[The Second Take] How to Become 'One Among Us,' Not 'One of Them'

Exploring Deprivation in 'Barton Academy'
Solidarity Built on Empathy Between Individuals

In the movie 'Barton Academy,' Kunche (Brady Hepner) snatches one of Ollerman's (Ian Dolly) gloves and throws it into the river. This is because Ollerman tattled to teacher Hurnum (Paul Giamatti) about Tully (Dominic Sessa) picking a fight. Tully tells the fuming Ollerman, "I threw away just one glove on purpose. If you only have one, you'll be even more annoyed." Ollerman then throws the remaining glove into the river, deciding to forget the sudden sense of lack.

There are other characters suffering from deprivation. Tully misses his father, who is confined in a psychiatric ward. Cook Mary lost her son in the Vietnam War, and Hurnum is hiding after being falsely accused at Harvard University. Each of them cannot bring themselves to throw away the remaining glove. Instead, they are stuck at Barton Academy, unable to move forward. During the vacation, they unintentionally share hardships together.

Their gathering around the dining table resembles a family. In fact, they gradually become similar. Hurnum volunteers to be Tully’s guardian after Tully dislocates his shoulder in the hospital. Mary receives help from Tully at her younger sister’s house, which requires climbing many stairs. They fill each other’s gaps and form a strong bond of solidarity.

This is far from the universal truths pursued by orthodox philosophy. Empathy between individuals, the foundation of a pluralistic society and individualistic culture, takes precedence. With the emphasis on personal autonomy, the separation of public and private spheres has long been complete. Concepts like democracy and communism no longer hold the same power as in the past. Solidarity among individuals is regarded as a new public value.

Philosopher Richard Rorty predicted in his book Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity that "human solidarity will not be recognized as a fact to be discovered by removing prejudice or uncovering hidden deep truths, but rather as a goal to be achieved." "It is something to be accomplished not by inquiry but by imagination?the imagination to see strangers as fellow sufferers. Solidarity is not discovered through reflection but created. It is achieved by increasing our sensitivity to the particular details of the pain and humiliation experienced by strangers."

Rorty pointed to stories, not theories, as the driving force to expand the concept of 'us' in concrete situations. He believed that solidarity is formed and moral and political progress is possible only when individual stories are detailed and evoke empathy.

The solidarity practiced by Hurnum shares the same vision. He draws on his own experiences in response to Tully’s confession, explaining that the past and present selves are different. "You don’t have to let your history determine your destiny." In this way, the two become 'one among us,' not 'them,' and gain the strength to step into a new world, cherishing the remaining glove carefully.