Rush Hour 2: Racial Stereotypes In Hollywood Film

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Hollywood films, particularly comedies, perpetuate numerous racial stereotypes through “generic conventions and textual devices of comedy [which] encourage the audience to naturalize racial differences rather than to challenge racial stereotypes” (Park, Gabbadon, Chernin 221). A movie such as Rush Hour 2 perfectly exemplifies how comedies ultimately use ‘harmless’ jokes, which in return makes stereotyping a certain race acceptable. Comedies are naturally overlooked because of Hollywood’s clever use of underlying techniques. These underlying techniques used by comedies, particularly in Rush Hour 2, have ‘naturalized’ audiences to easily disregard racial jokes and stereotypes. Ji Hoon Park, Nadine G. Gabbadon and Ariel R. Chernin reveal in Naturalizing …show more content…

According to Park, Gabbadon, Chernin “racial jokes crossing color lines, creating an impression that all races are subject to stereotypes (Park, Gabbadon, Chernin 226). From perspective of the plot of the movie, Lee and James Carter are simply two detective looking to solve a case, but through a multicultural diversified lens, their partnership signifies much more. Obviously, Lee and Carter are completely two different people all around. For starters Lee is asian and Lee is black. The producers of Rush Hour 2 purposely casted Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker for these rolls to allow racial jokes and stereotypes to formulate. According to Park, Gabbadon, Chernin “because Carter and Lee are good friends and not hurt by the racial remarks, this encourages viewers to interpret the humor as acceptable” (Park, Gabbadon, Chernin 227). Rush Hour 2 develops negative stereotypes of asians and blacks, but through a method which seemingly makes everything alright. The false representations of asians and blacks also fall onto white people, despite there being only several white characters. The white characters in Rush Hour 2 hold the highest positions throughout the film. This can be what Park, Gabbadon, Chernin would refer to as “racial jokes towards minorities strengthens Whites’ positive self-image and dominant position. Although White characters

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