ORIGIN

On a recent flight, I watched the movie, "Origin," by the director Ava DuVernay. The movie is based on the book, "Caste: The Origins of our Discontents" by the journalist Isabel Wilkerson, which is a history of discrimination on the basis of class station across global societies. When I read the book, I remember feeling blown away by its premise and how race alone is an unsatisfactory explanation for how people are placed in the heirarchy.

Wilkerson - and DuVernay - depict how the social ladder is built upon the belief that some groups - regardless of shared religion, nation of origin, or race - are felt to be better than other groups in their society. There is probably no better example of this than India with its century's old caste system. To this day, the lowest caste - also known as the untouchables - are forced to carry out humiliating jobs, including those that modernization and sanitation have largely replaced. Among these jobs are cleaning out sewers or public toilets that lower caste members are made to crawl into and clean. The scenes from the movie describing these harrowing feats are particularly unsettling, so be warned prior to watching it.

A great book and movie help change one's world view and shed light on a wholly new perspective the audience had not considered. By these metrics, "Caste" and "Origin" are revelations.