Today’s class discussion about the use of racial slurs made me think about the movie Gran Torino. Clint Eastwood’s character (Walt) lives his life faithfully believing in stereotypes and demonstrating his racist tendencies. The movie introduced me to a string of racial slurs that I didn’t even know existed. Through the course of the movie, we see Walt befriend the very people that he has spent his entire life marking. The movie illustrates what we have talked about throughout the semester—race and stereotypes can simply be “forgotten” with the formation of friendships, relationships, etc.
First, the movie demonstrates the power of relationships. By forming a relationship, Walt is able to overlook the racial stereotypes. He ultimately sacrifices his life for his new friends. It is incredible to me how powerful the notion of familiarity and friendship can be.
Secondly, in relation to the incident concerning the picture of the noose and note, I think Anelga mentioned that in their resignations they tried to assert the innocence (for lack of a better word) of their actions by claiming their friendship with many minority students. Dr. Fathman’s comment about reevaluating the definition of friendship strikes me as somewhat valid. If these students valued their friendships and respected their friends as people, would they have been okay with their actions? Furthermore, would they be alright with posting the photo for the entire world to see? To me, they did not at all demonstrate that they valued and respected their minority friends. Walt, on the other hand, valued and respected his friends so much that he was willing to lose his life in order to ensure their safety.
Can you think of any other examples of how racism is overcome in cultural mediums?
Do you have any remaining thoughts from today’s discussion?
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I think The Blindside has some of those themes as well. You can see that Sandra's character has some negative preconceptions of blacks that dissolve little by little as she establish a closer relationship with Quinton, her adopted son. I remember the first night she let him sleep at her house she was actually afraid that he was going to steal something.
ReplyDeleteThese movies that promote racial awareness such as The Blindside and Gran Torino are good, but I still feel like they cater very much to a white audience. As you can see, in both movies, the protagonists are the white folks who are helping out the disadvantaged minority.
I don't want to sound cynical, but the way these movies are told seems mainly to allow white people to feel good about themselves. Few movies go into the complex reasons why minorities are in the disadvantaged stage that they are in in the first place b/c digging deeper wouldn't be too flatter for white folks.
Because white folks are allowed to continue to think this way, that assisting minorities are something done out of generosity, out of friendship instead of it being the right and just thing to do that racism and racial disparities, caused by biases and unfair practices, will continue to exist.
I think you are on to something, Thoa!
ReplyDeleteGood call Thoa! I sort of get that feeling when I think of celebrities adopting international babies. "No matter what color you are I'll love you the same!"
ReplyDeleteIt's true that digging deeper into the root of stereotypes would not sell in Hollywood. Do you guys know of any movies that attempt to do this, most likely indie ones?
I can definitely see how the movies listed above cater to the white point of view, but I have to wonder if that is for a reason as well.... How could you know that the lady from the Blindside (a true story) would not have done the exact same thing had the kid been white and homeless? While it definitely portrays her as generous, I do not normally see wealthy white people going out of their way to help people in such a dramatic way. The movie spoke a lot about racial tensions as well and the sharp contrast between typical white suburban life and black project life. I got out of this movie that people may not be able to relate to each other and should work to understand the full story... the teachers had to work with Michael in a different way and the family had to treat him a certain way because he responded in a different way from everyone and some people simply wanted to call him stupid and worthless when really, they didnt understand him. A lot of points of view can be understood from movies like these, though, and the motivations behind their productions.
ReplyDeleteAnd I think adopting international babies has nothing to do with color... Love has no color boundaries and orphanages in other countries have statistics and conditions that are uncomparable to this country. I would hope that people are adopting babies for less shallow reasons...but society has surprised me before.