Critical Reflection #4

What did you think about Sobaz Benjamin's presentation in class? How did he relate his filmmaking to Frantz Fanon's ideas?

             I really enjoyed having Sobaz in the other week but I wish we could have spoke with him longer. I felt he had interesting opinions and the preview he showed of his other films looking cool too. I think a lot of people in Canada, or other places can relate to his story, but at the same time I think what he shared with us and in his movie is unique. I don’t think a lot of white people know that many black people struggle with themselves because of their race. Sometimes, like in the case of Sobaz, he felt he was to dark so he would try to lighten himself by using bleaching creams etc. He also mentioned that he was darker than both his parents which made him feel even stranger in his own skin, and that family relatives would comment on it. Other black people (or other races who typically have darker coloured skin) might not be as dark as their family or friends. This as well can make them feel uncomfortable or that they don’t fit in or belong. I think the part in the movie where Sobaz and the other man, Tim Dunn, pose naked for an art class with different masks is intriguing and also ironic in many ways. Each of them struggled growing up and finding themselves or ‘who’ they really were, and race was a big part of that for both of them. Sobaz talked about this part in class and really wanted to get our opinions on what we thought it meant and why we thought he did that. In my opinion it came down to really exposing themselves, all of them, and I don’t mean in the fact that they were naked, although that is a part of it. If a person has clothes on the way they dress can also be judged, but since they were both naked nothing can be judged except the colour of their skin, but again I don’t think that was exactly the point either. This is who they are and by doing this it’s revealing them as a person, with all their insecurities out there, because beside each other it was clearly obvious one was black and one was white. The point of the masks, (each having the opposing colour of their skin) was to put in to perspective the comparisons of the two races, along with maybe stereotypes that society has. I don’t know if I completely understand or get what Sobaz was trying to get across but that’s my interpretation of that scene.  

            There are obvious similarities between Sobaz’s way of thinking and the work that Fanon has done, especially Black Skin, White Mask. The name of Fanon’s piece is visibly a major theme in Sobaz film. I found Fanon’s reading to be sort of difficult and wasn’t quite sure if I was getting exactly what he was trying to say (kind of like some parts of Sobaz movie).  One quote, “slave to my appearance, not to an idea”, I thought struck a chord.  Sobaz and Fanon felt so judged by the colour of their skin and what people thought of them that it was overtaking their lives. And maybe that they were putting on a front (or a mask) for other people, mainly whites. Fanon talked a lot about black people trying to fit into the “white world” and acting how white people want them to act. He calls it a dialectical process, being for others and not for yourself. I think Fanon was kind of more direct and arrogant, but not in a bad way, just that he had more anger in it and Sobaz was more desperate and was trying to find a place or answer to a certain question.   

Critical Reflection #1

            This week in class we read and discussed two readings from Miles and Winant. In Miles article every time he said the word race he would put it in quotes. I thought this was pretty interesting. It gave off the impression that he somewhat didn’t believe it or thought it was made up, which come to find out that’s pretty much what he was getting at. He introduced the thought that ‘race’ is something human beings made up so that they could categorize people in different groups. For me, it made me step back a bit and think how if people never came up with ‘race’ and classifying those who don’t look like us then it could be possible racism wouldn’t exist at all. Obviously everyone knows that there are people who have different colour skin or texture of hair or different shaped features. If they just saw it as being unique and went about their business then many issues from the past may have not happened. Miles wanted people to know that ‘race’ is just a social construct put together simply to manage groups of people by their physical appearance and that it was more of an idea than an actual thing. This of course started centuries ago and white males were always listed at the top of humanity. Not any type of white male though, because the Irish were just as much discriminated against as Africans. This was because of the shape of their heads, thickness and probably darkness of their hair. The most dominant male is those who resemble the look of Greek gods, strong chins and long noses. These thoughts that Miles talks about have truly have made it into the minds of almost everyone, with help of the media and advertising of course. He says it can only be changed by changing economic and political relations, which we all know is impossible, and why most ‘racisms’ continue today. It makes sense that the people who created the concept of ‘race’ wanted to categorize other into different groups, because it’s human nature to associate one thing with another and put objects (including people, places, animals, food) into groups. It’s organizing in a way, and that makes people feel better.

