What emotions did you feel after the movie? What do you think Anne Deavere Smith was trying to do in creating this piece?

Question: What emotions did you feel after the movie? What do you think Anne Deavere Smith was trying to do in creating this piece?
Answer:
After watching Fires in the Mirrors I felt ambivalent. I did not feel as if I good truly take a position either group because both groups had legitimate reasons for reacting as they did. The overall problem ("big picture") is that both the Jews and the African-Americans felt understood. I felt that Anne expressed both perspectives equally. Instead of siding with one particular group I focused more on what each group said, and besides minor differences they said and shared the same emotions towards many subjects. Anne Deavere Smith began the movie with the talk about "identity" and many of the people said they felt misunderstood, others were not aware of their identity. She then got more in depth and spoke about the incident that happened in Crown Heights to both the Jewish and African-American communities. It was seen in both communities that the African American community shared the same sentiments as the Jewish community regarding the deaths of their loved ones. In creating this piece Anne Deavere chose to focus more on the "big picture". She exhibited through her film that people are not that much different from one another. She exhibited that minor differences will exist but if we all (people in general) looked at the human qualities we all share then we would have more respect for one another.