Ma 1 Jason Ma Mr.Dominguez Colloquy 27 March 2022 Untitled Power is an eternal topic as long as human civilization exists, and it can be varied in types: the power from a king to a citizen, the power from physical to the intellectual, the power from politics to social norms, and so on. It is just like water, flowing in distinctive shapes with changing strength. Power is also found everywhere; it is found in a family, organization, and even in literature and movies. In the film The Great Debator, there is a scene where Farmers drive in the countryside and incidentally kill a hog, thus being pressured to pay expensive "compensation" by two white peasants. Although this scene only lasts for a few minutes, the state, the utilization, and the flow of power are thoroughly expressed. In the scene, the subject of powerlessness is different in perspectives of visibility of power, the characters wield their powers to approach their desires, and the dynamic of power is shown by its transition back and forth between characters. The two white farmers were in a powerful position in the aspect of visible power, but they were relatively powerless compared to the Farmers'Farmers' soft power. What these whites own in this situation is absolute physical power, belonging to coercive power, where influencing agents use the threat of force to gain compliance from targets of influence(thedecisionlab). The pistol in their hand is the source of this hard power because it signals danger: people who have it can take men's lives in twinklings. Physical power is primitive(2) but incredibly effective when the condition is also primitive. Although the family possesses multiple powers, none of these can suppress the white's physical power over them with potential violence in a country road without anyone else; the social power that sets standards and creates norms(Ham). was useless in fighting against it. Ma 2 Through Farmer Junior's helpless eyes, it is easy to find that any eloquence felt vain in front of absolute physical power. The gun granted these men the supreme physical power and Farmer'sFarmer's powerlessness and subordination. However, though Farmers were powerless physically, the invisible potency they had could help reach a peaceful situation. They manage wealth-power relative to the armers. Wealth power can, in fact, buy most of the other power for its increasing importance as the base of social influence(Cooke). In the scene, Farmers have a modern car and dress decently, clearly comparing the poor white farmers with shabby clothes full of dust. Also, at the very beginning of the scene, kids of poor whites are chasing this novel car curiously. The shown wealth power of Farmers largely offer them the ability to bargain with the white men to prevent the actual implementation of their fatal physical power. The possible social status enjoyed by these blacks somehow kept the savage men from directly slaying the weak family. In a legitimately racial equal and hierarchical society, killing a seemingly well-respected man and his family capriciously might incur severe troubles and punishment for these humble peasants. Despite the fact that the peasants are keeping being active in the conversation for their coercive power, in the aspect of soft power, Farmers occupied a more advanced position, and that balance led to the final scare-but-harmless end. Both the robber and the victims wield their powers by clearly recognizing their properties to realize their goals. When Farmer Senior said he only had a few bucks, the peasants pulled out the gun. It is an abuse of power, taking unjust advantage of individuals, organizations, or governments(NCJRS). They offend the righteous aim of the constitution to grant citizens the right to arms, which is for self-defense and protection of their states(Cornell). Instead, they proactively use this right and power to threaten others to achieve their unjustified goals of robbing money. They did not wield the physical power, which is the actual act of shooting, because they realized that their coercive power of holding the gun is influential enough to get the abnormal "compensation." And Ma 3 they are constantly holding the gun to force Farmer Senior further to follow their other ambition. When the professor gave the check to them, the white men pretended to miss the paper and yelled to him to "pick it up!" This is for their resentment of the differences in social class: The fact that these blacks enjoy a higher living standard and social status conflicts with their entrenched racial discrimination and self-esteem. They, therefore, utilize this mighty power to ravage the blacks' dignity to hide their self-abasement for being more humble than blacks. Meanwhile, they unintentionally transfer the power of social norms to their kids. The camera frequently moved to kids after the burden, and one of them even smiled when they saw the blacks were humiliated. What fathers do in these young boys' eyes is acquiescently correct, and the oppression of black people would gradually form an ideology in their minds. Nonetheless, for the family's father, Farmer Senior properly wields their powers and reaches a sustained peace end. When he realized that the peasants with the gun aimed his money, he immediately wielded his