(no subject)
Today, Day of Presence, I went to the watch the movie 'Space Traders' at 2 o'clock. The premise of the movie was that aliens had come down to Earth and offered the United States a deal where they would solve all of their problems - pollution, debt, etc. - if the United States would give up all of their African Americans. I was a little horrified just at the prospect of that being brought up, but was interested in what direction the movie would go. The movie started with an introduction by George Clinton as a pyschadelic floating head and then went on to a newscast being broadcast as the aliens were approaching Earth with their offer. Upon hearing the offer, everyone is completely shocked, but in the conference had by the president and his council, the idea seems to be very favorable. Many shocking things were said during the conference. One woman stated that one of the worst things that could happen as a result would be the amazing amount of guilt felt by all the white people and how that could cause medical costs to soar. Also, one person asked the question, "do you really think the aliens will treat them worse than we have?" It was a shocking statement, one with a lot of truth, but something that white people do not often admit to or like to.
The main character of the movie, an African American named Professor GoLightly, was part of the conference and the only one who spoke out against the trade to the aliens, not only as an African American himself, but because he didn't think it was right to make that decision. The aliens had given them five days and it was decided that it would be put to a vote across the country. The president and his followers were lobbying to trade the African Americans, while Professor GoLightly and many other African Americans as well as Jews were fighting to keep them here on Earth. One really interesting point that the professor made was that white people believe that African Americans should not have anything that they don't have and yet as white people demand better jobs, homes and neighborhoods, they are also stealing African Americans' style of clothing, music, dance, and language. He believed, towards the end, that they should urge people to vote yes, to send them away to this other place because in that way, the whites would believe that the African Americans were getting something better than they were and would end up saying it was an unconstitutional discrimination to let the African Americans go with the aliens. As people revolt against this idea and remain in their solidarity, the professor says, "People without power must use cunning and guile!" This corresponded well with the writing by Peggy McIntosh we read about white privilege and the difference between earned strength and unearned power. The professor was aware that he did not have a lot of power in his society and knew that in order to get peoples' attention and to make a difference, he really had to earn it, as an African American man in this society.
In the movie, there was also a lot of use of stereotypes, African Americans smoke menthols and drink cognac, and also portrayed African Americans as consumers and laborers, but not as producers. Because this film was a satirical film, it was all done on purpose in order to portray and exaggerate an image of American society and the way we, generally and stereotypically, think of African Ameircans. It was very interestingly done, but also uncomfortable to see so many racist stereotypes brought out. Another thing that made me uncomfortable was the blunt reactions from some of the African Americans to the prospect of being sent away. The hairdresser of the professor said that the American Dream was for all the black people to go back to Africa with a Jew under each arm. This blatant statement shows white people as being incredibly racist and was definitely a hard idea to stomach, that some people might think that is how all white people feel, or that some white people might actually feel that way.
In the end of the movie, the vote comes out and the African Americans do get sent away with the aliens. And then the movie ends. It was surprising that it ended that way and that the prospected outcome of a scenario like that was that a majority of America would vote the African Americans to, basically, extermination. After the movie, we had a discussion amongst us about themes and questions brought up in the movie and the professor leading the discussion, Chico Herbison, said that sometimes in his classes about colonization and race, he plays this movie and then has the students in the class vote on the situation, would they send the African Americans with the aliens to better our country's economy, poverty, etc, or not? I was interested in the results of those votes and he said that some African American students would vote to go because they thought that there was a good chance that the aliens would give them a better life than they had here. I found this really hard to think about because I could never imagine giving up my home, let alone my home planet, for an unknown and to believe that this complete unknown could be worth risking is a really sad thought. I know that I would not vote in that situation because I do not think that I have any authority whatsoever to dictate what happens to millions of people. It should be their say.
The very end of the movie returned to the George Clinton floating head who said, "America kinda let their brothers and their sisters down." And I agree.
The main character of the movie, an African American named Professor GoLightly, was part of the conference and the only one who spoke out against the trade to the aliens, not only as an African American himself, but because he didn't think it was right to make that decision. The aliens had given them five days and it was decided that it would be put to a vote across the country. The president and his followers were lobbying to trade the African Americans, while Professor GoLightly and many other African Americans as well as Jews were fighting to keep them here on Earth. One really interesting point that the professor made was that white people believe that African Americans should not have anything that they don't have and yet as white people demand better jobs, homes and neighborhoods, they are also stealing African Americans' style of clothing, music, dance, and language. He believed, towards the end, that they should urge people to vote yes, to send them away to this other place because in that way, the whites would believe that the African Americans were getting something better than they were and would end up saying it was an unconstitutional discrimination to let the African Americans go with the aliens. As people revolt against this idea and remain in their solidarity, the professor says, "People without power must use cunning and guile!" This corresponded well with the writing by Peggy McIntosh we read about white privilege and the difference between earned strength and unearned power. The professor was aware that he did not have a lot of power in his society and knew that in order to get peoples' attention and to make a difference, he really had to earn it, as an African American man in this society.
In the movie, there was also a lot of use of stereotypes, African Americans smoke menthols and drink cognac, and also portrayed African Americans as consumers and laborers, but not as producers. Because this film was a satirical film, it was all done on purpose in order to portray and exaggerate an image of American society and the way we, generally and stereotypically, think of African Ameircans. It was very interestingly done, but also uncomfortable to see so many racist stereotypes brought out. Another thing that made me uncomfortable was the blunt reactions from some of the African Americans to the prospect of being sent away. The hairdresser of the professor said that the American Dream was for all the black people to go back to Africa with a Jew under each arm. This blatant statement shows white people as being incredibly racist and was definitely a hard idea to stomach, that some people might think that is how all white people feel, or that some white people might actually feel that way.
In the end of the movie, the vote comes out and the African Americans do get sent away with the aliens. And then the movie ends. It was surprising that it ended that way and that the prospected outcome of a scenario like that was that a majority of America would vote the African Americans to, basically, extermination. After the movie, we had a discussion amongst us about themes and questions brought up in the movie and the professor leading the discussion, Chico Herbison, said that sometimes in his classes about colonization and race, he plays this movie and then has the students in the class vote on the situation, would they send the African Americans with the aliens to better our country's economy, poverty, etc, or not? I was interested in the results of those votes and he said that some African American students would vote to go because they thought that there was a good chance that the aliens would give them a better life than they had here. I found this really hard to think about because I could never imagine giving up my home, let alone my home planet, for an unknown and to believe that this complete unknown could be worth risking is a really sad thought. I know that I would not vote in that situation because I do not think that I have any authority whatsoever to dictate what happens to millions of people. It should be their say.
The very end of the movie returned to the George Clinton floating head who said, "America kinda let their brothers and their sisters down." And I agree.