Synchronicity
Happened to read a post by cesperanza while watching the movie 48 Hours (1982) on late-night motel cable. In the post, Cesperanza discusses a recent episode of SGA and the racism she perceived therein. You can read her post for specifics, but it certainly didn't sound like one had to be especially watchful or sensitive to see the Unfortunate Racial Stereotypes™ being enacted.
Lots of people agree with her diagnosis in the comments. Some hadn't noticed any racial issues before but can see them now. And a few still don't see it. But... as always, there is someone who disagrees in that particular way that makes me want to tear my hair out. The "I didn't see it, I don't see skin color," "The writers didn't mean it so it's not there," "You only thought that because you were looking for it" kind of way. People who use these arguments usually turn nasty or sarcastic or defensive very quickly; they are very invested in their denial. What is at stake? Denying racism in media, their corner of fandom, in themselves, in general?
As I read these comments, I was tuning in and out of the film. And wow! it is bracing. I get it: white cop, black convict, cultural clashes, initial antagonism, eventual respect, hijinks. But in the little bit that I watched, Cates (Nick Nolte) called Hammond (Eddie Murphy) "watermelon," a "spearchucker," referred to him as "charcoal-colored," and of course used the n-word liberally. Hammond told a country-western bar that he hated white people, that they were all rednecks, etc. etc. And while I can imagine the latter scene appearing in a movie today (possibly modified to be "humorous" or at least lighter, which it really wasn't in the original), I really can't see Nolte's vocabulary being used in that modern movie's equivalent.
Seeing the film and reading the comments at the same time was unexpectedly thought-provoking. I wonder, is that is what racism looks like to people who deny its more subtle manifestations? Like the time I mentioned to a friend that there was an appalling lack of POC on Friends (even among the extras, and hello, it's in New York!), and she said sarcastically, "Oh yeah, I think I saw Rachel holding a noose." I suspect racism becomes such a terrible pollutant in their minds that they can't acknowledge it in themselves or people they like at all, because that means they are all bad. It's kind of a neat way to sidestep the issue, really, so they never have to analyze anything too closely. Until someone comes along and tries to burst the "colorblind" bubble, that is.
I tell myself I won't get frustrated by this stuff, but it's not working so far.
Lots of people agree with her diagnosis in the comments. Some hadn't noticed any racial issues before but can see them now. And a few still don't see it. But... as always, there is someone who disagrees in that particular way that makes me want to tear my hair out. The "I didn't see it, I don't see skin color," "The writers didn't mean it so it's not there," "You only thought that because you were looking for it" kind of way. People who use these arguments usually turn nasty or sarcastic or defensive very quickly; they are very invested in their denial. What is at stake? Denying racism in media, their corner of fandom, in themselves, in general?
As I read these comments, I was tuning in and out of the film. And wow! it is bracing. I get it: white cop, black convict, cultural clashes, initial antagonism, eventual respect, hijinks. But in the little bit that I watched, Cates (Nick Nolte) called Hammond (Eddie Murphy) "watermelon," a "spearchucker," referred to him as "charcoal-colored," and of course used the n-word liberally. Hammond told a country-western bar that he hated white people, that they were all rednecks, etc. etc. And while I can imagine the latter scene appearing in a movie today (possibly modified to be "humorous" or at least lighter, which it really wasn't in the original), I really can't see Nolte's vocabulary being used in that modern movie's equivalent.
Seeing the film and reading the comments at the same time was unexpectedly thought-provoking. I wonder, is that is what racism looks like to people who deny its more subtle manifestations? Like the time I mentioned to a friend that there was an appalling lack of POC on Friends (even among the extras, and hello, it's in New York!), and she said sarcastically, "Oh yeah, I think I saw Rachel holding a noose." I suspect racism becomes such a terrible pollutant in their minds that they can't acknowledge it in themselves or people they like at all, because that means they are all bad. It's kind of a neat way to sidestep the issue, really, so they never have to analyze anything too closely. Until someone comes along and tries to burst the "colorblind" bubble, that is.
I tell myself I won't get frustrated by this stuff, but it's not working so far.