wealth-power by signing a check to them. He knows that wealth-power is the only possible force to help his family to get rid of the dilemma. He also wielded his power as the dominator of Farmers with several firms and infrangible instructions when he ordered his son to go back to the car and his wife to give the check to him. Because he profoundly believes nothing is more important than his family's lives, not to mention a single monthly salary check. Such power is also expressed in camera language: The husband at elevation and the wife at a lower position. If he instead used a completely equivalent status to argue against his wife's statement that "we need that money," their hesitation might arouse the suspect from the whites who kept gazing at their movement, and the result might be completely different. The peasants wield their coercive power to get abundant rewards compared to their hog loss, and Farmer Senior exploits his power of wealth and father to reach peaceful aftermath. Ma 4 The most significant movements of the power in this tense situation take place intensively in several short conversations during the negotiation. When the hog dies, and two white men run out and complain, what they have over Farmers is just a moral power, the degree to which an actor, by virtue of their perceived moral stature, being able to persuade others to adopt a particular belief or take a specific course of action(Mehta etcl.). This but moral power could be easily eliminated by simply paying the whites a few coins. Therefore they were once in a balance position during the negotiation, shown by the flat camera that contained both sides within the same frame. To quickly resolve the little conflict, Farmer then shows both his sincerity and wealth power. At this moment, Farmer occupies the powerful side because clearly who is talking to these poor peasants is a man holding more resources, let alone owning the dollars a hog is worth. It is shown by an elevated angle to Farmers, giving a sense of control. Even though the professor kept dominance, there is a hitherto perceived stage of the conflict, in which the father is fully aware that they are in a conflict(Garant etcl.), and therefore he kept his tone calm and peaceful. However, when peasants' bid is apparently beyond what they deserve to get and Farmer attempt to muddle through their requirement, the white men pull out the gun. This action has dramatically reversed the status of the two sides. The camera simultaneously moves from an angle for depression to elevation in Farmer Senior's angle, signaling the slight domination to an absolute subordination. The negotiation in a more or less equivalent state has become the wordless but coercive claim. The process of conflict is directly pushed toward the manifest stage, where conflict is open and can be observed(Garant etcl.). While after a short consideration, the father partially pulls back his domination by wielding the true Ma 5 wealth power, which is a check valued at 17 dollars. Again, this alters the unbalanced situation into an unequal but relatively stable, demonstrated by the horizontal camera shot. The short conversation and actions have shifted the power between two sides from peaceful negotiation rising to tense and falling again to sustained consent. During the conflicts of wealth and race, power is demonstrated in a comprehensive dimension. The white peasants dominate visibly with their guns, but Farmers are powerful ones in the perspective of a hierarchical society. The whites exploited their coercive power to earn abnormally, and the blacks also continued their journey without being hurt. The conflict arises and falls with both sides' stepping overt and flowing powers. The discussion of power in these aspects helps audiences to recognize the state, usage better, and flows of power through terminology, camera language, the background of age, characters analysis, and explanation of situations. Power can be righteous, just as water can e extinguish the fire, but it can also be heavily corrupted by evil, just as water can drown lives. It is an examination of individuals' beliefs for justice when they hold great power; someone fails, and someone shines in the greatness. Ma 6 Works Cited Cooke, Bernard. “The Power of Wealth.” Oxford Scholarship Online, Oxford University Press, https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/0195174518.001.0001/acprof9780195174519-chapter-7. “The Five Stages of Conflict - Conflict Management 101.” Google Sites, https://sites.google.com/site/conflictresolution101/unit-one/the-five-stages-of-conflict. “Informational Power.” The Decision Lab, https://thedecisionlab.com/referenceguide/management/informational-power. Moral Power - Scholars at Harvard. https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/cwinship/files/moral_power-final_1.pdf. National Criminal Justice Reference Service. https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/78439NCJRS.pdf. “Second Amendment.” Legal Information Institute, Legal Information Institute, https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/second_amendment. “Social Power in International Politics.” Routledge & CRC Press, https://www.routledge.com/Social-Power-in-InternationalPolitics/Ham/p/book/9780415564229. Ma 7 Ma 8
