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.
The first pain point of privilege is easy for for me to understand. I am an African American who grew up only going to inner-city public schools, until I went to an all-boys Catholic college prep high school. I understand the perception others can have of students and specifically athletes at schools like Duke. The documentary highlights that glorification of hard work runs deep in American culture. While many people thought Laettner came from a family with a lot of money, he was in fact a member of a lower-middle class working family.
Anyone who has ever worked hard has heard the saying, “It builds character.” For example, say someone went to college. They worked hard to graduate with a degree, and finally got their dream job. Two months in they get laid off. Their first job is gone, but still must move on.
This argument debunked the discriminatory myth of African Americans as a merciless and power-crazy race. It is amazing how the writers as black citizens, who are branded by their enemies(whites) as lowly unruly savages, successfully made their enemies appear as the lawless and savage
Leaving last week’s class, my mind was darting in all sorts of directions. While the “Eyes on the Prize” excerpt gave me a concrete understanding of the historic events of the desegregation of Little Rock High School, “Little Rock Central High: 50 Years Later” brought up all sorts of observations and questions on race in America that I hadn’t necessarily thought to address before. I think these two films were particularly interesting to view back to back because of their difference in style, content, and execution. I have viewed many of the “Eyes on The Prize” segments in past classes and this segment, “Fighting Back”, continues to stand out to me. Through the use of first person interviews and real footage, the piece gave me, what felt like, a clear look
Within the Ted Talk, “For Argument’s Sake,” Daniel H. Cohen does an effective job at proving his claim that arguments are thought of as war-like situations with winner and losers instead of as an opportunity to gain knowledge. For example, Cohen states, “But the war metaphor, the war paradigm or model for thinking about arguments, has, I think, deforming effects on how we argue . . . It magnifies the us-versus them aspect of it” (TedTalk). In this assertion, he does a prominent job at explaining that the common thought of an argument is a battle in which one side wins which proves his point. The speaker continues to support his statement by expressing this idea: “Think about that one -- have you ever entered an argument thinking, ‘Let's see
The portrayal of black men, throughout history, has produced numerous negative stereotypes that hide the true agendas of black leaders. As Stephen Tuck exclaimed, in The Night Malcolm X Spoke at the Oxford Union, black leaders were often shown as extremist instead of leaders who wanted to bring about change for their oppressed communities. Malcom X’s speech and the material discussed in the work created by Tuck, show how Malcolm used diction, rhetoric and ethos to express the issue of the portrayal of blacks throughout media to create a false sense of character for black leaders and intellectuals. Malcolm X’s diction, style of speaking and writing, helps to create a sense of the realities that go in America.
The episode ―With Apologies to Jesse Jackson is important because it aims to answer the question: how do we, as young people in the 21st Century, discuss racism? But with further examination, a critical eye
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.
I chose this film because it showed how hard the union workers and families worked in fighting racial injustices, and because it inspired myself to move forward with strong ideologies and pride. 2. Stereotyping in mass media was an important concern of Chicana/o media activists because it imprinted a demeaning label by only casting Chicana/o actors with "minor roles: villains, sidekicks, temptresses, where their main function is to provide the protagonists, typically a handsome white
The Great Debaters is an intriguing film set in the 1930s about a professor that goes by the name of Melvin Tolson who teaches students from Wiley College, in Texas, the fundamentals of debating. During this day in age, if an African American didn’t “stay in their place” they would be ridiculed for such insane behavior. One can only imagine how difficult it must have been for them to get through a debate without caring if they had crossed the line on a touchy subject. But through it all this debate team became one of the most successful teams in America. They were undefeated after they won national championships over Harvard University.
In the movie “The Great Debaters” director Denzel Washington based his film off the Jim Crow South Era that was a true event that took place around the 1930’s. Denzel Washington who plays the debater coach (Mr. Tolson) went far & beyond to keep his debate team focused and inspired in a time where they endured a tremendous amount of hardships and racism daily. The debate team represented Wiley College, a small-town college located in East Texas with little to no recognition at all. This team consisted of four talented and intelligent characters who played some very aspirational roles throughout the film. Nate Parker, Jermaine Williams, Jurnee Smollett, and Denzel Whitaker where Wiley College elite debating squad that led an undefeated run to
Conflict in America I did not experience the 1960's when this movie was published; however, I have been exposed to some conflicts that have challenged my morals and values that were instilled in me as a Caucasian American growing up in a middle class home. During the last few years, our country has been riddled with much racial, religious, and ethical tension. Some might even argue that the race relations haven’t been this bad since the 1960’s and 1970’s. It’s time for American to again, take a hard stance on conflict in our country and address these issues head on. For my paper we will be looking at conflict perspective.
Martin Luther King Jr., an African-American activist, once said, “It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can keep him from lynching me, and I think that’s pretty important.” In the Jim Crow South in the 1930s, the setting of the film The Great Debaters, directed by Denzel Washington in 2007, King’s words were particularly relevant. James Farmer Jr., the main character of the film, argues King’s point in the final debate about civil disobedience between Harvard and Wiley College. Although the Wiley debaters rely effectively on the strategy of ethos, the keys to their victory are the strategies pathos and logos.
During the 1930’s, African Americans were subjected to the harsh racial discrimination of the Jim Crow South, suppressing the progress and idealisms of influential African Americans. However, a few were brave enough to tackle the oppressive grasp of racism through powerful speeches. The debate team from Wiley College in the film The Great Debaters, directed by Denzel Washington, utilized the power of words to heroically fend off the despotic nature of the southern hostility towards African Americans. Among the members of the team, James Farmer Jr. is the epitome of heroism that lead the Wiley College debate team to ultimate victory at Harvard University. James Farmer Jr. demonstrates heroism when he kept his word to Melvin Tolson.
