Anti-racism sucks most of the time

[Consept]

27 minutes ago, Preety_India said:

don't you think that nuanced racism in movies is also stemming from real racism, as in the directors holding racist tropes in their minds, although it is understandable that such racism is not as harmful as racism in the streets or schools. 

But still. It kinda reinforces stereotypes that already exist. Wouldn't that make people even more conscious of racist stereotypes on a subliminal level if they watched too many of such movies.

Yes of course, there are tons of terrible stereotypes that i can point to all over the place and it does have a massive impact on society as a whole but also it affects those white people who live in places like vermont lol, who havent really come across black people because their whole perception is based on these stereotypes. There are many tropes like the magical negro, the black best friend, the gang member, the slave etc etc these all usually paint the black person in a one dimensional way and dont let the true voice of the character come out, maybe because the writer is ignorant to that voice as they are white and have little experience of black culture, at best insensitive at worst its insultingly racist. So im with you on that, but if a film does come along in the mainstream and provides nuanced 3d look at black people i think it should be celebrated. Whats interesting is that a lot of black films that are for black people are some of the most stereotypical films ive ever seen, Tyler Perry films for example or all the gang films that came out in the 90s, however a lot of times these are not held to the same standard because theyre made by black people. Regarding Soul which was written by a black writer I dont think it deserves that criticism. 

 

 

34 minutes ago, Keyhole said:

Okay, that's good to know, I wasn't sure.  Hmmn, okay, I can understand that.  If someone wanted to know about something that I had been through, I would want my viewpoint to be seen as something with some experiential weight to it.

What have your experiences on racism been and how did they shape you/your world views on this?
How would someone who is white learn to see where racism is and is not a problem?
Why do you think this paranoia happens?

"Soul food" - that's what came to mind with the subliminal in the movie.  And then "bad diet".

Ive had loads of experience with racism, from being stopped by police several times, not let into nightclubs, called names etc etc Ive gone through them in more detail on the forum in the past. Ive also been acutely aware of racism in the media and ive also been dismissed when ive brought up racism to white people, by liberal type white people at that, some even within my own family. To some extent it can make you feel less than, i kind of fought back and was pretty angry about it for a while, it would still trigger me to some extent if someone said something, but i have compassion for them now as i realise its ignorance and having a skewed perspective on their part. It also made me realise that white people simply dont understand it, some dont care that they dont understand it and some like yourself do make effort to, although that can kind of be annoying if not done in the right way. I will say its a hard balancing act for people trying to understand but it takes genuinely seeing them as not other and just listening to their experience if they want to talk about it. Its very difficult as there is an implicit bias in everyone and really you can just be aware of it rather than actively change it. 

I dont know how you would differentiate between racism or just talking about race, thats a tough question because i have a certain freedom where i can have an opinion on these things but for you it would be hard for you to say something isnt racist when a black person has said it is. Its like if came into your family and you said youre family had been treated badly and i said 'no you havent', you might take exception to it because what do i know?

The paranoia happens because there been however many years of real racism, and my generation has experienced it but also our parents who had it worse have told us about their experience, black people dont trust government, they dont trust medical establishment, they dont trust education, sometimes its justified now. We're traumatised to an extent, especially those in the states that have been treated terribly, so it follows that they would be paranoid, however that paranoia can hold you back, where you dont even try or you think everyone is against you. It is true that it will be harder but it has improved, i wouldnt want to have grown up 50 years ago for example. So we have to appreciate that as well, we cant still have the mindset of 50 years ago as that will obviously not lead to progress.

Soul food and bad diet came to your mind because your saw the characters race first and a stereotype came to your mind, it didnt for me honestly. This is what i mean about implicit bias. Thats like me, if it was a white character, saying  mayonaise came to my mind, its kinda ridiculous.

I love adventure time btw