This week we watched the movie Crash in class, which doesn't have a "main character" except for race. The movie began with two black men complaining about the racist white people around them who stereotype, and as you're nodding and agreeing "yes, everyone is judging them! They're so right-" they pull out guns and stole a car from the couple they were criticizing.
I started laughing at that point because it was the first of many shocking and thought provoking moments. Almost everyone in the movie thinks in stereotypes, (except for the lock guy,) but we still end up sympathizing with the characters we started out disliking (like one of the black men from the beginning), and disliking the ones we thought were good (like the Asian man who was hit by a car, and ended up being an illegal person dealer.) The movie was designed to mess with our heads in this way, and it did an amazing job of it.
No one wants to think of themselves as a racist person, but I'm curious where the line is drawn. If someone thinks by stereotypes for some people and not others, are they racist? If they actively try really hard not to be, but once in a while make a comment or two, does that make them racist? I know I try my best to avoid any stereotypes because I've been stereotyped myself and I know how much it sucks, but it can't be completely unavoidable. It's all about looking at the bigger picture, like we're talked about all semester, and know not to judge ANYONE on first impressions. Only then can we get over racism.
On a lighter note, no blog post about race is complete without this:
OK. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE AVENUE Q! And I love this song. And when I first heard this song, I completely agree. We all have the thoughts in our heads about other ethnicities and they have been so blow out of proportion because the society we live in allows for it to continue.
ReplyDeleteI also wonder where the line is for racism. We all judge and people must be judging in order to talk about race, because race is not even real.
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