Collage: an Instructional Diversity Disk

Collage: An Instructional Diversity Disk

Abstract

The subject of white privilege and is often taught with much apprehension for

European-Americans and other ethnic-American, teachers, and parents. Caught unprepared, Caucasian students often find it difficult to reconcile conflicting emotions and have few tools of discourse in which to respond besides anger. Ethnic-American students have to suffer through the depiction of their ancestors as helpless victims of cultural genocide. This project in part grew to fruition from conversations with

Caucasian students who felt frustrated trying to eliminate ethnocentrism in a public speaking class, and conversations with other ethnic-instructors and professors whose students often told them they were intimidating. By using popular film as texts, this project will serve two functions. The first, it will serve as an objective lens in which to view American popular culture. The second, it will serve as a tool for further individual discovery if needed by the student. Each clip was taken form videos recording easily accessible from any neighborhood video store and scholarly textbooks available in most university libraries inspired discussion questions.

Theodore Ransaw/Com 101 Public Speaking Instructor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

December 30, 2004 2

Instructor Notes

Each popular movie clip can be paused and discussed after every section, or run in its entirety with discussion at the end.

1. Two Nations

2. The Perfect Minority

3. One Nation Invisible

4. Through the Eyes of a Child

5. The Black Image in the White Mind

6. Denial

7. Environment or Ability

8. Girl Power

At this point, it is necessary to note that not all Americans of European descent identify with the term European-American. However, since the nature of this study involves cross-cultural as well as intercultural communication, identification of specific cultures is necessary. The term Anglo-American is also inappropriate as language can be learned by members outside the group without sharing the same experiences. For this study, the term European-American will be used to identify those who share a commonplace of origin, and is by no means inclusive of all the diverse cultures of the continent. 3

Collage: An Instructional Diversity Disk

Life as a White Man/Two nations

The book that Eddie Murphy refers to at the beginning of the skit is called Two

Nations, Black and White, Separate, Hostile and Unequal (Lied Library, E185.615 .H23

1992), by Andrew Hacker. The title was borrowed from the Kerner Report, an 11- member National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders by President Lyndon Johnson to explain the riots that plagued cities each summer since 1964 and to provide recommendations for the future. The commission concluded the nation was “moving toward two societies, one black, one white—separate and unequal” (Kerner Report). The

Kerner report delivered an indictment of “white society” for isolating and neglecting

African-Americans and urged legislation to promote racial integration and to enrich slums—primarily through creating jobs, job training programs, and decent housing.

President Johnson, however, rejected the recommendations. In April 1968, one month after the release of the Kerner report, rioting broke out in more than 100 cities following assassinating civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.

Discussion Questions

1. Although this skit is a humorous one, many ethnic groups perceive banks and

economic opportunity in the United States as biased against them. Why?

2. Can an ethnic American say, “If I return clothes without a receipt, the clerk

will unhesitatingly give me an in-store-credit and will not feel through the

clothes looking for an ant-theft devices” (Schultz, 2004, p. 120). 4

3. In 1985 the Regan administration reported the United States had reached a

racial equality and that America was “working on a color blind society that

has opportunities for all and guarantees success for none” (Omi and Winant,

1994, p. 1). As of 2000 there were no Black U.S. Senators or governors, no

Black had been a chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, a speaker of the

U.S. House, majority leader of the Senate,, nor held the presidency of an elite

private University after 137 years after the Emancipation Proclamation

(Entman, and Rojecki, 2000). What terms of racial equality was Regan

referring?

Kiss of the Dragon/The perfect minority

Sonja Nieto in her book Affirming Diversity (Lied Library, LC1099.3 .N54 2000), talks about Asian-Americans and views of Asian’s being the perfect minority. Good in school, and well-mannered, these are the stereotypes associated with Asian-Americans.

While favorable, these stereotypes foster an image that does not accurately represent

Asians. Thus many Americans feel as if they are exempt racism and discrimination.

1. When was the last time you saw an Asian-American in a national

advertisement?

2. The Chinese Exclusion act of 1882 outlawed immigrating Chinese laborers

until 1892.

3. In 1906, the San Francisco Board of Education ordered Asian-American

children to attend segregated oriental schools. Can you think of any other

time in history when Asian-Americans found themselves faced with racism? 5

Windtalker/What’s in a name?

