Long Way Down Assignment #1. Literature & Language Movie Review

Long Way Down Assignment #1
Name______________________________________________________________
What conditions contribute to the weakening of the “civil law” and the strengthening of the “code of the street”?
Distrust between the people and the police strengthen the ‘code of street’. As Mustafa, one of the residents says, people do not even bother to call the police in case someone breaks into their house. This is because they usually take long to arrive and thus the residents prefer shooting the individual. The young people also do not want to work hard to realize their dreams. There is no one to guide them. They will thus prefer to look for means of survival such as involving themselves in illegal activities.
What principle of justice does the “eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth” mentality exemplify?
The principle of justice exemplified in the movie is distributive justice CITATION Tyl15 \l 1033 (Tyler, 2015). As Elijah Anderson notes when he begins the narration, unequal distribution of wealth where some Americans are getting richer and richer while others are getting poorer and poorer make the people to adopt the street code to survive. People feel that they are not getting what they deserve and they therefore tend to get it using unfair means such as robbery.
Whose perspective is often missing from discussions of inner-city justice?
The police department appear to be ignoring the actions taking place in the city. For instance, when they are called they take a long time to arrive. As the police captain also notes, they have given up on restoring civil law in the city since the people are not willing to collaborate.
People do not also listen to the perspective of the other in case of disagreements. For instance, if a disagreement arises, instead of getting down to know the cause of the disagreement, they will begin fighting as a revenge.
Anderson interviews two young men--James and Mustafa—within this video. Why is their participation important?
James and Mustafa are a true reflection of the life in the inner city. In the film, it is indicated that there are two ways of earning a living; starting a small business or working for somebody and illegal ways such as selling drugs and guns. Mustafa indicates earning a living through a small business on the streets while James talks more about how people earn a living by selling drugs on the streets and stealing from other people to survive.
Mustafa’s story in particular illustrates the intersection between alienation and “decency.” How so? What do you think Anderson means by “decency”?
As Anderson indicates, Mustafa was more exposed to the street life and this made him to understand the sense of alienation that people in the community were facing. He also learnt that it is important for people in their community to be respected. Respect comes from leading a decent life. Mustafa alienates himself from the other residents leading the street life through burglary and drug trafficking. He is more decent since he earns his livelihood by selling items on the streets.
Why does Anderson interview Bilal Qayyum? What insight does his participation provide?
As a community activist...