Dear Colleagues: In 1997-98 I reviewed a number of videos on
race and racism that are available in the University of Michigan
Film and Video library. Many of you have asked for a copy of
my annotated bibliography. Comments are my take on the presentation
and the issues and their usefulness for my "Unteaching Racism"
class (RC 360), and are not intended to be prescriptive for others.
Helen Fox hfox@umich.edu 1128 Angell Hall 48109-1003
Video Reviews
*** Great! **Some good features * Slow or off the point
*America in Black and White: #1 The Philadelphia Story 42 min.
ABC News 1996
Ted Koppel's week-long Nightline series aired in 1996 begins
with a series of hate crimes against Bridget Ward, a young black
woman who moves her family into a house she likes in a close-knit
white, working class section of Philadelphia. When racial epithets
and a ketchup trail appear on her steps the next day, Bridget's
sister alerts the media. It's summertime and news is slow, so
the fears, concerns, and blatently racist views of some of Bridget's
neighbors soon become national news. In the end, everyone is
mad at Koppel, from the neighbors, who feel that all the attention
has besmirched their "ideal" community, to Bridget,
who is angry that Koppel questions her about her present occupation
(her body language suggesting he had agreed not to) and dredges
up a past debt which, as Bridget points out, had not been known
to the people who committed the hate crimes. Although the story
might conceiveably raise awareness among students who believe
racism is a thing of the past, its repetitiveness, its "he-said-she-said"
style, and Koppel's own stereotyping and condescention as he interviews
Bridget Ward make it very difficult to watch. The worst of what
is really quite a good series overall, this first segment might
be well to skip.
***America in Black and White: #2 How Much is White Skin Worth? 23min.
ABC News, 1996
Koppel starts off with the same audience of white neighbors that appeared in the first segment of this series, asking them the question that Prof. Andrew Hacker has been asking his young, white Economics students for twenty years: "How much money would you accept in compensation if you found out you had to live the rest of your life as an African American?" Their answers are eye-opening -- considering that these are the same folks who believe racism is a thing of the past and that compensation to blacks for past injustice is unnecessary. The second shocker is the personal story of Greg Williams, Dean and Professor of Ohio State University College of Law, about growing up first "white", then "black" in the racialized society of 1950s America. Born in Virginia to ostensibly white parents, he enjoyed the privileges of other white children in the segregated South. When he was ten, his parents' divorce forced a move with his "Italian" father to Muncie, Indiana, where he discovered a loving black grandmother and the rest of his African American relatives. His new status carefully noted on his high school record ("appears to be white, but father is colored -- don't be fooled"), the same Greg Williams now suffered exclusion from social activities, low expectations by teachers, and other indignities that continue to follow him though his ultimately successful career. A vivid example of the social construction of race and an eerie glimpse at the now-visible, now-invisible spectre that still causes delusions in the minds of perfectly normal Americans.
***America in Black and White: #3 The Color Line and the Bus Line
ABC News, 1996
Puzzled by the different reactions by his white (indifferent)
and black (outraged) colleagues to the death of seventeen-year
old Cynthia Wiggens in a traffic accident, Ted Koppel goes to
Buffalo, NY to uncover "the insidious racism that whites
don't acknowledge." Cynthia was flattened by a truck as
she tried to make her way across a seven lane highway to get to
her job in an up-scale mall in a white suburb. Blacks suspected
immediately what whites generally didn't realize or want to acknowledge:
irrational fear of low income blacks who might come to the mall
to work or shop had blocked the construction of a safe, convenient
bus stop and highway crossing between the two communities. Koppel
uncovers more subtleties for his mostly white audience: how the
dearth of businesses in the inner city made it necessary for working
class blacks to cross the color line to in order to work at all;
the regulations that prevent blacks from getting public sector
jobs in the community that happens to be blessed with public services;
the reasons why Cynthia wasn't safe in college beoming a pediatrician
as she had dreamed (unreasonably, Koppel's tone suggests) but
was instead a high school dropout struggling to support a beloved
infant son. A memorable example of the complexity and insidiousness
of institutial racism. Students remember these stories and repeat
them, incredulously, to their friends.
** Redefining Racism: Fresh Voices from Black America 60 min.
PBS Home Video, 1997
Although there's no denying that racism still exists in America,
there way too much emphasis on it these days, say these black
middle class professionals. If racism is such a crippling force,
they say, how do you explain the rise of the black middle class?
