Staying
Alive
The title “Staying Alive” stems from
the song by the Bee Gees. When giving CPR, people say to perform CPR to the
tune of “Staying Alive”. If done properly, the person can be saved. The thought of keeping a person alive and the
title reminded me of racism in our society. Racism still exists in our world
today. One of the biggest topics that captivated everyone’s attention was the incident
of Donald Sterling. This is just one of few examples of how racism still exists
in our society today. Although Donald Sterling did not openly say he is racist,
the things he said were interpreted as racist. Racism does not only exist in
sports, but also is being depicted in movies.
The movie 12 years a slave is a great example of how racism is still being
depicted in our world today. In the movie, there is a part where Solomon
Northup was held captive and the whites will not let him go. He told the two
white gentlemen that he was a free slaved and did not belong here. For speaking
up, they beat him repeatedly. The movie was based on a true story which makes
me imagine the struggles Solomon Northup had to experience in real life. The
whites did not give him a chance to speak up and thought he was lying. Solomon
was not able to show the whites that he was an educated man because he would
have received a harsher punishment. Whites thought of African Americans as
property and did not believe they should be educated. Mostly all African
Americans were refrained from learning. They could not read, write, or speak
clearly. Although the movie wasn’t a true representation of what African
Americans faced, it enhances our understanding of some of the obstacles they
faced.
According to Stephen Marche who wrote an article titled How Did Racism Get To Be So Popular, he
states that the new era of movies that involve racism have a fusion of virtues
of white and the barbarism of slavery together. In movies like 12 years a slave, it is clearly visible
how whites portrayed African Americans to be. This new era of movies gives us
an idea what African Americans had to overcome and face during the times of
slavery. This is what makes today’s movies intriguing to viewers. We see and
understand what they had to go through. As mentioned previously, whites did not
believe that African Americans did not deserve the same rights as other white
people. They degraded and used them in every way possible. Some movies are open
about the idea of racism and others are hidden.
In
an article posted by Jeff Gonzalez in SpartanDaily, he questions if today’s
movies give the notion that racism is okay. He used and example from the movies
Transformers. In the 2nd
movie of Transformers they incorporated
two cars Mudflap and Skids. Mudflap and Skids were the two cars that added
the humorous side in the 2nd movie of Transformers. People laughed every time they appear because they
were portraying another side of cars. They were dehumanizing and exaggerating the
black culture. They made seem like a bunch of people who cursed all the time
and had no manners. They were not portraying an ideal image. Not all African Americans
talk or act like that. However we all laughed at it because it was funny.
In
the book Rethinking Colored Lines, Gallagher
states that “not laughing at racism is one of the ten ways to improve race
relations” (Gallagher 401). That is difficult to do when it is being portrayed everywhere
even in movies. People laugh because it is funny and that is what they see around
them in their environment. The media is generalizing a group every time they
display images like Mudflap and Skids. It is not easy. How can we not laugh
when it’s being shown everywhere in the media and society? If the media were to
stop supporting the culture they are displaying then maybe racism can stop.
Unfortunately, they do not. By mocking cultures, people start believing that it
is okay to continue making fun of issues like these. The media is the reason
why racism is staying alive.
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