This is the first post for Multiculturalism and the Practice of Schooling class.
Starting with the video we watched on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg
A few thoughts on the above link. The video is of Nigerian author Chimamanda Adichie giving a speak on the danger of the single story; which in essence is what occurs when you show people as one thing, and only one thing over and over again. For her it meant how she was treated based on American's ideas of Africa. But a single story can be formed about anyone. I personally relate to this through my Italian heritage. In popular media, Italians are normally portrayed as mafia men who eat spaghetti and speak with a thick accent and more recently as guidos/guidettes who get drunk down the Jersey shore over the summer. Now I find the movies and TV shows that portray the aforementioned stereotypes as entertaining as the next person but there definitely is a down side. There have to be people out there who have not met an Italian immigrant or possibly a person of Italian descent, do these people feel that the characters based on stereotypes shown in the media are what Italians are really like? It can only make me wonder what people do I have a single story about?
In the same trend of questioning myself and my beliefs, I was very torn after viewing a part of the video The Color Of Fear. I have never viewed being an American as a way to promote being white, I always have had national pride, for various reasons but I was really shocked when I heard that for some people there is a distinct purpose in calling themselves as American, just to fight against the notion that whites can only be American. And on the same page I was surprised when the term human being was related to being white only. For me, it made me question things on both sides. I remember being in an anthropology class in high school and learning about evolution and the different races etc. and I distinctly remember my teacher saying I just wish I could show racist people the genetic difference between a human and an ape and then maybe they would realize that the differences among the races are so incredibly small. But making a statement like now, especially after the movie makes me question if it really would make a difference or does it just make white people feel better?
To be honest I didn't expect much the first class, but it has definitely gotten me thinking already. I am considering being a NYC public school teacher, and I would be teaching children of all different backgrounds, I'm hoping this class will help me to truly find ways to be conscious of everything multicultural especially in my actions.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I appreciate your candor and your optismism. What you bring to the class will certainly help you think deeper about the way you approach children from various backgrounds. What single stories have you come up with?
ReplyDeleteI think its interesting when you mentioned how television portrays different cultures-and its done in all types of shows-reality shows and regular scripted TV. We learn so much from TV today (kids today watch an average of 4 hours of TV-which is way too much!) I think TV needs to take responsibility for how they portray different cultures-whether is the typical Anglo European culture, Italians, Africans and so on-interesting points your brought up and I really enjoyed reading your thoughts and comments.
ReplyDeleteI can understand your point about how the media helps to create and perpetuate certain stereotypes. It is truly a crime that most of society's main source and "interaction" with people outside of their race is through television. Here we see an interplay of the single story, where one only views a culture in one light. An example of this is the images associated with young black men in the media. As a black male their are two major images portrayed, either a drug dealer or some sort of athlete. In this was stereotypes are created. And media becomes the medium of transmission.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it is a matter of making white people feel better (although I'm certainly not denying that as an effect of degrading misrepresentations). I think it's simply a tool to re-establish notions of racial hierarchy. Jersey shore sends a message to remind America that not only are Italians different, but they also operate on this singular comedic note. Shows portraying African American men as criminals or valued only in their (beastly) physical capacity reestablish Blacks as mindless objects that merely act. it's all political.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I must point out that since the early 90's, mainstream television has been trying on and off to provide more balanaced and comprehensive representations of ethnic and racial minorities. It's still no excuse to hold them to a lesser standard, but it is worth noting.