Ethnography Little Odessa, the predominantly Russian-speaking enclave of South Brooklyn, has been a thriving community for decades that achieved political power on its own. The area comprising Brighton Beach and Coney Island had once been a "summer getaway for wealthy New Yorkers," but morphed into a working class ethnic enclave after World War Two (Robinson & D'Onfro, 2014). Subsequent waves of refugees from Russian-speaking areas of Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Russia -- about 50 countries in total -- have poured in, lending the community a multi-ethnic and vibrant character. Since the 1970s, about 400,000 more refugees and immigrants from former Soviet republics have streamed into New York City and most have congregated in Brighton Beach (Miyares, 1998). In the 1980s, Soviet emigration policies started to become even more lax, enabling the inflight of more refugees from the Soviet Union, most of whom were Jewish. For a while now, Brighton Beach has been the home of the largest Russian-speaking population in the Untied States (Ziyatdinova, 2014). Half of the population of Brighton Beach is foreign-born, of those, half come from either the Ukriane or Russia (DiNapoli & Bleiwas, 2012). Because a large proportion of post-1970 immigrants were from Ukraine, and also because Odessa is a seaside city with a substantial Jewish population, Brighton Beach easily wears the nickname Little Odessa. It is occasionally referred to as "Little Russia by the Sea,"...
Brighton Beach itself imparts a symbolically open feel, and likewise links Little Odessa to its Old World counterpart. Street signs, business signs, and verbal communication are conducted in Russian. Many of the residents of Little Odessa do not know English. Little Odessa has been described as a waypoint for some immigrants, who generally choose to leave after they learn English or find work outside the community (Ziyatdinova, 2014). Ziyatdinova (2014) notes that seniors and "people who can't learn English" are the only ones who choose to stay and live in the Brighton Beach area (p. 104). Yet Little Odessa businesses are thriving, attracting a substantial number of immigrants who speak varying degrees of English. Nostalgia is a primary reason for remaining in or visiting Little Odessa, as shops and restaurants sell the brands, products, styles, and cuisine of the motherland. Vodka is a staple, along with pelmeni and pirozhki. There are elements of Old World life that are less savory than others, with widespread knowledge of the perpetuation of Russian social hierarchies including mafia (Ziyatdinova, 2014). In fact, it has been said that in Brighton Beach, "the Soviet Union still exists," (Ziyatdinova, 2014).
They are only trying to justify their actions; they are handing excuses, telling the events as they happened. And in the end maybe these characters do find an excuse, the one that they are both human, bound to fail and to be influenced, sharing the same planet and dealing with the same kind of people. The two personages enjoyed having power and realized in the end that having power
45). There are also important racial issues that are examined throughout "A Touch of Evil"; these are accomplished through what Nerrico (1992) terms "visual representations of 'indeterminate' spaces, both physical and corporeal"; the "bordertown and the half-breed, la frontera y el mestizo: a space and a subject whose identities are not fractured but fracture itself, where hyphens, bridges, border stations, and schizophrenia are the rule rather than the exception" (Nericcio,
Russia & Ukraine The current crisis in Ukraine is a good case study for international relations. The primary actors are Ukraine, Russia, the United States and the European Union. In brief, Ukraine has been splitting politically since independence from the U.S.S.R. along ethnic lines. Ukrainians, still seeking for solidify their national identity, are pro-West in their outlook; Russians are pro-Russia in outlook. This schism has defined the country's politics since independence,
According to Smoll and Smith, there are two basic attitudes toward competition; an ego attitude and a mastery attitude. Parents who have an ego attitude toward their own competition -that is, they compete to win and to be better than others - are especially likely to be competitive with other parents about their child's achievements. Essentially, the parent goes from being proud to being boastful. These, then, are the four
Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team and a Dream, by H.G. Bissinger. Specifically, it will discuss the philosophical, psychological, social, and ethical views from the book, in regards to life, sports, coaching, and the students/players. Football in Odessa is the only reason most people live, and "Friday Night Lights" vividly shows the petty small town bigotry, small mindedness, and mentalities that create a culture out of football, and
From this came our insistence on the drama of the doorstep" (cited by Hardy 14-15). Grierson also notes that the early documentary filmmakers were concerned about the way the world was going and wanted to use all the tools at hand to push the public towards greater civic participation. With the success of Drifters, Grierson was able to further his ideas, but rather than directing other films, he devoted his time
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