Movie List Pride – 2007 (Race) Gran Torino (Ethnicity) Freedom Writers (Culture) League of Their Own (Gender) Philadelphia (Sexual Orientation) In Time (SES) School Ties (Religion) Pleasantville (Generational) I am Sam (Ability/Disability Contemporary Issues in Diversity Movie Reflection Thought Organizer Keep these questions in mind while watching your chosen movie. Please be sure to refer to your syllabus, grading rubric, and example paper while completing this assignment. What is the main diversity issue in this movie? (include definition from the textbook) What are the secondary diversity issues in this movie? How are individuals in the movie impacted by the main diversity issue? (list examples) How are individuals (in real life) that are associated with this diversity issue impacted by it? What impact does this diversity issue have on society? (include statistical data) How can you relate to or connect yourself to this diversity issue? (“I don’t know” or “It does not affect me” are unacceptable answers) What are your personal experiences with this diversity issue? (“I don’t have any” is not an acceptable answer. If you truly do not have any, explain why – what are the circumstances that have shielded you from any experience with this diversity issue?) How has your perception (understanding) of this issue changed since watching this movie? What societal barriers do individuals associated with this diversity issue face? What are potential solutions to those societal barriers? RMTR 2443 Issues in Diversity Spring 2016 Instructor: Cortney Jackson Diversity Issue Reflection Through Film (600-900 words) Grading Rubric – Total 100 points Component in evaluation 10 points 7 points 4 points 0 points Points Composition  No spelling errors  No grammatical errors  Proper sentence and paragraph structure  Used formal language  (no contractions or slang terms)  600-900 words not including cover and ref. No composition errors. 1-3 individual composition errors. 4-5 individual composition errors. 6+ individual composition errors (0 for plagiarism) 10 points 7 points 4 points 0 points APA Style Formatting  Cover page  In-text citations  Reference page  12 point font, Times New Roman  1 inch margins  Double spaced text No APA formatting errors 1-3 individual APA formatting errors 4-5 individual APA formatting errors 6+ individual formatting errors (0 for plagiarism) 20 points 15 points 10 points 0 points Identification of Diversity Issues in the movie  Explanation of the main issue  Identified underlying issue(s)  How were individuals in the film impacted by the diversity issue?  Proper use of terms/no offensive terminology Met all criteria and demonstrated high level of critical thinking. Met 3 criteria Met 1-2 criteria Met no criteria or (0 for ...

1. Movie List
Pride – 2007 (Race)
Gran Torino (Ethnicity)
Freedom Writers (Culture)
League of Their Own (Gender)
Philadelphia (Sexual Orientation)
In Time (SES)
School Ties (Religion)
Pleasantville (Generational)
I am Sam (Ability/Disability
Contemporary Issues in Diversity
Movie Reflection Thought Organizer
Keep these questions in mind while watching your chosen
movie. Please be sure to refer to your syllabus, grading rubric,
and example paper while completing this assignment.
What is the main diversity issue in this movie? (include
definition from the textbook)

2. What are the secondary diversity issues in this movie?
How are individuals in the movie impacted by the main
diversity issue? (list examples)
How are individuals (in real life) that are associated with this
diversity issue impacted by it?
What impact does this diversity issue have on society? (include
statistical data)
How can you relate to or connect yourself to this diversity
issue? (“I don’t know” or “It does not affect me” are
unacceptable answers)
What are your personal experiences with this diversity issue?
(“I don’t have any” is not an acceptable answer. If you truly do
not have any, explain why – what are the circumstances that
have shielded you from any experience with this diversity
issue?)
How has your perception (understanding) of this issue changed
since watching this movie?

3. What societal barriers do individuals associated with this
diversity issue face?
What are potential solutions to those societal barriers?
RMTR 2443 Issues in Diversity Spring 2016 Instructor:
Cortney Jackson
Diversity Issue Reflection Through Film (600-900 words)
Grading Rubric – Total 100 points
Component in evaluation 10 points 7 points 4 points 0 points
Points
Composition
-900 words not including cover and
ref.

4. No composition errors.
1-3 individual
composition errors.
4-5 individual composition
errors.
6+ individual composition
errors
(0 for plagiarism)
10 points 7 points 4 points 0 points
APA Style Formatting
-text citations
e

5. No APA formatting errors
1-3 individual APA
formatting errors
4-5 individual APA
formatting errors
6+ individual formatting
errors
(0 for plagiarism)
20 points 15 points 10 points 0 points
Identification of Diversity Issues in the movie
impacted by the diversity issue?
terms/no offensive

6. terminology
Met all criteria and
demonstrated high level
of critical thinking.
Met 3 criteria
Met 1-2 criteria
Met no criteria or
(0 for offensive
terminology)
20 points 15 points 10 points 0 points
Implications of Diversity Issue
this diversity issue impacted by it?
issue on society?

7. Met all criteria and
demonstrated high level
of critical thinking.
Met 3 criteria
Met 1-2 criteria
Met no criteria
(0 for offensive
terminology)
20 points 13 points 6 points 0 points
Personal reflection on the issue
can relate to or connect
yourself to this diversity issue?
issue
changed as a result of watching the

8. Met all criteria and
demonstrated high level
of critical thinking.
Met 2 criteria
Met 1 criteria
Met no criteria
(0 for offensive
terminology)
movie?
20 points 13 points 6 points 0 points
Barriers &
Solution
s

9. associated with this diversity issue
face?
potential solution to the societal
barriers.
Met All criteria and
demonstrated high level
of critical thinking
Met all criteria but
answers were broad and
lacked steps towards
solution or explanation.