People of African ancestry are the best educated and have achieved
more in America than in any country in the world. Racism offers
convenient excuses to poor blacks, especially young people, who
wonder, "Why should I believe in this country, or try to
do well in school if I hear that racism explains everything?"
Vigorous self-reliance has always been a defining characteristic
of the black community, so let's emphasize our positive achievements.
While some of these African American commentators are political
conservatives, such as Ward Connerly, the University of California
Regent who speaks out strongly against affirmative action, others
hold a range of views that cannot be characterized neatly . A
successful young black who attended a mostly white college describes
with humor and candor his growing self-confidence as he began
to notice that some white students are highly intelligent, some
are very, very stupid and most are average -- just like the black
community. Julius Lester, a professor at Amherst College, deplores
the labeling, name-calling and castigation by blacks of other
blacks who deviate from a set political position. A good discussion
starter, especially in classes with more than a few black students.
To add complexity and depth of analysis, show this with the third
in Ted Koppel's series, America in Black and White: The Color
Line and the Bus Line, which traces the complex web of causation
linking a simple traffic accident to what some view as institutional
racism.
*** Who Killed Vincent Chin? 82 minutes
NY, NY: Filmakers Library, 1988
Chinese auto worker in a Detroit Chrysler plant killed by a father-son
duo in 1983 after a bar fight which started with a remark that
the Japanese are taking the jobs. Engaging story of how the Chinese
community became pro-active and vocal. Brings out issues not usually
discussed: how economics interacts with racism; small vs. big
town influence; Japanese protectionism and loss of US jobs; acceptance
of male violence as normal, white denial of racism, "sensationalism
on both sides." Brings up good questions about media racism,
pitting of races against each other. Is the definition of racism
different in Chinese and white Detroit communities?
*** A Class Divided (first half, about 35 minutes)
Washington, D.C. : PBS Video, 1985
Third grade teacher's dramatic demonstration of how racism can
be quickly learned, internalized and rationalized. Divides the
class into blue eyes and brown eyes, telling the children convincingly
that one eye color is better and more privileged than the other
(then after a few days, switching the privilege to the other group).
Original experiment was done in Riceville, Iowa, a very small,
all white, all Christian community. Children's test scores changed
dramatically in 24 hours, depending on whether or not their group
was privileged. Interviews the same children as adults with families
of their own; all are convinced this was a vitally important experience
for them. Filmed originally by ABC News. Could be shown in two
parts. First half is about the third grade class; second half
is a similar exercise done with prison officials. Second part
brings out "typical" behaviors of minority groups in
response to stigma, issues of acting white, passing, uppity behavior,
internalized racism, Freire's "naive consciousness"
stage.
** Steven Jay Gould. Evolution and Human Equality 42 minutes
Cambridge, MA: Insight Video, 1987
Lecture format. Shows how present day racist arguments about
genetic differences between blacks and whites are faulty. Presents
new data about the closeness of races in human evolution. "Human
equality is a contingent fact of history." Slides of pre-evolutionary
debate about race before 1859 (pre-Darwin): Monogenists (Adam
and Eve as creators of all people) vs. Polygenists (Bible is the
story of history of whites, while others are separate species
with separately created origins). Discusses the Eugenics movement
including Craniometry ("hi and low brow"), and the idea
of biologically criminal physiognomy. All racial diversity came
about in the last 100,000 years at most, so there was no time
for evolution to create any deep differences. Higher degree of
variation within racial groups than between them.
** Black on White (The Story of English). 60 minutes
Chicago, IL: Films, Inc. 1986
Shows influences of black language on white south and on American
English generally, from roots in West Africa to Rap. Shows use
and imposition of Pidgin in slave holding forts in Africa; development
of Creole during slavery; transmission of Creole to white, southern
aristocracy by slave women working in plantation houses and by
children designated as playmates for the master's offspring. Mentions
present day code switching, shows some classroom teaching of standard
English by black teachers and administrators who want children
to be more accepted by the mainstream. Downplays present day racism.
* The Lemon Grove Incident 58 min.
NY, NY: Cinema Guild, 1985
Show how Mexican immigrants bring about the earliest US school
desegregation case (California, 1930). Combination of old photos,
newsreel, re-enactment, and interview with the actual people involved.
Laws at that time allowed separation of "non-Caucasians"
in CA schools, i.e. Asian, Native American, Blacks. Somewhat
slow, a little corny, but portrays an important, little-known
example of racism against Latinos.
