This is intensely personal.
Friends with Money is the first film I have seen in the theatre since the end of February. Since the janitors’ strike started (and gloriously ended) at the University of Miami, I have thought about nothing but winning this fight and teaching my classes. I have spent more time than in my entire American life hanging out with people whose lives are so different from mine – mainly from the point of view of class. That this should have been my first class-mingling experience is not something I’m either proud or ashamed of. I have learned a long time ago that this society is much more segregated than it believes itself to be, and not only in terms of race. Living in L.A., San Luis Obispo, and Miami has certainly not helped, but the reality I’ve been confronted with over and over again since coming to the US is that you don’t hang out with people of other classes – not easily, that is, and not comfortably. Please forgive me if I generalize an experience which is necessarily very limited. As I said, I have lived only in three cities that are very socially segregated, and I have hung out exclusively (alas) with academics. Continue reading Friends with Money