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Sociological perspectives on racism
Analytical interpretation of film
Wit film analysis
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More handpicked essays just for you.
Sociological perspectives on racism
Analytical interpretation of film
Wit film analysis
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Sociological perspectives on racism
In Marlon Riggs’ 1992 documentary film titled Color Adjustment, Riggs, the Emmy winning producer of Ethnic Notions, continues his studies of prejudice in television. The documentary film looks at the years between 1948 and 1988 to analyze how over a 40 year period, race relations are viewed through the lens of prime time entertainment. The film examined many of television’s stereotypes and mythes and how they changed over the years. The one hour and twenty-two minute documentary is narrated by Ruby Dee, the American actress, poet, playwright, screenwriter, journalist, and civil rights activist.
Many of the boys pretended that negative interactions and stereotyping did not affect them, but their bravo personas only masked the fear inside. Fear made the boys feel weaker and less masculine, so they would deviate from social norms to regain respect and dignity among their peers and for themselves. Routine patterns of punishment eventually lead the boys to develop an altered view of thoughts, beliefs, and ways of behaving in order to survive the tough life set them. Chapter two concentrates on the history of Oakland, incarceration rates, youth systems of control, and the boy’s resistance to punishment and brutalization. The Oakland ghetto consists of a multiracial community, predominantly African-American and Latino, that are equally targeted and brutalized by police
The novel detailed the importance of seeing people that look similar to oneself being portrayed in a positive light. Children grow up believing the stereotypes which movies pass on as truth. A study was conducted in a preschool that tested the correlation misrepresentation had with racial stereotyping. Children were shown images of African American males and Caucasian males. They were then asked to decide between the African American man and the Caucasian man who they believed was a criminal.
In the documentary Boys State, filmmakers Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine capture the week-long process of 2018 Texas Boys State, where 1000 seventeen-year-old boys gather and run a mock political election. Moss and McBaine make several rhetorical choices throughout the film to cultivate a humorous, suspenseful, and at times shocking story. The directors appeal to pathos, use individual interviews with the candidates, and implement unique camera angles to show multiple perspectives. Moss and McBaine apply pathos, especially when telling Steven Garza’s story, to elicit empathy from the audience and introduce an emotional angle to the largely factual scope of politics. Garza, a candidate with liberal views who runs for governor with the Nationalist
The film Girl’s Trip has been applauded for being a celebration of blackness in the primarily white film industry. The majority of the cast and the writers for Girl’s Trip are people of color. The film was much more successful than its “white counterpart” Rough Night in box office revenue and reviews. However, most of the black characters in Girl’s Trip shift through various controlling images throughout the movie. The reason these stereotypes are less obvious than they are in some other films is because each characters portrays multiple stereotypes and different times throughout the film.
Boyz N the Hood (1991) is an American film that presents the coming of age of three African American boys in South Central Los Angeles during the 1980s through the 1990s that provides important messages on community problems, racial tensions, and societal issues. In a historical context, this film took place during the peak of gang violence, racial tensions, and drug abuse in Los Angeles. The Rodney King incident had just been presented to the public displaying the reality of racial inequality and police brutality. Real events like this would spark a fire in the Hip-Hop culture creating many media outlets that would reflect what was going on in America. The target audience was initially African Americans so they could have a film to relate
The book Black Freedom Fighters in Steel by Ruth Needleman and John Singleton’s movie Boyz N The Hood had a lot of themes in common. The two showed stories of racism, discrimination, and success in the African American community. The most prominent theme I found with the two was institutional racism. The way society was forced a lot of African Americans to live in many different ways.
In addition, at the beginning of Bart’s career as the new sheriff, citizens hate him and would refer to him as nigger. An example of this, is when he greets an elderly woman good morning, she replies, “Up yours, nigger,” which illustrates her disapproval of the new black sheriff through racism. The townspeople’s racism gets in the way of what their town needs, which is a sheriff. After stopping Mongo, Hedley’s failed attempt to scare the townspeople away, the townspeople are a little more willing to accept him in their town. For instance, the old woman apologizes for her racist comment, “up yours, nigger”.
Minorities rarely have a chance to connect with characters in media. When minorities gain an opportunity to connect with characters in films, books, and televisions shows it is pertinent that non-white characters are not portrayed as stereotypes. Portraying non-whites as they are stereotypically viewed in society only contributes to the racial divide. The film Girls Trip makes strides in preventing and addressing stereotypes. The main characters promote diversity in Black characters and show a different message than the average thug movies or the “magical Negro”.
Although race relations in the United States between whites and African Americans have significantly improved since the abolishment of Jim Crow laws, director Spike Lee’s socially conscious satire, Bamboozled shows that discrimination has only evolved. Released in 2000, the film sought to edify the African American population about the racist and stereotypical treatments blacks endured during the Jim Crow era when they were used to entertain the white masses. Moreover, it also shows how that culture is still propagated today, with African American film makers just as guilty. From the time the first African set foot in the North American colony of Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619, race relations have always been whites’ superiority over blacks.
Boyz in the Hood, directed by John Singleton, is a coming-of-age drama that takes place in South Central Los Angeles during the 1990s. The film is a powerful commentary on the intersection of race, poverty, and violence in urban America. The film follows the lives of three young African American men, Tre, Ricky, and Doughboy, as they navigate the challenges of growing up in a predominantly Black and Latino neighborhood. One of the movie's key themes is the impact of culture on communication, and how communication reflects, sustains, and changes cultural values.
The film Boyz N the Hood is a story about life in South Central Los Angeles. The film was wrote and directed by John Singleton in 1991. I chose this movie because of its relevance to the course and how it reflects pop culture in that time period. The opening line in the movie “one out of every twenty-one Black American males will be murdered in their lifetime” really catches the audience attention (Nicolaides & Singleton, 1991). This movie goes into detail and shows the life of three young males living in the hood of Los Angeles battling a life surrounded by drugs, violence, and questions of race.
The decision to attend a white school is a tough one and Junior understands that for him to survive and to ensure that his background does not stop him from attaining his dreams; he must battle the stereotypes regardless of the consequences. In this light, race and stereotypes only makes junior stronger in the end as evident on how he struggles to override the race and stereotypical expectations from his time at the reservation to his time at Rearden. How race and stereotypes made
Moreover, demonstrate consequences are taken to oppress racial and ethnic minorities to keep them in a subservient position. Overall, this film has provided me with a visual depiction of how stereotypes are a mental tool that enforces racial segregation and self-hate. The label of “White” became a necessity for Sarah Jane to achieve in society. To attain it she needed to move to a new city, change her name and deny her mother.
Stereotyping is an issue that affects all ages, genders, and races. Not all stereotypes are bad, but when you maliciously stereotype it becomes a problem. In S.E. Hinton’s young adult novel The Outsiders, stereotyping is a significant issue. There are two gangs in this novel, the “greasers”, and the “Socs”. The greasers live on the east side and are known as “hoods”.