There are over 500 separate and distinct Native American tribes in the United

States. This figure does not include the native Indians of South America. Native-

American culture is so diverse that they refer to themselves as made up of separate nations, and not tribes. A name to a Native-American means not only a title, but a connection to their history. (Recommended reading Indian Nation: Native American

Literature And Nineteenth-Century Nationalisms, by Cheryl Walker, Lied Library,

PS153.I52 W35 1997).

1. From the Civil War to the conflict in Iraq, Native-Americans have fought in

every war the United States has been involved in since the American

Revolution. How is it their contribution has been almost ignored by American

school textbooks?

2. It is a cultural tradition of many Native-Americans to teach their children

never to question their elders. How does this nonEuropean tradition affect

student teacher relationships between Native-American children and

instructors in the classroom?

3. Native-American economic conditions are not equal. For example, Alaskan

natives, many of whom are Native-Americans, enjoy equal distribution of

state oil investment every year. Some Native-American tribes are still listed

as ‘domestic dependent nations’ that stems from a Supreme Court Ruling in

1831. Still some other Native-Americans have profited from reservation

casino gambling. In other words, not all Native-American experiences have 6

been the same. Does different American experiences help or hinder Native-

American ideology?

The Spook Who Sat by the Door/The black image in the white mind

The Black Image in the White Mind (P94.5.A372 U55 2000) by Robert, Entman and Andrew, Rojecki is an award winning book that details how African-Americans are portrayed in the media. Based on the book by writer Sam Greenlee, The Spook Who Sat by the Door (Lied Library, PS153.N5 F56 1996) accurately depicts the book author Sam

Greenlee’s opinion on how African-Americans feel they are seen by the rest of America, either as unintelligent, or invisible.

1. To test this theory, Mr. Ransaw dressed in a white tuxedo shirt, and black

pants (classic waiter’s uniform), walked into the employee dining room at the

Mirage and ate lunch at a table next to a security guard. Could Mr. Ransaw

have been able to do this if he was not African-American?

2. Can an ethnic person in the United States say, “I do not have to worry about

being stopped or harassed by the police because people of my race do not

committee robbery” (Schultz, 2004, p. 120).

3. Muslim Americans, almost invisible in the United States until 9/11, are now

highly visible around the world. In 2000 the census bureau reported 1.2

million Arabs live in the United States (Nieto, 2004). Cedar Rapids, Iowa has

had a Muslim community for more than 100 years, and the first Mosques were

built in America in 1920. However, Arabs make up only 20 percent of all 7

Muslims in the world. What made so many American-Arabs invisible, and

who are the other invisible Muslims in America?

White Man’s Burden/Through the eyes of a child

Psychologists Mamie Phipps-Clark, and Kenneth B. Clark did a case study of

African-American children (Library of Congress, 2004). When given a choice between a black doll and a white doll, African-American children preferred the white doll. The children said the Black dolls were ugly and the White dolls were pretty. They concluded that children are aware of racial identity by the age of three, and can be damaged by negative images that effect their self-esteem by five. This finding was used in the historic

Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 that helped to end school segregation. The title,

White Man’s Burden was borrowed from a book by Jordan, Winthrop (Lied Library,

E446 .J67).

1. There are more minorities in television than ever before. Can an ethnic person

in the United States say, “If I turn on the television I can see actors and

products that accurately represent people that look like me?” (Schultz, 2004,

p. 120).”

2. In children’s television advertisements, ethnic children are less likely to be

hugged or kissed (Entman and Rojecki, 2000). What does this study say

about American views of minority children?

3. In a poll by Sniderman, Tetlock, and Paizza, most Americans believe that

black males are arrested 60 percent more than Whites, when according to FBI

statistics, White males are arrested 57 percent more than Blacks (Entman and 8

Rojecki, 2000). How does this common socially constructed perception affect

the self-esteem of young African-American children?

Blind Spot/Denial

The attempt to marginalize and ignore Judaism is often met with great resistance.

One reason Jews are sensitive to their religion and language is the fear of assimilation and denial. To never forget the Holocaust is an important aspect for Jews as many people deny that it happened at all. (Recommended viewing, Schindler’s List, Lied Library,

PR9619.3.K46 S342).

1. How would you feel if you were Jewish and someone told you that “The

Holocaust happened years ago, get over it?”

2. In the eighteenth century, both Harvard and Yale required a proficiency in

Hebrew as a requirement for graduation (Banks, 1997). How has this

influenced early American fundamental thought and development?

3. The term Jewish refers both to ethnicity and religion. How does this provide

misunderstandings of Jewish-Americans?

Stand and Deliver/Environment or ability?