*** Shadow of Hate 40 min.
Southern Poverty Law Center
Details hate crimes and prejudice against Catholics, Jews, Mexican-Americans,
Chinese, Japanese, Blacks, Native Americans. White Protestants,
especially males, look very bad.
*** Color of Fear 90 min.
Oakland, CA: Stir-Fry Productions, 1994
Men of different ethnicities come together in Ukiah, California
to talk about their experience of racism. Emotional; bring kleenex.
Great quotes for discussion: "America doesn't incorporate
all of us." "Why can't you people just be individuals?"
"Racism is basically a white problem." "American,
white and human has become synonymous." "What is the
white experience?" "It's a white responsibility
to eliminate racism." Also discusses Asian, Black, Latino
prejudices against each other. "Asians take their cues from
whites." "I'm afraid of (blacks') misplaced rage."
Consensus is that white supremacy and white racism dominate the
world and especially the American experience. Very hard on the
clueless white male, who finally comes to appreciate the other
men's experiences. This video is much appreciated by many people
of color because of the emotionally intense and highly articulate
explanations of present-day racism and exclusion.
* Forbidden City, USA 57 min.
Los Angeles, CA: DeepFocus Productions, 1989
Shows the rise of the first Chinese nightclub in the 40s. Some
discussion about prejudice; mostly film clips of dancing, reminiscences.
Not particularly appropriate for discussions centering on racism.
*** Beyond Hate (Bill Moyers) 90 min.
NY: Mystic Fire Video, 1991
Psychology of hatred in general. LA gangs, white supremacist groups,
neighbors, Bensonhurst, Israel, Vietnam, Hitler's Germany, India,
China, Northern Ireland. Hate as energizing, self-righteous.
Antidotes to hate. Quite long, but informative; somewhat "objective":
sees hate as a general human problem rather than a white problem.
Power differences not discussed. Good for discussion of what
fuels prejudice.
* Bill Cosby on Prejudice 25 min.
Pyramid Fils, 1972
Inappropriate. A Cosby monologue spoofing standard prejudices.
Not funny.
*** Ethnic Notions 57 min.
Berkeley, CA: California Newsreel, 1987
Demeaning stereotypes of blacks in cartoons, film, "blackface"
and minstrel shows from pre-Civil war days until just before the
advent of television after WWII. Historical aspects of how prejudice
is taught and perpetuated at the "gut level." Shows
how blacks are portrayed to people who had never seen them before
as ugly, savage, stupid, a laughingstock, and/or powerless, and
how some of these stereotypes have only somewhat mutated today.
A mix of professors' comments, film, images of popular culture.
Good for discussion of how racism is ingrained and perpetuated.
Occasionally a bit over-analyzed. Show just before "Color
Adjustment."
** Heathen Injuns and the Hollywood Gospel 30 min.
Seattle WA: Coproduction of KCTS-9 Seattle and United Indians of All Tribes Foundation, 1979.
How Hollywood movies created and perpetuated worldwide image of
Indians as savage and sub-human, making up non-existent rituals
that misinformed both Indian and other ethnic groups and internalized
stereotypes and self-hatred in Indians. Indian women, especially,
are dramatically demeaned in these clips.
** Racism 101 58 min.
Boston, MA: WGBH Educational Foundation, 1988
An episode of "Frontline" featuring University of Michigan,
University of Massachusetts, and Dartmouth as examples of campuses
where increasing "racial incidents" caused radical action
on the part of black students (or white, in the case of Dartmouth
Review). Brings up the usual campus feelings: "We don't owe
them." "They keep themselves separate." At UM,
shows BAM (BLack Action Movement) demands of president Harold
Shapiro for immediate tenure for all black professors, funds for
a black student union, target of 12% black students on campus.
Makes campus racism a black and white issue; does not present
enough information for students new to the issue to understand
the complexities behind it. Can feel the white production behind
this piece, in contrast to some others, such as Color Adjustment,
which gets more into the black points of view.
*** School Colors 143 min.
Documentary Consortium of Public Television Stations, Alexandria, VA PBS Video, 1992
A special edition of Frontline documenting ethnic group separation
at Berkeley High in 1994. Deals with ways students are separated
from each other by the administration (for good and/or for ill),
from tracking to the Afro-American studies department, which has
an Afrocentric curriculum and few students of other ethnicities.
