Social Outsiders Before and After

Social Outsiders (Original)

Social outsiders are those who lack a sense of belonging to one particular group. Outsiders often face difficult situations of "othering" by those around them, forcing them to question their identities. Outsiders have low self esteem and often use self destructive methods to become accepted. The primary example of a self destructive method is conformity. Often, those who are considered outsiders seek the acceptance of their peers by dressing the same, using the same languages and even participating in the same hurtful "othering" of the weaker outsiders. This behavior leads to the outsider's loss of their identity, creating more obstacles for them to overcome.

The movie Spanglish demonstrated many examples of insiders and outsiders. The character who struggled the most throughout the film was Cristina Moreno. Cristina's mother, Flor, made it very clear to her that in order to succeed in life you need to be strong and not let others dictate who you will become. This was demonstrated when Flor moved her daughter to America for a better life and told her daughter she could "have one tear so make it a good one." Cristina was doing great in her new life in America. Cristina's mother moved her to a part of America where she could feel like an insider, one with a large Spanish population. Cristina was focused on her family and was becoming a strong young woman. This all changed when her mother moved them in with the Claskey family.


The Claskey's life of luxury and privilege was very appealing to Cristina. When Deborah Claskey attempted to make Cristina an insiderin her life, Cristina was more than thrilled. Deborah took Cristina out for shopping and a make over without Flor's permission. This made Flor an outsider in her daughter's life. Flor became an outcast and started to feel like she was losing her her daughter to an insider. Cristina was conforming well to the insider lifestyle. Deborah made Cristina happy and she started to outcast her mother as well, by speaking English around her so she could not understand her. When Deborah made it possible for Cristina to become an insider at a rather elite private school, Flor was conflicted. Flor wondered if she should allow her daughter to attend the school for great academics, or risk Cristina losing all of her values to conform to the high class society.


Flor allowed Cristina to attend the school for her education. Cristina made friends and even had a sleep over. When Cristina was to be home for a family dinner, Deborah manipulated Flor into allowing Cristina to stay at her slumber party. But Flor would not allow herself to be an outsider any longer. Flor was not going to lose her daughter to conform to the insider lifestyle of the Claskeys. The only way Flor could save her daughter was to tear her from the situation. Flor knew she had to take Cristina and return to their previous lifestyle. Flor took Cristina from the Claskey home and from the fancy private school. Cristina accosted her mother at first, but when her mother asked why she did not want to be like her, Cristina started to realize that her mother had become an outsider and she had become an insider. Cristina remembered who she really was; "I am my mother's daughter."


The movie Spanglish challenged me to take a look at the reasoning behind Deborah's actions. Deborah needed to outcast others to make herself feel good. Deborah demonstrated low self esteem and resorted to "othering" to make herself feel better. Deborah did not just do this to Flor, but to her whole family. Deborah felt like an outsider in her family, so she decided to make her own group of insiders, choosing Cristina as her target.


Insiders and outsiders are everywhere. Social groups form in our schools, at our place of work, in clubs and even in our own homes. People are separated by many aspects of their identities such as wealth, gender, age, language, political preference, disabilities or abilities, sexual orientation and race. Outsiders may have low self esteem or self worth, but insiders do as well. Insiders use their insecurities to attack those who appear weaker, dragging others into the vicious circle. Both insiders and outsiders are unsure of themselves and use conformity to identify with others. We seek social groups with others who have the same identity markers as we do, hoping to find somewhere to belong. Human nature insists that we all must be socially accepted in order to be happy and conformity is the easiest solution. But being an insider or an outsider is not nearly as important as being true to one's self.

Social Outsiders (Revised)

Social outsiders are those who lack a sense of belonging to one particular group. Outsiders often face difficult situations of "othering" by those around them, forcing them to question their identities. Outsiders have low self esteem and often use self destructive methods to become accepted. The primary example of a self destructive method is conformity. Often, those who are considered outsiders seek the acceptance of their peers by dressing the same, using the same languages and even participating in the same hurtful "othering" of the weaker outsiders. This behavior leads to the outsider's loss of their identity, creating more obstacles for them to overcome.

The movie Spanglish demonstrates many examples of insiders and outsiders. The character who struggles the most throughout the film was Cristina Moreno. Cristina's mother, Flor, made it very clear to her that in order to succeed in life you need to be strong and not let others dictate who you will become. This made Cristina a strong young woman whom was focused and eager to face the world. To her mother and Spanish community, Cristina was not an outsider, so she felt accepted. Cristina was focused on her family and her studies. This all changed when her mother moved them in with the Claskey family and Cristina saw what an outsider looked like.

The Claskey's life of luxury and privilege was very appealing to Cristina. When Deborah Claskey attempted to make Cristina an insider in her life, Cristina was more than thrilled. Cristina was accepted into her new community just as easily as her old community. Cristina was conforming well to the insider lifestyle. Deborah made Cristina happy and she started to outcast her mother as well, by speaking English around her so she could not understand her. When Deborah took Cristina out for shopping and a makeover without Flor's permission, Flor realized what it was like to be an outsider. These events made Flor feel outcast, frustrated and alone. Flor decided to fight for her daughter, whom she had felt she lost to Deborah Claskey. Deborah demonstrated low self esteem and resorted to "othering" to make herself feel better. Deborah felt like an outsider in her family, so she decided to make her own group of insiders, choosing Cristina as her target. Cristina never felt the hurt that being an outsider causes, but she did see how it affected her mother.

Insiders and outsiders are everywhere. Social groups form in our schools, at our place of work, in clubs and even in our own homes. People are separated by many aspects of their identities such as wealth, gender, age, language, political preference, disabilities or abilities, sexual orientation and race. Outsiders may have low self esteem or self worth, but insiders do as well. Insiders use their insecurities to attack those who appear weaker, dragging others into the vicious circle. Both insiders and outsiders are unsure of themselves and use conformity to identify with others. We seek social groups with others who have the same identity markers as we do, hoping to find somewhere to belong.

I have been pretty fortunate in my life and have not experienced the pain that being an outsider causes. I realize that anyone can be an outsider anywhere; in school, work, or even your own family. Being an outsider in your own family, such as Flor, creates a pain that is unbearable. This film forced me to look deeper into the feeling of an outsider and created a new sympathy inside me. I had always know that it was not enjoyable to be cast aside, but I had never even thought that a person’s family could do that to them until this film. Human nature insists that we all must be socially accepted in order to be happy and conformity is the easiest solution. But being an insider or an outsider is not nearly as important as being true to one's self.