Lacey Robison Film Final Paper 12/05/13 The definition of Racism is; The belief that all members

of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, esp. so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races. (Dictionary) Through out our history we have been involved in many different issues that were destructive to our country. We were involved with events as far as war, natural disasters, and famine, which were all large issues, but issues that cannot be controlled. We have also been involved with issues that we could have put to an end, such as racism, prejudice, and hate. American film has done a very excellent job with sharing stories about racism and showing how those people were treated. They have also done a wonderful job of showing how those people are not treated equal and deserve to be treated like normal people One film that we watched that I really enjoyed was A better Life. According to our text, Latinos are the largest population of the minorities. With them being a different race they tend to fall into racial issues. While I watched this movie I was having a really hard time not relating this to real life. There are many Latinos that come to America to have a better life, and they will do any thing they can do to make money to earn that life here. Even if it is the worst job, they will take it and do really well at it. I admire these people because some of them are so dedicated to providing for their families and working hard to live here. I have explained this before, but I see this every day. They are almost expected to take the jobs that none of the Americans want. I work at a call center for a company that prints promotional products. Every person in the administration

Lacey Robison Film Final Paper 12/05/13 part of the building is a white American. If you walk out to the factory where the products are actually produced, every worker is a different race that has come to America for a better life. It is as if we dont think they are able to do the work that we do. I believe they should have the right to better jobs as well. It is a judgment that we place that portrays racism that even though they are Americans now they still have the jobs that nobody wants. Jonathan Perez wrote an article about this film and compared it to real life. He brought up a good point about how Latinos are viewed. He explained that in the film almost every neighborhood was ghetto or every person was a gangster or thug. I also noticed that in this film. He continued to say that that is not a correct portrayal of Latinos in the Los Angles area. Sure there are some people that are involved in gangs or ghetto areas, but not every neighbor hood. The film was trying to over exaggerate the stereotype that is tied to those Latinos here in America. Just because they are a different race we automatically connect their race with a harsh stereotype that is not always true. This film was a good example to show the world how Latinos are viewed as had workers for the crappier jobs. It also was a good example of how the world sees them as a different race so they must live in the ghetto, or must be affiliated with a gang. Another film that was a great example to the world was The Help. This movie was a great example of how black people were treated in Americas history. This film also brought up some controversy and questions in todays world. Octavia Spencer won the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in 2011 for

Lacey Robison Film Final Paper 12/05/13 her portrayal of Minny Jackson in The Help, she became the sixth African-American woman to win an Oscar. In an article written about how racism is still alive today, the topic of Black Americans in films today are brought up by the amount of awards that have been won. The article goes on to say that more than 350 Whites have been nominated for Best Actor and Actress compared to just 21 of Blacks. Even Babe the Pig was nominated before Denzel Washington, demonstrating that the achievements of Black actors largely remain invisible within the academy and are often not taken seriously. Although we like to think that racism has been solved and has been rid of today, that may not be the case. Although we cannot prove that America is still racist by the Academy awards that are given, we can look at the meaning behind it. Patricia Hill Collins argues, Because the authority to define societal values is a major instrument of power, elite groups, in exercising power, manipulate ideas about Black womanhood. They do so by exploiting already existing symbols, or creating new ones. She goes on to talk about the exploitation that is occurring here is that it is a world know symbol for black women to be maids and that is what she won her award for. For the definition, it is interesting that the word racism is described, as all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race. In the famous movie Remember The Titians, there were many scenes where the colored boys were put in situations where they were being stereotyped and judged that all colored boys are the same. In one part of the film the white boy declares, I will not

Lacey Robison Film Final Paper 12/05/13 play with those black animals. This white young man is telling us that he thinks all black people are not human and they do not deserve to be in an integrated school. That was the over all opinion of most students, teachers, and adults in this film. This film did a very good job at putting our views into perspective. Sure that was a true story, but that does not mean that racism is completely gone today. Our textbook talks about Blaxploitation in films and lists some stars that became real life role models to look up to with racism and judgment issues. Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Prince, and many more were beginning to bloom in the 1980s. Although blacks were being idolized, they will still staring in films about racism and issues to show the world what is going on. Another good example of a man that is an actor and director, who fills his films with messages of race and prejudice, is Spike Lee. In his film Do The Right Thing, we see many issues of racism today. The reasons that the three movies, The Help, A Better Life, and Remember The Titians were such good films, is because racism is still an issue today. Some may watch these films and think that racism is gone, but that is not true. These films are made for us to watch and realize that we still need to be aware of what is going on in our world.

Lacey Robison Film Final Paper 12/05/13

Bibliography:
Benshoff, Harry M. America on Film. 2nd ed. N.p.: Wiley Black Well, 2009. Print. Google Dictionary. Hill Collins, P. (2000). Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment. (2nd Ed.). NY: Routledge. Perez, Jonathan. "The Film "A Better Life" Needs A Better Portrayal of East Los Angeles And Immigrant Life." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 14 Mar. 2012. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.

Lacey Robison Film Final Paper 12/05/13

Expressive: This class has really helped me learn a lot. First of all, I watched a lot of movies that I would have never watched before. With watching those movies, I learned a lot and saw a lot of things that I dont usually see in movies I watch. I was able to see racism, sexuality, male Vs. Female roles, and many more. In this class we were able to explore many different ideas and beliefs of the world. We were able to watch Latino films that showed the Latin culture, as well as Chinese culture. We were able to discover different opinions and ideas for cultures. Another thing that I really liked about this class was the students and the professor. It is really fun to watch a movie and then come to class and see what message other got from the film compared to what you took from the movie. It was a great class to learn about culture in film and to see the different types of culture in todays world.