are on. Dirty, Pretty, Things was an interesting movie, and I enjoy your analysis of sacrifice to survive. However, I think you need to define "invisible." I understand what you are getting at because they are the ones who hold the "dead-end" jobs, but at the same time, Okwe has a very public front desk position at the hotel, so this could get confusing.
ReplyDeleteGreat work. I really liked that you included Juliette as well for there is a lot of substance to her character even though she is not one of the main characters. You also start off with a solid argument. The scene you chose to talk about is one of my favorite scenes in the movie. You do a good job explaining but I think you can take it even further on your revised draft. It would only strengthen your paper if you delve more into Juliette's character than you already have. Going along with that, talking more about the societal system and the economic structure would help your readers understand more because you briefly mention them but don't really explain why. Overall, nice job! :)
ReplyDeleteYour connection between sacrife and immigration is very interesting and thought-provoking, however, there are a couple issues you might want to examine further. Such as; you say that Okwey participates in the black market butchering, however, he actually refuses to do so and only resorts to the illegal kidney transplant surgery as a means of avenging Senay's rape, and lastly, Juliette seems content with her positition as a prostitute so I wonder if she is actually resorting to this as a means of invisibility or if as a Londoner she doesn't fit "the other" profile. Just some thoughts to help you with you editing. Other than that, I really enjoyed your close analysis of the film!
ReplyDeleteYour citations and quotes from the film helped your argument stay on track. I think you found your footing of the argument at the end. I think you could really delve into how the three people physically sacrifice in order to survive invisibly. I would also like this article to go into what it means to live invisibly, and how that isn't living at all. Over all I think the article is on the right path but just needs refinement.
ReplyDeleteMost of us have been guilty of doing this in our responses (myself included), but the very end of your response is where you drop a bombshell that needs to be explored further: "These images illuminate how individuals are viewed merely as tools within the economic structure.:
ReplyDeleteThat's a big topic to handle - you're opening a huge can of worms when you start talking about economic structures and anyone's role within them.
There's also a dichotomy at play here: sacrificing oneself is often looked upon as a noble action, but in Dirty Pretty Things sacrifices are made merely to get by (as you note).
You support your thesis well in this close reading. I understood what your supporting evidence was, but at times it was really wordy and kind of jumbled. You seem to have more of a stream of thoughts down instead of a structured essay. Some of the plot summary was out of order and kind of confusing. I think you should reveal that they are selling the kidney to obtain a passport all at once instead of just bringing up the kidney and then later mentioning the passport. It would keep your thoughts more concise.
ReplyDeleteI agree with others that the argument needs to be more focused to make your thesis really effective. I think that focusing on how invisibility and sacrifice of one's values etc. is an interesting place to start and should be focused on throughout the paper. This is a nice start though.
ReplyDeleteLike everyone else, I think you have a strong argument that just needs a little more focus. You have good evidence to support what you're saying. I think some more clarification with parts and a few changes regarding syntax would really help your paper flow more easily. Good work so far!
ReplyDeleteI think you have really great ideas, but you should work on focusing them a little to hone in on what you want your main argument to be. The way it is now, your close reading is confusing because you have so many great ideas, but they are all competing with each other.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your discussion of sacrifice in your close reading and the role that it takes in each main character's life. The main points that stood out to me were the idea of London being a microcosm for the world, invisibility equating the sacrifice of the characters' identities, and the characters being stripped of their moral and sexual rights. I think that if you continue to build upon these ideas it will make your overall argument and your entire close reading even stronger.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your idea, I thought it was very original and interesting, however I think you should try to focus your paper a little more. A few other responses have said it, but I think the last line of your paper is more telling than your actual thesis statement. Also, in your thesis and intro, you make clear statements regarding London and it's economy. I would shy away from doing that, as those are broad generalizations that you haven't really backed up. I would maybe qualify your claims by saying "In the movie, London is depicted as...." or something like that.
ReplyDeleteI loved the idea you portray throughout, but I feel like you make a big point at the end, that needs to be further explained.
ReplyDeleteI know this is something a lot of people have said, but I'm going to agree with everyone who commented on the last line of the paper. That definitely seems like a jumping off point to me.
ReplyDelete