Some wonderful teaching is shown here. Little discussion of how
socio-economic class may contribute to anger and academic achievement
differences. Mostly black-white problems shown; some Chicano,
some unexplained trouble between Chicanos and Latinos (US born/immigrant
Mexican). Shows some interesting student videotapes. Brings
up questions: Does this emphasis on ethnic differences address
the US reality or promote dis-unity? Why do students self-segregate?
How does tracking add to the problem? Is de-tracking the answer?
What kind of teachers, teaching, attitudes, etc. encourage tentative
solutions? Is this high school experiencing a problem, or is it
evidence that things are changing for the better?
*** True Colors 20 min.
ABC: Journal Graphics, 1991
Primetime Live. Hidden cameras document "everyday" racism,
privilege, prejudice in St. Louis when young black and white colleagues
try to get same services in a white middle class community. Very
effective for audiences who doubt that racism still exists or
who haven't experienced it personally.
*** Color Adjustment 87 min.
San Francisco, CA: California Newsreel, 1991
TV images of the ideal family and the American Dream from the
advent of television to today. Shows how blacks continue to be
stereotyped, mainstreamed, and/or left out to make the black experience
"palatable" to white America. In two parts: '48-'68
showing blacks' optimism after WWII when segregation had been
abolished in the armed forces. Despite this hopeful sign, early
TV continued the black minstrel show tradition with Amos and Andy,
an "indescribably popular" farce that showed blacks,
especially black men, as ignorant buffoons, and pandered to America's
popular image of them as lazy and opportunistic. Sued by the
NAACP before it opened, it lasted two seasons. After this there
was a void of blacks in the media (TV, radio, magazines) at all
(though the Nat King Cole Show was a powerful exception), and
white families were pictured as perfect (Leave it to Beaver, Father
Knows Best, etc.). Shows the effect of this on black psyche:
"There was something good and wholesome about white culture."
In the 60s, ("Julia,") the model black family appeared
(though the father was absent). Shows like "Good Times"
"made the ghetto palatable." The Cosby Show, too, was
"a comfort to white America" in that it showed an affluent,
highly successful family. Great quotes from James Baldwin add
a chilling effect. Short clips of interviews with Steven Bochco
("Television is the most powerful communications medium in
the history of the world"), Norman Lear, and other producers
of these shows. Brings up provocative questions: "What is
the extent of TV's responsibility for creating and perpetuating
racism and white supremacy?"
* + Race, the Floating Signifier 63 min.
Northampton, MA: Media Education Foundation, 1996
Lecture, with some interview and a few, low-budget clips, by Stuart
Hall of The Open University in Britain. A Cultural Studies approach
to "the logic of how racism is cultivated in our imaginations."
Shows how the human mind categorizes, how physical difference
is easy to use as a marker, how these superficial differences
are much less fixed than we think, how first religion, then anthropology,
then genetics have been used by white supremacists to connect
physical characteristics to attitudes, intelligence, and other
descriptors. Somewhat "floating" itself, as an argument;
many claims, but short on examples and other kinds of evidence.
The format is a bit monotonous, but the lecturer is likable,
attractive, engaged in his subject with some passion.
Making Peace Program #104: Facing Racism. 57 min.
Princeton, NJ: Films for the Humnanities & Sciences, 1997
Community therapist Lee Mun Wah (who filmed and is featured in
"Color of Fear") facilitates several days of dialogue
among adults of all ethniticies, resulting in many highly charged
moments. Several participants record their feelings in video
journal form throughout the workshop. Some poignant quotes here:
Latino man: "My fear is that you will think me less of a
man because of this wound that makes me feel so shy sometimes."
Chinese American woman: "I feel that (by coming to the workshop)
I am giving up my sheer invisibility that has been part of me
all my life." Native American woman: "I don't need
to play race duty; I don't need to teach anyone about what it's
like to be a person of color." Like "Color of Fear,"
this video is especially hard on white males, some of whom become
aware of the feelings and experiences of people of color for the
first time. Use this video with caution: it can call up extremely
painful feelings for some people of color.
** Pockets of Hate 25 min.
Princeton, NJ: Films for the Humanities, 1993
A report on the increase of hate crimes -- beatings, grafitti,
racial epithets, open bragging about violence -- by young, poor
whites against upper middle-class Indians in Jersey City. Links
are made between the worsening economic prospects of urban, blue
collar youth and the increase of tension and violence against
"foreigners" who appear to have "made it."
