The Colors of Stereotypes

The movie “Colors” is a 1988 movie about two white cops who are paired together to patrol the gang ridden streets of LA. One cop is an older veteran that knows almost everyone on the streets, while the other one is a greenhorn rookie with little experience on the streets.  The older cop and his methods are respected by the inhabitants of run-down neighborhoods, while the younger cop has more aggressive overkill tactics that are looked down upon by the veteran. The 2 cops are members of a unit that target gangs and the crimes that they commit. The streets they patrol located in primarily Hispanic/ Black communities that view the police in a negative light. If crimes are committed, the general populace has a policy of silence if asked about the crimes by the police.  Throughout the movie, the cops encounter multiple instances of minorities committing crimes and gang violence. As gang violence continued, it eventually escalated into a full out gang war between multiple gangs. The younger cop deals with many criminals with such excessive aggression that he eventually becomes known for his brutality. This draws the attention of the warring Crips, Bloods, and Barrios gangs who end up targeting him to kill him. Unfortunately, at the very end it was not the aggressive rookie that ended up getting killed, but the older veteran cop instead. The veteran is replaced by a younger black cop at the end of the movie and they continue to patrol the streets.  

During the movie, I was constantly reminded of the class readings involving media and racial stereotypes. There were tons of racial stereotypes that were exhibited in the movie. Black people were constantly depicted as being sleazy, thuggish, violent criminals. Hispanics were also held in the same light as being criminal gangbangers who all had ties to crime in some shape or form. It also enforced the stereotype that minorities were all anti-police and they all held no respect for them. If they saw a crime being committed, they would withhold information from the cops if asked. Almost every minority that was shown in the movie held some sort of racial stereotype. The most common stereotype was that minorities were all members of gangs and partial to criminal activity. Not only did it show stereotypes of minorities, but also of white cops and their interactions with minorities. The younger cop constantly performed acts of police brutality on minorities. Even when an adolescent committed a petty crime such as vandalizing a wall with spray paint, the rookie would react with excessive force against the kid. It seemed like every other scene in the movie demonstrated some type of racial stereotype or racial discrimination by the cops. In my opinion, though it was a movie based on cops combating gang violence, it was very heavy on these stereotypes which seemed demonizing to the Hispanic and black community. It seemed like everyone that wasn’t a cop was either doing drugs, drive-bys, homicides, gun battles and other gang related crimes. Overall, this movie is a fantastic example of how media can be an influence to the audience in believing or fortifying beliefs about racism and racial stereotypes.

http://racerelations.about.com/od/hollywood/tp/Common-Stereotypes-Of-Minorities-In-Film-And-Television.htm

http://racerelations.about.com/od/hollywood/a/Five-Common-Latino-Stereotypes-In-Television-And-Film.htm