10. Met 1 criteria
Met no criteria
(0 for offensive
terminology)
Offensive Terminology First offensive terminology (-15)
Second offensive terminology (-50)
Late Submission Up to 1 day late (-10) 2-3 days late (-30) 4-7
days late (-40) # of days:
1

11. RUNNING HEADER: THE ISSUE OF HOMELESSNESS
The Issue of Homelessness as Seen in Shelter
Tara L. Martin
Oklahoma State University
For this assignment I chose to watch Shelter (2014). This is an
emotional movie that follows the story of two vastly different
individuals who come to depend on one another for survival
while living on the streets of New York City. The main
diversity issue in this movie is low socio-economic status, more
specifically, homelessness. The secondary diversity issues in
this film include immigration, poverty, religion and faith,
women’s issues, and drug addiction – all of which are common
themes amongst America’s homeless population. Homelessness

12. is lowest possible socio-economic status and “…is a byproduct
of poverty”, according to our course textbook (BOR, p. 53). I
was shocked to learn that there are currently more than 1.2
million homeless children in America (BOR, p. 53). To think
about their physical and emotional suffering is unbearable to
me. The homeless, though perhaps suffering the most due to
lack of shelter from the elements, are not the only American’s
affected by poverty. Over 18.8 million people are currently
living below the poverty line in the United States (BOR, p. 53).
This movie showcases a variety of struggles in the daily reality
of the homeless. In the opening scene, one of the main
characters, Tahir, an illegal Nigerian refugee is robbed of all his
belongings when a group of other homeless people steal his
possessions while he is out begging for change. The code that
the homeless live by, as explained through dialogue in the
movie, calls for individuals to respect the ownership of one
another’s belongings, but because Tahir is an illegal immigrant,
his homeless peers betrayed him. Hannah, the other main
character, sits on the street with a cardboard sign that reads, “I
used to be somebody”. Once the wife of a successful surgeon,
her life fell apart when her husband was killed in a terrorist
attack. Heroin became the only relief from her emotional pain
and she ran away from her previous life, leaving her child
behind. Tahir and Hannah meet when she is contemplating
suicide on a bridge – he stops her and slowly they become

13. inseparable friends and eventually lovers. Tahir and Hannah
take on life’s challenges together and he helps her become
sober, but each time they make a small stride forward they are
forced to take ten steps back. Tahir becomes ill during the
winter and since he does not have health insurance he is treated
poorly by hospitals. Tahir is kicked out of homeless shelters
because his illness (pneumonia) causes him to cough constantly,
which is disruptive to others staying there. Forced back out on
the streets with no place to go and no money for the medicine to
treat his illness, Hannah secretly makes the decision to sell her
body to pay for his medications.
Though I personally have never been homeless, I have seen the
devastating effects of homelessness up close. I lived in
Baltimore, Maryland for three years and saw homeless
individuals on a daily basis. At every stop light, “panhandlers”
and “vagrants” as they were called there, approached vehicles
asking for money and food. Sometimes it would affect me so
much emotionally that I would drive ten minutes out of my way
just to avoid areas where I knew I would have to interact with
the homeless. My avoidance of them was not because they
hassled me, but because emotionally I could not bear to see
their struggle and not be able to help. Their situation made me
feel helpless, so it was easier to avoid it. To make matters more
complicated, I quickly learned that many of the homeless
individuals would use the money to buy drugs rather than food

14. and which meant that my heartfelt desire to help them by giving
them money might actually contribute to their addiction.
Eventually, I decided to make goody bags to keep in my car
filled with granola bars, bottled water, and hygiene products. In
this way I was able to give something to those in need without
causing them unintentional harm. Those who truly needed food
gladly accepted my goody bags, and because of that I was able
to come some sort of inner peace with the situation.
Because of the stigma attached to homelessness, there are not
nearly enough constructive conversations happening about this
“inconvenient” topic. As I mentioned before, avoiding the topic
of homelessness is easier than addressing it, which leads to a
whole bunch of nothing. It is often assumed that homelessness
is a result of laziness or a failure to care enough to succeed in
life. This movie demonstrates poignantly that although an
individual’s actions may or may not cause them to become
homeless, the social system in America is currently designed to
force them further into poverty rather than help pull them out of
it. We need more government funded programs to assist
homeless individuals in breaking the cycle of extreme poverty
and we need more government assistance for non-profit
organizations that are trying to help. A lack of resources,
opportunities, and compassion appear to be the main roadblocks
to solving the crisis of homelessness in America. This movie
opened my eyes to the fact that good and honest people can fall

15. victim to bad luck, heartbreak, and loss; which can lead them to
a life on the streets. More than ever I am reminded that each
human being has a story that we know nothing about.
This example paper is 894 words. Your paper must be between
600 and 900 words. This example paper meets all of the rubric
criteria and demonstrates a high level of critical thinking.
References
Thompson, A., & Cuseo, J. (2014). Diversity & the college
experience: Research based strategies for appreciating human
differences (2nd ed.) (T. Passmore, Ed.). Dubuque, IA: Kendall-
Hunt Publishing Company.