In her book, Lippie Green explores language subordination in institutions as well as in society. We live in a society where standard language ideology (SLI) – defined as “ a bias toward an abstracted, idealized, homogeneous spoke language which is imposed and maintained by dominant bloc institutions” (Language Subordination, 67) – exists. Boots Riley put this theory to practice in his film Sorry to Bother You. The protagonist is forced to switch his voice in order to step up in ranks. This conformity reinforces the association between whites and success, money, and power. Having the minorities assimilate to the language of the majority rather than embracing cultural diversity is an issue that I believe has digressed as time progressed. I believe that this assimilation, sometimes involuntary, creates a cycle of confusion for kids in schools and a sense of shame for those who chose not to conform – a sense of shame that could’ve been pride had their language not been told to be “wrong.”
Sorry to Bother You is a prime example as to how personal can be/ is political. Boots Riley took his personal (his race, his hometown, etc.) to make a political statement. In an Open TV interview, director of Brujos, Ricardo Gamboa discusses the connection between art and activism. Gamboa uses the concept of personal as political in using his art to give voices to those not recognized, such as queer, in mainstream media. Personal experience motivates engagement and social change. For example, working with kids and as an aftercare “teacher” the gun violence movement struck me. Using this emotion, I attended the March For Our Lives in join the movement of speaking truth to the power systems.
