Somewhat risky entry concerning racism and stereotypes

[demonic_lilith]

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. I guess that's what going to college is for, though, right?

Well, a debate between a fellow student and I took place in British Cinema class the other day, concerning what he interpreted as a racist portrayal of a Pakistani character. The case in which this came about was in the film Rita, Sue, and Bob Too

Comments

[actressgeek]

I TOTALLY agree. Mark Wahlberg plays a white abusive boyfriend in the movie Fear, but that doesn't mean the film is against all white men. And I've never heard an argument brought up about it. They're just movies and until there is some real proof (like the writer or director talking about people using racial slurs) people need to think before claiming a film is racist.
I had a prof like that at RIC...annoyed the crap out of me.

[redstar402]

I agree with you for the most part BUT I think that if there aren't that many characters of, say Pakistani origin, and one is abusive that it may help to marginalize that group. Especially, if there's another movie with a similar character of a similar movie. It would be okay if there weren't limited roles for a group, but there are. And a flawed character is different than an abuser. Is it better to have roles for minorities if the roles enhance negative perceptions? It's tricky. Not everyone is that open-minded and people who aren't may begin to marginalize...

And that thing about Nola - my one problem is that independent women have been portrayed as promiscuous for too long and it's time to separate teh two.

But the Color Purple thing is crap, I agree with you 100% for the most part.

[insanexflame]

all cultural productions have power. all cultural productions can influence people to marginalize other groups, and yes, productions that consistently portray a certain group a certain way do strongly influence the way people view that group. if the film justifies a character's being Pakistani and also justifies his being an abuser, I believe it's a perfectly valid thing to portray. two points: (1) if you try to free all cultural production from its potential to influence opinions in a negative way, what you're doing is censorship, and once you go there you rather have to censor everything, as every potential thought has a thought that counters it, and we can't promote any without going against someone else's. (2) not being racist does not mean always presenting minorities in a good light. rather, it means seeing someone who is portrayed in a bad light as a person who is doing something bad - not as a person of a particular ethnic group who is doing something bad

[redstar402]

I agree with a lack of censorship, it's all just a fine line to tread. and on your number 2 it DOES mean someone who is portrayed in a bad light as person not a group, but there's no way to make sure it gets read like that.

[insanexflame]

but should we tailor our cultural productions to those people whose minds are closed and who take such negative models as representations of a whole culture? I don't believe that those people are the norm, and I don't believe that they are right. we would gain more from trying to open their minds than from changing the things we produce because we are afraid of the way their minds work.

[redstar402]

Also, why does the abuser have to be the one of Pakistani origin? It's all very interesting to think about..

[demonic_lilith]

I'm sure the character didn't HAVE to be Pakistani. But it played in the film in some very interesting ways.
For one, he struck up a relationship with Sue, a character that the audience knows to be sexually active. Because of his background, when he and Sue move in to his sister's home, they are not allowed to sleep in the same bed, something that challenges Sue's lifestyle. Also, when he is introduced to Sue's family, her father lashes out at him for being a "black boy," further proving his bigotedness.
I think that having a biracial-relationship brought a really interesting take to the otherwise white-centric film.

[hivejive]

You damn jew.

:P

[demonic_lilith]

Don't make me drink the blood of your babies.