            In my opinion the concept of race only has to do with what you “see” it has nothing to do with the personality of an individual, whether they are kind, mean, sensitive etc. It also has nothing to do with intelligence, and I think that is ironic. A person could be the smartest of the smart but still, because of their looks they could/can be judged and disregarded. In today’s society you don’t see racism as frequently or “in your face’ as you use to. Many people play pretend and think oh no it doesn’t exist, or only in certain places. That is until it starts to affect them or someone they know then they start to worry about it. I watched a show once where they discussed the issue of racism when talking about criminals. It is a fact that in Canada, most of the prison population is Native people or in the U.S, Black and Latino people. Shows like Cops, or the First 48 don’t help stereotypes when most of the people they arrest are of those three nationalities. In the show it said how on the news (or other similar programs) when there is an incident involving a white male they won’t show the man’s picture, they’ll just describe what happened. But if the crime is committed by a black male 4/5 times they will show a picture as they are talking about the incident.

            Miles wanted people to know that ‘race’ is an ideology that someone many years ago created. He connected racism with sexism and nationalism as all being ideologies       . They continue to be successful in a way because people believe in them to be an actual concept therefore new opinions, solutions, and objections are created about these ideologies everyday. They continue and repeat themselves as time passes.

Live Discussion Board

The idea of this live discussion board is to bring up topics in relation to race, racism and colonialism or to just comment on the entries on this blog. Since it can be hard to think of a random issue I'll start the first one and whoever would like to can give their opinion: When going to certain bars and clubs in Halifax, some places have a "dress code" which is typically aimed toward the style of hip hop, rap artists and towards black males. Their pants can't be too baggy, if their shirts are too long they won't be allowed in and people can't wear hats, jerseys with numbers on them and if they have jewelry (normally chains) they have to be tucked into the shirt. But most girls can wear whatever they want and get in no problem. Is this a form of racism, or instead maybe genderism? Comment and leave your opinion!

Critical Reflection #3

Peggy McIntosh introduces us to the idea of white privilege. how was white privilege impacted your life or or those around you?
     I think this article was very upfront, but truthful and something that not many people talk about or maybe even are aware of. Since I am white, I can relate to a lot of the conditions McIntosh talks about. I haven't really ever felt judged or criticized for the way I look. I feel that it is a mostly "white dominated world, which is unfortunate but reality. I have 2 brother;s, one looks similar to myself, very dark features and in the summer our skin can get a dark tan, my other brother has the dark hair but lighter eyes and skin. My mom tells me stories about when i was younger playing and someone said to her "she looks like she should be playing outside of a pizza shop". I'm not sure what ethnicity the person was referring I looked like and since I was so young I don't know how I felt about the comment. I often get asked what my background is but never have I been discriminated against. A few summers ago my brother (who looks similar to me) had to get a criminal record check for a job he was applying for. On one of the applications it was asking hair, eye colour, etc. One question said something like is you skin white, brown, black. My brother, bring white circled that word. When giving it to the police officer to look over the cop looked at him and erased what he had circled for skin colour, and circled brown giving my brother a "look". My brother thought this was hilarious but said he felt a little strange at the same time. I'm sure most of the people in my family haven't really thought about "white privilege" before, or they've never mentioned it anyway. Although my family hasn't really ever talked about race or differences between races but I'm sure they've seen the differences in everyday life.
     My group of friends growing up consisted of different cultures and no one ever noticed when we were younger or said anything  but as we got older it was definitely more talked about. A lot of my girlfriends were black and they would often talk about how hard it was to deal with their hair; using different products, or when it was breaking all off and most of them wouldn't let a white hairdresser touch their hair. I think my guy friends who were black got discriminated against a lot mote then my black girlfriends. They would tell stories of how they got followed in the mall by security or how people gave them dirty looks if there was 3 or more of them together in public, which I saw first hand a couple of times. A lot of my friends who were black felt uncomfortable going to white people's houses, if they weren't very close with the family or if they didn't have another black friend with them. I can completely understand it but at the same time I was always saying things like "don't be scared or nervous! who cares?" But I probably didn't and don't understand the real effect or feeling they get when put into a situation like that. My boyfriend is black and at the beginning of our relationship walking in a mall or somewhere public, sometimes we would get horrible looks from people (usually elderly). I knew that there were prejudice people out there but I never experienced it first hand like that. Or some people at school would say "oh my gosh, what did your parents say about you dating him?" This was a stupid question to me because my parents would never say anything or never judge, which I'm thankful to have parents like that. At first it was very frustrating to me why people cared but now I'm pretty much over it.
     In class we talked about the "race card" and I was surprised that no one in class thought it ever applied to white people. I've been in groups where i was the only white person and I would say something and everyone would say "oh ok Alana your pulling the race card", but in a joking way. After reading McIntosh's article i realize that most of the things my friends would say that applied to the race card (for white people) are the conditions Peggy McIntosh listed.
     it was and still is extremely hard for me to even understand the thought of racism or how people can be so judgemental against other races. No one chooses what they are going to look like when they were born or what family they would be born into. I know racism has come a long way but i still feel there is too much going on for today's day and age, which McIntosh I think clearly points out by her list of conditions.

