HUM3321 Final Study Guide Race Ethnicity Beltran The Hollywood Racelessness Thesis Given demographic developments it is not surprising that cinematic action narratives are becoming increasingly multicultural in their focus and aesthetics Examples of these trends both Romeo Must Die and The Fast and the Furious posit through their casting and narratives that the embracing of an idealized raceless ethnic identity is key to mastery in the urban environment Contradictions abound however when such narratives are rooted in Hollywood tradition and aim to appeal to white as well as nonwhite audiences 203 Ethinicity and the Inner City in Hollywood Film Hollywood has a long history of presenting films that take place in urban multiethnic contexts Before the 1970s These films such as Blackboard Jungle The Young Savages and Up the Down Staircase reflect and reinforce hegemonic notions of race and ethnicity presenting non whites as either dangerous or powerless Up the Down Staircase Trailer In the 1970s films particularly blaxploitation films began to present protagonists with black authority power and control but often in violent and or criminal situations 194 Ethnicity and The Inner City in Hollywood Film the 1980 s In the 1980s images of African Americans in film most prominently in buddy cop pictures were more positive but generally avoided addressing racial issues o White police officer partnered with and African American o Built around recurring central gag or comic relief o On the down low they worked to keep intact the cultural and moral boundaries of the existing racial order Lobbying on part of civil rights groups against stereotyping of nonwhites as drug dealers and prostitutes led to fewer multiethnic and urban centered movies being made the 1990 s The urban action films of the 1990s were largely motivated by frustration over conditions experienced by blacks in the face of increasing Apartheid in U S cities 195 These films similar to Blaxploitation films began to be produced by black film makers and they focused on black subjectivity were called ghetto films gangsta dramas lol Some featured complex character development and interrogation of relationship between social structures and obstacles faced by African Americans in low income inner city neighborhoods N the Hood Clip Boyz Influences on Contemporary Urban Action Films Cinemas of other nations particularly that of Hong Kong o Hong Kong crossover stars such as Jackie Chan Chow Yun Fat and Jet Li transformed traditional notions of the heroic action protagonist by playing roles formerly reserved for white actors o Hybrid genre that involves low rider teen culture urban gang movie cop film Racer exploitation films and racecar film themes Hip hop culture o Action narratives tend to emphasize hip hop in their soundtracks casting production and costume design o Gangster culture has become associated with hyper masculinity Multiracial actors began to appear in order to reflect the ethnic diversity of viewers and what the audience wants in their heroes The Multicultural Millennial Audience The evolution of urban action films and their respective heroes have to a large degree mirrored national sociopolitical changes 197 For example Younger Americans have more open views on race than do their older counterparts o Younger generations are more ethnically diverse than their parents and grandparents generations Whites for example are now a minority in CA o More and more families are multiethnic o Biracial and multiracial stars are becoming more and more visible Utopic Multiculturalism in The Fast and the Furious only the multiethnic will survive F F presents a racial utopia a more optimistic vision in its representation of contemporary Los Angeles Most of the racing teams and most of the extras in the film are non white Box office appeal is developed by presenting a number of characters whose ethnicity is ambiguous or clearly multiracial The rules of the street dictate that racing ability and cultural savvy determine status and leadership not whiteness or money 202 However While F F includes a strong contingent of characters of diverse ethnic background o many of these characters are largely undeveloped o the white characters who appear in the film have leading roles and often o Hollywood norms of white beauty serve as ideals to which the women of color dominate the racing scene in the film are held accountable A new kind of leading man Dom Torretto s Vin Diesel ambiguous ethnicity his bronzed whiteness helps the film to navigate the terrain between valuing ethnic diversity and maintaining certain aspects of white hegemony Dom s team while white also functions very well in an ethnically diverse context As such Dom s team is shown to possess both the prized skills and knowledge associated with whiteness as well as those qualities presumably acquired by nonwhites in urban environments 202 Conclusion Ideologies of white superiority and nonwhite subordination continue to have a powerful influence even while the casting production design and other manifest components of the films promote a multicultural aesthetic 203 o In F F white characters still rule the drag racing subculture even though they play a marginal role in the actual subculture o Biracial action heroes are still likely read as white McIntosh White Privilege Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack As a white person I realized I had been taught about racism as something that puts others at a disadvantage but had been taught not to see one of its corollary aspects white privilege which puts me at an advantage Page 209 McIntosh argues that white privilege functions in a way that keeps us oblivious to its effects She reasons that it subtly teaches how to see ourselves moral state depended on her individual o My schooling gave me no training in seeing myself as an oppressor as an unfairly advantaged person or as a participant in a damaged culture I was taught to see myself as an individual whose moral will My schooling followed the pattern my colleague Elizabeth Minnich has pointed out whites are taught to think of their lives as morally neutral normative and average and also ideal so that when we work to benefit others this is seen as work that will allow them to be more like us Page 210 Thinking of privilege generally in what sort of ways are privileged groups taught to see themselves as normative You can think here in terms of race class gender sexuality or religion How is this reinforced A
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