Examples Of Racism In The Known World

Katie Kozak

ENGL 290 – 050

5/6/17

The Known World, Get Out, and Modern Portrayals of Racism Any representation of, well, anything, is always going to be criticized for how it does the representing. The different ways different mediums tackle the same issue is particularly interesting to note because they ultimately have the same effect. Edward Jones’s The Known World tackles slavery and community by showing unconventional circumstances of power. The 2017 movie, Get Out, tackles slavery, racism, and white power by showing how the history of racism and slavery practices are interwoven with underlying practices of modern society. In The Known World, the concept of history’s connection with the present is also evident through modern media portrayals,

Not only does it address slavery and racism, but it also plays on the idea of power and what it means to have privilege, but in the movie’s case, it focuses more on white power and privilege. The movie does an interesting job of capturing the microaggressions of modern racism today, which show how it’s important to be able to take a step back and get a different perspective of day to day life and minute racism. Also, the protagonist, Chris, is a successful photographer. As a black man, this position of power and success is important, especially in regard to modern media representations of people of color. On that note of media representations, Chris as a character, is a metaphor for all stereotyped black men, all who fall victim to racism and prejudicial abuse, whether fictional or nonfictional. His character is held at a position of power that rises above stereotypical depictions of black men, who are often regarded in a much more negative way. In connection with The Known World, the positions of power demonstrate an important, uncommon portrayals of people of color. This ultimately connects to today’s society’s interpretation of what constitutes being black and what is being represented through those interpretations and portrayals. The movie is an important representation of exactly what The Known World represents – the interconnectedness of past, present, and future. The movie continuously plays on the historical aspect of “traditional” slavery. There are images of shoelaces around Chris’s ankles to represents manacles of being prisoner, slave auctions (who get hypnotized, brainwashed, and undergo a brain transplant to switch minds of the old into the body of the slaves, which in and of itself represents white power and privilege), and servants who are clearly slaves. What is interesting about these images, however, is that by providing this alternate