 

Critical Reflection #2

     This week in class we spoke about liberalism, which came from a reading by C.W. Mills. When I heard the word liberalism before reading Mills and talking about it in class I thought it meant things like, freedom and open mindedness but also somehow the word strict came to mind as well. Mills referred to something called tabula rasa, or an ideal state of nature. Mills wasn't for or against liberalism, he said the most common way to address racial inequalities is by ignoring race altogether. Mills talked about John Locke who also felt similar that every man was created equal; no one should be born into prestige or type of hierarchies.
      I like this way of thinking. It's true that everyone would be equal and maybe even get along better. It's fair to say that some people are born into, for example royal families that have a lot of money that shouldn't or don;t deserve it. I kind of feel that Mills and Locke wanted everyone born equal so that they can make choices for themselves or live up to their potential and not how society or other see them. The year after I graduated from high school I went to Australia with a friend and we travelled and worked there for 6 months. The experience was amazing and of course I wish I could go back. One of my favorite things, which I mentioned to people back home was that everyone was so nice and friendly. My friend and I would live in hostels and have jobs, either outside of the hostel or at one point we worked at one. You meet so many people that are doing the exact same thing as you; it just turned out to be a big group of friends. Point being, everyone was in the same boat. It didn't matter where you were from, what race, religion you were or if your family came from money or not. It was like having a blank slate. I loved the feeling that no one could judge, and that you could pretty much act however you wanted to and no one would day anything. This came to mind when I learned in class about the concept of tabula rasa. I know it's not exactly the same thing but it feels quite similar. Some people in our group tended to be leaders or the "plan makers" not because they were bossy or mean but because the took initiative and they gained the position. At the end of the day everyone continued to be friends, some had differences of opinions but no one was ever right or wrong. I don;t think I'll find a situation where I'll feel as comfortable as I did there.
      Mills also said that "the most common way way to address racial inequalities is by ignoring race altogether." We often talk in class how race or racism is rarely spoken of amongst society because it can be seen as rude or taboo. I think when Mills made this comment he means we have to get all the the stereotypes and certain ideas people carry and get them out of our minds. We all need a blank state of mind (tabula rasa) so we can openly talk about the racial inequalities and the structures that political and social figures have set in our society today. This way maybe some problems can be brought to light and finally be addressed.