This event was quite nuanced to the readings we have done for class. I feel as though much of the papers and media we have absorbed was through the lens of America and seeing the differences with Germany was interesting. However, the closest assignment we’ve done to this talk was definitely The Half of It. Ellie, the only Chinese girl in her town, was visually and culturally isolated from many of her peers. John Amoateng-Kantara was similarly isolated: he noted how any time he walked down the street, he would be stared at. Ironically, John felt most German in the German navy– despite being the only black person on board, the routine and uniforms helped him fit in. Ellie also starts to fit in later on in the movie when she befriends Paul– they met regularly, biked/ran to school together, and even Ellie’s father adjusted to Paul being around. But the two stories do differ. John’s question of “Who am I?” centered primarily around race– the conflict between feeling German (a majority white nationality) and black (a concept he felt tied to mainly from what he saw in American media) left him confused for much of his youth. Ellie, on the other hand, knew who she was, but was more so hidden and less open about her sexuality. Thankfully, at least for John, change did come for Germany and he finds comfort in more black people within the country. The existence of more marginal groups is reflected in a different media piece we’ve covered in this course: Disclosure. Sandra Caldwell emphasizes throughout much of the documentary that she enjoys the presence of more transgender individuals in Hollywood. In a place where she previously was not comfortable with ‘disclosing’ her gender history, she became more open to the idea after she realized how many others like her were around. People like Laverne Cox and more make being transgender in Hollywood less scary than it was before as John finds being black in Germany less isolating.

Despite this talk’s focus on the film industry, which I understood little of, I did learn something else regarding immigration. During this talk, the subject of inappropriate words did come up; more specifically, the use of the R-word was touched upon. And, basically, it made me realize how, if you’re not up-to-date on American terminology, words that were once okay to say may become taboo. As a result, this reminded me of the brief mention in class over the value of “transsexuals” and how, for many younger generations, it can be seen as a slur. But, to someone not familiar with the rapidly changing environment in America, they may not be aware of the cultural change against some words, and taking the time to inform them of the change may be helpful.