A Conversation About Race is a documentary by Craig Bodeker. In the movie, Mr. Bodeker attempts to debunk racism. The film centers on interviews of people in Denver, Colorado who answered a Craigslist posting entitled “Ending Racism Now” as well as people interviewed on street corners presumably at random. Mr. Bodeker presents clips of these interviews and provides narration. According to Mr. Bodeker, the film’s purpose is to expose the myth of racism and show how the White race suffers from reverse racism and double standards (Dispatch Inc, 2013).
The film opens with a quote by Reverend Jeremiah Wright, “Racism is how this country was founded and how this country is still run!...We [in the U.S.] believe in white supremacy and black inferiority and believe it more than we believe in God.” (Dispatch, 2013). As I read this quote, I was determined to view this film with an open mind. The film transitioned from the opening quote to a speech given by Barack Obama wherein he refers to Reverend Wright’s offensive sermons about America. Mr. Bodeker speaks stating, “…I also can’t think of another issue that is more artificial, manufactured and manipulated than this whole construct called racism.” (Dispatch, 2013). Mr. Bodeker continues, “This construct of racism is not an objective term. It has no concise definition. In fact, it’s used too often as a tool of intimidation, like a hammer, against Caucasian Whites.” (Dispatch, 2013). The interviews conducted asked questions such as, “Do you see racism in your daily life?”, “What is racism?”, “Can you give an example of the racism you see?”, “Are Blacks better at basketball than Whites?” Mr. Bodeker states, “I’m not trying to make anyone look foolish but the conventional wisdom on r...
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...an only see how other races are “attacking” the White race. To Mr. Bodeker the White race is the real victim but to me this is a ludicrous notion.
Ultimately, it is my opinion that this film is a perfect example of what is wrong with society. Society and the social “norm” dictate what is acceptable. Society (or a select few in power) has determined that racism is an acceptable practice. Society is oblivious to the fact that this acceptable “norm” is something that can and should be changed. Until the day that the “races” can come together and demand equal treatment of all, regardless of race, racism will persists.
References
Dispatch Inc. (2013, January 6). A conversation about race [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNRVL8tibOo&noredirect=1 Schaefer, R. T. (2012). Racial and ethnic groups (13th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
The film observes and analyzes the origins and consequences of more than one-hundred years of bigotry upon the ex-slaved society in the U.S. Even though so many years have passed since the end of slavery, emancipation, reconstruction and the civil rights movement, some of the choice terms prejudiced still engraved in the U.S society. When I see such images on the movie screen, it is still hard, even f...
“I was taught to see racism only in individual acts of meanness, not in invisible systems conferring dominance on my group,” Peggy McIntosh wrote in her article White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack. Too often this country lets ignorance be a substitute for racism. Many believe that if it is not blatant racism, then what they are doing is okay. Both the video and the article show that by reversing the terms, there is proof that racism is still very existent in this world. By looking into A Class Divided and White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack along with their ability to broaden the cultural competence, once can see how race is still very prominent in our culture.
For the most part, reviews are positive and praise this film. I completely agree with them, this film informed me of an issue I wasn’t even aware had occurred. Before watching this film and taking this class, I was naive, I believed that after we had gained our supposedly “equal rights” everything was okay. Now, I have realized the struggles Chicanos have had to face, my eyes have been opened to these injustices and made me aware that many are still occurring today. This film and class has inspired me to take action against these injustices and stand up for what I believe in.
Tatum’s book “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?” (1997) analyses the development of racial identity and the influence of racism in American’s culture. She emphasizes the Black-White interactions by comparing the terminology in which racism perceived based on David Wellman’s definition of racism. Tatum also believes racism is not one person in particular but is a cultural situation in which ethnicity assigns some groups significantly privileged compared to others. She illustrates how engaging children in terms of interracial understanding will empower them to respond to racial stereotypes and systems of discrimination.
