Hasselbeck's behavior got me thinking about another mixed-race discussion, Lee Mun Wah's 1994 film, The Color of Fear, where a group of men spend a weekend together, discussing racial matters with even more apparent sincerity than the women of The View. I watched the film again to see if the white men in the group enact the same phenomenon; one of the two did, and the other didn't. And that seems to have everything to do with how far along the road they are toward self-awareness in racial terms.
The group of men who share their normally hidden feelings about race throughout The Color of Fear consists of eight North Americans of various races, and two of them are white. One of the latter, Gordon Clay, begins his self-introduction by stating, "I am a racist," and the other, David Christensen, well, he's a lot like Elisabeth Hasselbeck. For him, matters of race are mostly about non-white people, since being white pretty much doesn't mean a damn thing to him. At least not at first.
All of the eight men get a good deal of camera time in this emotionally wrenching film, but David seems to get the most. It's not so much that he insists as much as Elisabeth does on occupying center stage. It's more that, as the discussion goes on, it becomes clear to the rest of the group that not only is David the most obstinately unenlightened member of the group. He also perfectly embodies the kind of blithe, complacent white supremacy that the rest of them (including the other white guy, Gordon) are struggling to articulate their difficulties with. So the other men spend a lot of time trying to get David to understand their reality, and his own.
The member of the group most willing to confront David with his own racial blindness and unwitting arrogance is Victor Lewis, an African American man (who has gone on to widespread renown as a anti-racist educator, trainer, and activist).
In this two-minute clip from the film, which I very, very much recommend seeing and sharing, Victor confronts two other common white tendencies enacted by David--the white-individualist claim that all people "stand on their own" in this world, and the forgetfulness buried within that claim that the ground white Americans stand on is stolen land.
If you can get a group of people to watch it with you, this film remains a fantastic generator for discussion. And like other films that I've featured on this blog, I recommend asking your local library to order a copy if it doesn't have one yet.
Hey Macon. Tense film, and exactly the kind I would hate to suffer through in a mandatory 'diversity' training workshop in a mixed race group, because afterwards you have to suffer from being interrogated whether or not you agreed with anything said, and unless you pretend to be bored with the whole topic, your co-workers can harbor grudges, or worse, it can blow up in your face when it's promotion time.
ReplyDeleteIn a class about race or sociology, though, I agree, it would be interesting.
My theology professor showed this movie in class, before we began reading James Cone and George Tinker. Thanks for posting this clip, this is a movie that everyone should see. It's very uncomfortable to watch sometimes, but that's what makes it so great. A lot of us can stand to be less comfortable.
ReplyDeleteI've heard a lot about this documentary. Surprisingly, I've never seen it and I'm a Soc major!
ReplyDeleteVery powerful. Although the lack of women involved is kind of glaring. I'm very interested and I'll try to rent it at my university's library this fall. B/c I seriously cannot afford the price.
as a member of a historically diasporic people, i'd have to respectfully point out that this idea that land inheres to peoples has been the key to brutal oppression of peoples without historical land claims (romani, jews, etc.) for just about all of recorded history - far longer than european colonialsim.
ReplyDeleteby that logic, anywhere i live, including europe, is 'stolen land'. i think there's gotta be a way to advocate for the rights of indigenous folks without resorting to land claim ideologies that oppress diasporic folks.
Shayne. Can you provide a contemporary example to back up your claim that First Nations land claims oppress diasporic folks (which diaspora, by the way)??
ReplyDeleteI thought that he made some good points however I found it telling that he threw in white women as an aside. While he seeks to conflict the white man of oppression he specifically does not mention that men of color benefit from patriarchy though to a lesser degree than white men.(my commentary only relates to the clip posted and not the entire documentary)
ReplyDeleteGood post. Plus, that documentary is fucking awesome. The library at my alma matter (not sure how that's spelled) has it. Too bad its so rare it costs like fucking $200 to buy! Really great video! Can't sing its praises enough!
ReplyDeleten. Tense film, and exactly the kind I would hate to suffer through in a mandatory 'diversity' training workshop in a mixed race group, because afterwards you have to suffer from being interrogated whether or not you agreed with anything said, and unless you pretend to be bored with the whole topic, your co-workers can harbor grudges, or worse, it can blow up in your face when it's promotion time.
ReplyDeleteEvery job I have ever had in corporate america, I have never seen a film this controversial about diversity. They are typically more or less happy go lucky, and everyone hold hands and says we are all equal in the end.