So, I was talking to grandmother the other day and she happened to ask me about school and asked what classes I was taking and I mentioned this class and was telling her about the two films we had seen, Color Adjustment and Eyes on the Prize. Well, this started a conversation on her memories of segregation and the distinct divisions between races when she was growing up in the Midwest, which normally would have been shocking to me, but after seeing both of the documentaries assigned for class, just seemed like more sad reminders of a dark chapter in our country's history.
One of the things she mentioned was that when she attended high school in the 1940's, there was one black man who worked as a janitor at the school and she told me that the teachers had a separate mug just for him in the faculty lounge because nobody wanted to use the one that had been used by a black man beforehand. As if that weren't bad enough, she had said that when she and her friends used to take the late bus home from school, they would see people run from the bus to their homes if there were black men around because they were so afraid of them. This seems crazy to me! Why were people so afraid of anyone who had a different appearance than them? It is so incredibly disheartening hearing about the ways that black people were treated in this country simply because of the color of their skin. I just can't understand what was going through people's heads at the time that made them feel as though they were better than others just because of their race.
Anyway, some of the things that she was talking about really left an impression on me, so I just thought it was worth mentioning briefly...
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
The Cosby Show...
Okay, so I just finished watching two episodes of The Cosby Show, which I have never really seen before aside from brief clips here and there, and I have to say that I thought the show was fantastic. I ended up watching two episodes from season two because I had trouble finding full episodes from other seasons. It would have been interesting to compare episodes from different years, but both episodes were very entertaining anyhow.
The second episode I chose was called "The Dentist" and one of the things that caught my attention in the episode was the character of Dr. Burns. I thought this particular character was interesting because he kind of turned the tables on one of the stereotypes suggested in Color Adjustment. In last weeks documentary, one of the racial stereotypes mentioned was the portrayal of African American men as really wacky personality types, which I discussed in my last blog entry as well. However, in this particular episode of The Cosby Show, it was the character of Dr. Burns, a white man, who was portrayed as the goofy character that seemed to be meant for easily pulling laughter from the audience. I thought that, as it relates to this particular stereotype, the role reversal was interesting to see. A few weeks ago, I probably wouldn't have even thought twice about this character and I could be completely wrong about this, but having seen the documentary and the explanation of such stereotypes, I thought it might be something worth mentioning.
The second episode I chose was called "The Dentist" and one of the things that caught my attention in the episode was the character of Dr. Burns. I thought this particular character was interesting because he kind of turned the tables on one of the stereotypes suggested in Color Adjustment. In last weeks documentary, one of the racial stereotypes mentioned was the portrayal of African American men as really wacky personality types, which I discussed in my last blog entry as well. However, in this particular episode of The Cosby Show, it was the character of Dr. Burns, a white man, who was portrayed as the goofy character that seemed to be meant for easily pulling laughter from the audience. I thought that, as it relates to this particular stereotype, the role reversal was interesting to see. A few weeks ago, I probably wouldn't have even thought twice about this character and I could be completely wrong about this, but having seen the documentary and the explanation of such stereotypes, I thought it might be something worth mentioning.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Color Adjustment...
The second screening of the semester, Color Adjustment, was really quite interesting. One of the most significant things that stuck with me after watching the documentary was the subtle nature in which many shows managed to work certain stereotypes into their storylines that, had they not been pointed out specifically, I never would have noticed. Things such as the portrayal of African American men as goofy, nonsensical characters, or the tendency to refrain from portraying African American women in careers that strayed too far from domestic duties.
The documentary made me think a lot about some of the shows that I grew up with and the ways in which characters of different ethnicities were portrayed. More current television programs seem to be pretty diverse and tend to portray characters of different backgrounds equally. Shows like The Office, Grey's Anatomy and plenty of others are culturally diverse programs that do not typecast characters based on ethnicity. However, I can't say the same for the shows that I used to watch growing up. Having been made more aware of some of the racial stereotypes present in television, I can recall many occasions where such stereotypes came into play. Looking back, I can see plenty of examples in Family Matters, which I used to watch all the time. Whether it be through clumsy Steve Urkel causing trouble, or Harriet and Rachel struggling to establish successful careers, some of the stereotypes are clearly present. Watching Color Adjustment has made me more consciously aware of such stereotypes that I probably wouldn't have picked up on otherwise.
The documentary made me think a lot about some of the shows that I grew up with and the ways in which characters of different ethnicities were portrayed. More current television programs seem to be pretty diverse and tend to portray characters of different backgrounds equally. Shows like The Office, Grey's Anatomy and plenty of others are culturally diverse programs that do not typecast characters based on ethnicity. However, I can't say the same for the shows that I used to watch growing up. Having been made more aware of some of the racial stereotypes present in television, I can recall many occasions where such stereotypes came into play. Looking back, I can see plenty of examples in Family Matters, which I used to watch all the time. Whether it be through clumsy Steve Urkel causing trouble, or Harriet and Rachel struggling to establish successful careers, some of the stereotypes are clearly present. Watching Color Adjustment has made me more consciously aware of such stereotypes that I probably wouldn't have picked up on otherwise.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Eyes on the Prize...
Okay, so I know I am a little late with a post on the first screening of the semester, but better late than never, right? I have to say, I found Eyes on the Prize to be a real wake up call. I hate to sound repetitive because I think I may have mentioned something to this effect on the discussion board as well, but I was honestly shocked to see the extent to which racial tensions existed in this country right up through the eighties.
Obviously, one part of the documentary that really left an impression on me was the segment on the busing situation that took place in Boston. Having lived a half hour away from Boston my entire life, I couldn't believe that I had never really learned about the issue before this semester. I mean, yeah I can recall the subject being mentioned briefly by my parents, but I never fully understood the severity of the Boston busing situation. The violence that erupted over the attempt to integrate the school systems was absolutely horrifying to me and the fact that anyone would ever feel as though they had the right to mistreat someone because of the color of their skin or the fact that they wanted an equal opportunity to get a good education is completely unjust. I have heard people in the past explain racial tensions simply by saying, "thats just how it was back then", but as someone who has lived in a highly diverse city for as long as I can remember, I can't even imagine treating someone with disrespect because of their appearance, their culture, or anything of that nature. In my opinion, "thats just how it was back then" doesn't seem like a reasonable justification for what went on.
Anyway, I think that actually seeing a firsthand account of some of the racial conflicts that took place through Eyes on the Prize was an eye-opening experience, to say the least, and is something that I have learned a great deal from.
Obviously, one part of the documentary that really left an impression on me was the segment on the busing situation that took place in Boston. Having lived a half hour away from Boston my entire life, I couldn't believe that I had never really learned about the issue before this semester. I mean, yeah I can recall the subject being mentioned briefly by my parents, but I never fully understood the severity of the Boston busing situation. The violence that erupted over the attempt to integrate the school systems was absolutely horrifying to me and the fact that anyone would ever feel as though they had the right to mistreat someone because of the color of their skin or the fact that they wanted an equal opportunity to get a good education is completely unjust. I have heard people in the past explain racial tensions simply by saying, "thats just how it was back then", but as someone who has lived in a highly diverse city for as long as I can remember, I can't even imagine treating someone with disrespect because of their appearance, their culture, or anything of that nature. In my opinion, "thats just how it was back then" doesn't seem like a reasonable justification for what went on.
Anyway, I think that actually seeing a firsthand account of some of the racial conflicts that took place through Eyes on the Prize was an eye-opening experience, to say the least, and is something that I have learned a great deal from.
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