Throughout Chimamands Ngozi Adichie's short story Cell One, the police brutality/oppression is abundantly clear. The hostile and violent nature of the gangs and police officers in this story are what left an impression on my mind. These themes, of violence and lack of appreciation for innocent human live, are congruent to many other modern works. Current media is occupied by violence, desensitizing modern-day people that are consumers of these products to be less opposed to it. Violent video games and movies encourage people to lash out at authority figures and develop gang-like traits in the virtual world. Unfortunately, it also can become reality in the outside world.
Recently, events of unjust police officers harming innocent people in widely reported events such as the debacle in Ferguson, have become increasingly prevalent. Citizens are becoming increasingly angry and developing a suspicion or fear of government authority due to the unjust actions of some police officers. Images of war and rioting are printed across the front page of the newspaper. I found the parade of a corpse past the crowded cells of the jail in Cell One to evoke the same fear and anger in the prisoners as these photos do to American citizens. The only way, it seems, to escape the ambiguous Cell One was to be killed, is this reflecting our society today? Can our culture stop glorifying violence before complete chaos and catastrophe breaks out on the streets?
You drew a great parallel between the story and current events regarding police brutality. While reading, I became increasingly concerned for Nnamabia's safety, my concern reaching its peak when he was transferred to cell one. And I feel the same way when I read or watch the news coverage for these real life situations, where the police are acting so awful to innocent people. And you end your post on a strong note, with how we need to stop glorifying and normalizing violence.
ReplyDeleteI think that you are asking very interesting questions. I think that Cell One displays the worse possible future that lies ahead if police brutality in our society is not stopped. Luckily, it is becoming a topic that more and more people are learning about, so I believe that it is possible to solve it if awareness is increased even more and people begin to take action against it. However, if nothing is done to stop it, I think that the police force in the United States could become this. But I do think that this would only arise in very extreme circumstances.
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