Interviews of the perpetrators and their families as well as
the victims bring up interesting possibilities for discussion:
to what degree "not becoming American" sets up immigrants
for attack; whether fear of difference is a "natural"
human trait; who or what is responsible for the crass anti-immigrant
attitides expressed by the perpetrators: the education system,
global capitalism, the family, or the youths themselves. An
interview with a professor of African American studies, Dr. Lenworth
Gunther, explores the connection between hate crimes in areas
of urban blight and those on college campuses.
** Not In Our Town 27 min.
Oakland, CA: California Working Group, 1995
PBS features the response of the Billings, Montana, community
to a series of hate crimes against Jews, Native Americans, gays
and lesbians, and Blacks by a group that is attempting to create
an "Aryan homeland" in five states in the Northwest.
Though we don't gain much insight into the perpetrators' lives
or motives (except one ex-member of the Aryan Resistance saying,
"If only someone would have come and taught me about people..."),
we do see first-rate community activism, creative and effective
countering of violence and threats, and the good-hearted American-ness
of this western city. One wonders if it's as simple as the decent
folks against the outlaws, but it is a nice counter to the idea
that ethnic hatreds are so complex and ingrained that we can do
nothing.
Also recommended:
**+ Rosewood
The true story of the destruction of a mostly black town in Florida
in the 1920s by white "good ole boys" and a false accusation
made by a white woman. Violent, mean, sadistic. Some attempt
to show the reasons behind white "cracker" behavior;
most whites are shown as a mixture of good and evil. Shows black
heroism and black family values at their best. Good to prime
discussion of the KKK and present day hate groups, and to point
out the lasting effect of violent incidents in the South on the
current state of race relations.
**Spring of Discontent 56 min.
Ann Arbor, MI: Univ. of Michigan Media Resource Center, 1990.
Documentary showing ugly confrontations over treaty rights of
Native peoples in Wisconsin, Michigan, Washington and other states.
Focuses on Native rights to spear-fishing that disadvantage
whites and white-owned companies, as well as the power struggle
between the Indian Nations and US federal and state governments.
Various positive solutions are shown, including co-management
of resources, Native leadership in environmental concerns, and
whites and Indians working toward understanding and cooperative
processes. Some good 1970s footage, but the presentation is somewhat
difficult to follow in spots, perhaps because the subject is complex.
Best for audiences with a particular interest in legal issues.
Some strange blank spots in the tape require viewer patience.
**Listen To Me 45 min
Ann Arbor, MI: The Regents of the University of Michigan, 1990
Student-made video featuring students of various ethnicities at
U of M's School of Nursing who talk about their family backgrounds
and customs, their experiences with discrimination and prejudice,
and their "American dream." Somewhat slow, but some
of the students' stories stick with you, such as the working class
white woman who grew up among blacks, but who now finds herself
rejected at Uof M by both the black community (who see her as
white) and the white community (who see her as strange).
***Promised Land (Series of three, 90 min. videos)
Bethesda, MD: Discovery Channel, 1995
This three-part documentary traces the "greatest peacetime migration in American history": the black migration from the South to the "Promised Land" of Chicago in the 1930s, '40s and '50s. I cannot praise this video highly enough. It takes the BBC to show in all its gritty and glorious detail this suppressed chapter of US history from an African American perspective. Based on Nicholas Lehman's book of the same name, Promised Land shows both beautiful and appalling footage from the days of sharecropping: the blues harmonica music that grew up around the railroad, the punishing work of picking cotton, the terrifying inevitablitability of white power, and the unspeakable living conditions that finally led to the vast migration into a post-war economy where any black from Mississippi could walk into the Chicago stockyards and be hired on the spot. Part II features the Pullman Porters and their prominance in union organizing, the rise of the great black-owned newspaper, The Chicago Defender, and the experience of coming into the great, glittering city on a train that "took you to heaven." Part III shows blacks' disillusionment with the present-day conditions in Chicago, now "the most racially segregated city in America." Shows some spectacular black success stories as well as the violence, drugs and general hopelessness resulting from declining employment opportunities. The only thing that mars this series is the lack of analysis of why the present-day booming economy is leaving so many blacks behind, other than a few references to the glass ceiling for black professionals. Students of all ethnicities should have the opportunity to see this lively history of the people who worked so hard and built so much in the 30 years that opportunity was open to them.