When the trailer for the
movie “Us” came out on Christ-
mas Day, it seemed to shake
up the nation. Not only did the
film itself just look horrify-
ingly good, but it was also very
refreshing for Black people
around the country.
After many questions about
the film’s premise, Jordan Peele
has stated that the film has
nothing to do with with race,
contrary to his Oscar-winnin-
gOscar winning 2017 film Get
Out. At a screening of the Us
trailer, Peele told the audience
that it was very important for
him “to have a Black family
at the center of a horror film”.
Black people in this genre are
very rare to see, so having an
entire black family as the cen-
ter of the film is exciting.
Courtesy of Universal Pic-
tures
Having Black main charac-
ters of any film will send the
masses of the Black population
running into the theater spend-
ing their coin out of support.
But this film, in particular, in
particular is refreshing because
of the fact that the main
characters are what seems to
be a normal Black family. We
are so used to seeing Black fam-
ilies with a parent missing (usu-
ally the father) because they
are in jail or just missing for a
reason that is never explained.
Sometimes we see a single Black
mother who has been made into
the popular Black stereotype of
the “welfare queen”. When we
do see a middle class, nuclear
Black family, there seems to be
one family member (usually the
daughter) who is unrealistically
lighter than the rest of the fam-
ily.
Based off of the trailer, the
film Us will feature a dark-
skinneddark skinned, middle-
classmiddle
class
suburban
family who is able to be friends
with white people while still
listening to music such as The
Luniz’s “I Got 5 On It” during
family time. This is extreme-
ly refreshing for 21st century
Black families who live in the
suburbs and, have white friends
and acquaintances, but are also
still very aware of their Black
identities.
While I do think that it is
important for there to be mul-
tiple representations of Black
people in televisions and mov-
ies just like how there are in
real life- the good, the bad, and
the ugly- I think that this movie
will be a positive representa-
tion of how a lot ofmany Black
people live today.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Michigan in Color
Monday, January 28, 2019 — 3A
What are the places
that have molded
you into the person
you are today?
At the beginning of each
of my semesters at Michigan,
I’ve consistently felt the same
uncomfortable
cacophony
of
emotions. On one hand, I’m
thoroughly bored by the end
of break and am pining for the
semester to start. I feel excited
about the thought of getting
back on campus, seeing lots of
old friends, meeting new people
and also getting busy again. But
then as the first day of classes
comes around the corner the
feeling of excitement is often
replaced with stress and anxi-
ety as I start to remember what
a busy college semester feels
like and how meeting new peo-
ple proves to be harder than it
sounds.
The transition between break
and a busy college semester usu-
ally starts with the awkward
round of icebreakers that one
is bound to participate in the
majority of their classes. This
is usually when you get to find
out interesting facts and talents
about your peers such as “I like
hummus”, “I’m double-jointed
almost everywhere in my body”
or even “I learned how to ride a
bike without training wheels”.
Like many on campus, I have
spent the last few days trying to
make my “fun fact” something
that will make people laugh
at the moment, but also some-
thing that people won’t strictly
remember me by. But during
these painstaking ice break-
ers, one question that is a little
more difficult for me to answer
is “Where are you from?” This
is usually a question that people
don’t struggle with, but person-
ally it means a lot more than
just the name of the city where
I was born or where I went to
high school. It means: what are
the places that have molded you
into the person you are today?
Ann Arbor, Michigan and
Bangalore, India are two places
that are very dear to me. I have
lived the majority of my life
in Ann Arbor, but I can confi-
dently say that I wouldn’t be
the person I am now without
the three years I lived in India.
In fact, looking back at it, as a
first generation Indian-Amer-
ican immigrant, it meant a lot
to me to have my own experi-
ence with India. Prior to that,
hearing stories from my parents
about their childhood, eating
the Indian food my mom makes,
waking up at 6 a.m. to talk to
my grandparents and cousins
on the phone and summer vaca-
tions to India were the extent
of my cultural exposure. But
living in India really allowed
me to relate to my family in a
way that I hadn’t been able to
before. It made it possible for
my parents to share a lot of the
same experiences that they had
growing up in India. My parents
showed me where they grew up,
I participated in a lot of tradi-
tional festivals and holidays and
I got to see my family a lot more
often than I had before. Living
in India gave me the opportu-
nity to explore my heritage in a
way I wasn’t able to before.
It wasn’t really until after I
moved back to Ann Arbor that
I slowly started to realize the
importance and the significance
of my Asian-American identity.
Before I moved, Ann Arbor was
the only home I knew. In fact,
while I was terribly homesick
during my first month there, I
made it very clear to all of my
classmates that I bleed maize
and blue. However, when I
moved back three years later, I
realized Bangalore had become
a part of me that I couldn’t
get rid of. I couldn’t pretend
that I had never moved there.
After all, I came back with a
thick Indian accent and a com-
pletely different personality. It
was the first time that I had to
come to terms with and accept
my cultural identity for it’s the
one thing that makes everyone
themselves and unique.
All of this would be really
difficult and maybe even bor-
derline overkill to explain in
an icebreaker on the first day
of class. But the next time it’s
my turn, I probably won’t try
to make mine as short as pos-
sible in order to get to the next
person. Sometimes what may
seem like a “simple question”
deserves a complicated answer
and can reveal a lot about a per-
son. So please, if you have to
take a couple of extra seconds
during an ice breaker that’s
already been going on for too
long to represent where you’re
from, please take them. We’re
all ears.
Where are you from? It’s complicated
The Art of Being Self-Aware
ARIELLE MCENTYRE
MiC Columnist
DEVAK NANUA
MiC Contributor
CHARLES HARRIS
MiC Columnist
Why the “Us” Trailer is so refreshing for
Black families
I guess looking up at the stars you get a sense of something much bigger
than yourself.
You realize that in the grand scheme of things you’re not much but a speck in
the universe.
But yet you sit and think for hours a day on how to change the world, or at
least yours
You know time is socially constructed, but live and die by it.
Spending a lot of it on what I hope gives you a fulfilling feeling deep inside
Even in the moments that you wish you could get back, because you believe
it was time wasted, but in reality it wasn’t because here you are right here,
right now.
You start to realize that everything is connected, every small or big action you
have done has put you in the exact spot you are in now.
Not a second too late, or early.
The butterfly effect starts to become very clear to you now.
So now you become mindful of every small action you do, hoping that at
some point all the insignificant moments in your life start to culminate into a
puzzle, if you will.
You live everyday with a limited perspective, until you have small epiphanic
moments that broadens your perspective.
Ideals and situations that were once clouded, become clear as island water
untouched by man.
Every breath you take, is much more refreshing because you realize the true
value of every inhale and exhale.
The colors are more vivid, and purpose fuels passion.
The details of the hues become euphoric.
So now looking up at the night sky feels different, and the stars don’t feel so
distant.
You realize that the grand scheme is made up of the small specks such as
yourself,
And every person you come into contact with help you complete the bigger
picture
So the importance of traveling and meeting new people can’t be stressed
enough
And having the right people around you is doubly as important.
People come and go, and you have to learn a lesson from every situation
you’re in.
The silver lining, is something I have an eye for; time doesn’t stop so we can’t
stress trying to stop, reverse, or forward it
Every moment is a gift and a piece to your puzzle.