A white student from Chenjerai’s class, Will Johnston from Clemson University, is the next speaker to approach the topic. Will explained his point of view from being in a couple of Chenjerai’s classes. He explained how ignorant he was to his white privileges until he was broken down in Chenjerai’s class. Will explains how it took a while to be able for him to talk about the topic in a diplomatic way. Tanner Colby, co-host of “about race podcast” and author of Some of my Best Friends are Black, was the next speaker in the podcast. Colby tells that he thinks people are uncomfortable about talking about whiteness and race. He says that people are unsure of how to talk about the topic which makes conversation hard. Demby and Meraji sum up what they have learned after they talked with everyone about where they stand in the conversation on whiteness. Meraji tells that they learned how difficult it truly is to talk about whiteness especially when people do not have the information they need to have a good conversation about it. Demby goes on to say how white people do not have
Racism (n): the prejudice that members of one race are intrinsically superior to members of other race (Wordnet search, 1), a controversial topic in today’s society, a subject that many people try to sweep under the rug, but yet a detrimental problem that has been present in America since the colonial era. Will this dilemma come to a halt? Can all Americans see each other as equals despite their skin color and nationality; and what role has it played in past generations versus today’s generations and how will it affect our future? Has this on going way of thinking gotten better or worse? These are questions raised when many think about the subject; especially members of American ethnic groups and backgrounds, because most have dealt with racial discrimination in their life time.
For example, Amadou Diallo, an immigrant from West Africa was shot in New York City in 1999 because of how society defined him. He was not seen as an immigrant, he was categorized as black; blackness was put on him, resulting in his death. Barbra and Karen Fields explain that Diallo was shot because of oppression, but instead of addressing racism, society will focus on the race using phrases like, “They shot him because he is black,” instead of phrases like “He was shot because the shooter is a racist.” This allows him to then illustrate to the audience how race may not be real biologically, as is was a created, but it is real in its consequences, meaning that it is used as the ideological framework to “justify wars… and subjugation of all kinds of people” (Jones
There are two main issues in the movie the “The Color of Fear” that I will discuss. These two issues include grouping people of color on the basis of the way one looks, and the attitudes of different races towards one another. Including also the idea that the white “do-gooder” feels that subconsciously racism is being taken care of, when in all reality it isn’t. The eight men in The Color of Fear candidly discussed racism not only as "whites oppressing blacks," but also the less addressed sides of racial trouble in America. A white man earnestly stating that he had never oppressed anyone in his entire life, and a Hispanic man talking about being afraid of driving in front of pickup trucks with gun racks, shows how there needs to be more progress towards ending these feelings in America. Stereotypes were openly declared, from Asians as "the model minority" to blacks as "lazy, violent, and dangerous."
In this essay I will argue that the key to end racism is to understand race and ideology and how this two concepts relate to each other.
Yet, the manner in which BLM is handling ‘racism’ is harming communities around the country. There are cultures that should be feared, ones that breed violence and crime, but there are strong black cultures that have risen above the stereotypes that haunt them. Based on the culture that people are raised in, they are more inclined to commit violent crimes (Shaw 15). There are so many successful black people in the world. In the article “Making Black Lives Matter,” Mitchell Shaw gives a powerful example of that when he says: “Racism is incapable of holding black people down. Evidence of that is easy to find. Not only is a black man sitting in the Oval Office, but blacks hold power in cities all across America. That would never happen in a world that was holding black people down” (Shaw 13.) When taken into consideration, there are many African Americans that have accomplished amazing feats, even something as taken-for-granted as graduating college and getting a middle class job. They are the true American heroes that this country was founded
Ava Duvrernay gives a clear and perfect insight on how racial oppression has continued and what are the causes for this continuation of racial injustice. This film could
...this movie that the contributors are portraying is that racism is not a valid issue, it is a funny one.
... supremacist gang, to rioting in an Asian owned grocery store, to finally brutally murdering someone. We observe as family ties become increasingly strained in every way, the viewer can easily conclude that Derek’s racism as well as his eventual influence on his younger brother ultimately contributed to their own downfall. As controversial as this movie maybe for the offensive language and brutal violence, it is a movie that deserves to be seen, and even discussed. It really provides insight into some factors within society that cannot be contained by the law or even deterred by even the harshest punishments. Even though American society is becoming more modernized as time goes by in terms of tolerance, racism will unfortunately always be prevalent in society and inevitably it will also lead some individuals to violently express their distorted mentalities.
The movie Crash was directed by Paul Haggis is a powerful film that displays how race is still a sociological problem that affects one 's life. It also focuses on how we should not stereotype people based on their color because one may come out wrong in the end. Stereotyping is a major issue that is still happening in today 's society and seems to only be getting worse. This movie is a great way to see the daily life and struggle of other races and see how racism can happen to anyone, not just African Americans which seems to only be seen in the news and such.
Racism is a case of ‘misplaced hate’ and ignorance, being not only discriminatory, but also seemingly foolish with disregard of all human commonsense. Why does racism still exist in today’s world? If it still occurs, has the world really progressed at all? Through extensive research methods and wide reading, it can be proven that racism is still present in the modern world.