This movie is based on a true story about a teacher Jaime Escalante who became principal of Garfield Elementary in East Los Angeles. Mr. Escalante propelled an unheard of amount of Mexican-American students into college despite lack of resources and equipment. When George Bush senior was running for president, he spoke at the school. What merits did soon to be President Bush focus on? Was it the school’s track record of getting Mexican-Americans students into college? Was it the schools academic scores? Was it the possibilities that a Mexican-American can achieve with a higher 9 education? No, George Bush told the students “We need people to build our buildings… people to do the hard physical work of our society.” In short, it’s okay if you don’t go to college. (Recommended reading, Notable Latino Americans: A Biographical Dictionary, by Matt, Meier, Lied Library E184.S75 M435 1997).

Discussion Question

1. Would George Bush have made the same statement in a nonurban school?

2. Does teaching bilingual education in school help or hinder Mexican-American

student?

3. Teaching a language gives disenfranchised cultural validation and feelings of

3 acceptance to communities. Mexican-Americans have been United States

citizens since the 1850’s. However, the rest of South America is made up of

many diverse cultures and ethnicities. Does teaching only one type of Spanish

in American schools ignore the indigenous cultures of South America before

Spanish invasions?

Lord of the Rings/Girl power

“Besides culture, language, and social class, gender also mediates what students may consider realistic goals for their future” (Nieto, 2004). Women in America are often faced with the dichotomy of contradictory messages; that of being submissive and quiet or self-reliant and independence. (Suggested reading, Man Cannot Speak For Her, by

Karlyn Kohrs Campbell, Lied Library, HQ1154 .C28 1989). 10

1. Women have unique abilities and characteristics. Is America missing this valuable asset by not allowing women to serve in combat situations in the armed forces?

2. “While white women experience sexism, Asian-American women [women of color] suffer from both racism and sexism” (Jagger & Rothenberg, 1993, p.215).

Has feminism adequately addressed diverse American female values and cultural expectation concerns?

3. “[Feminist] it may be said have a performative diminsion-i.e, to be doing something beyond restating already existent ideas and views, wherever these might happen to reside” (Dow, 1996, p. 4). Feminism can be divided into two waves. The first wave culminated in the 1920 passage of the Nineteenth

Amendment, which granted women the right to vote, and second-wave feminism started in the 1970’s, with the emergence of television and media ads specifically targeted towards women (Dow, 1996). Now that women make most of the purchasing decisions in the United States, has America entered a third wave of feminism? 11

A Village of 100

If the world’s population was reduced to just 100 people, what would it look like? Out of 100 people…

57 Would be Asian

21 Would be European

14 Would be from the Western Hemisphere

8 Would be African

52 Would be Female

48 Would be Male

70 Would be Non White

30 Would be White

70 Would be non Christian

30 Would be Christian

89 Would be Heterosexual

11 Would be Homosexual

50% Of the wealth would be in the hands of 6 people

6 Of those people would live in the United States

80 People would live in substandard housing

70 Would be unable to read

50 Would suffer from malnutrition

1 Would be near death

1 Would be near Birth

1 Would have a college education

4 Would own a computer 12

Five things you should know about poverty around the world (Schultz,

2004, p. 120).

1. Geography may more to do with poverty than anything else – the southern

hemisphere of the globe has the distinction of being home to the majority of the

world's’ one-room shelters.

2. Half the world’s population lives on less than $2 dollars a day – one out of every six

lives on $1 a day

3. Poor health makes people poor and being poor makes people sick – the ‘newly poor’

cite illness most frequently as the cause of their slide into poverty.

4. Gender matters – one out of ever four countries has a constitution or law that prevents

women from owning land or taking mortgages in their own name.

5. Lack of clean water is liked to poverty – 204 billion people lack adequate sanitation,

1.1 billion lack clean water, these two factors link together to cause more than 2.2

million deaths , many of them children

Four Things you should know about Poverty in the United States

(Schultz, 2004, p. 120).

1. A minimum wage, full-time job does not guarantee a decent, affordable place to live

– the Fair Market Price of a two-bedroom housing unit in Virginia requires a $8.72

per hour income, in Massachusetts $21.14.

2. In 2001, one in seven Americans had critical housing needs – mostly in the Northeast

and West 13

3. A child is born into poverty every 46 seconds – more children live in poverty than did

20 or 30 years ago, the majority of them are White, despite the proportion for

Hispanic children is higher.

4. Poverty housing is not limited to inner cities – 189 of the 200 poorest counties in the

United States are in metropolitan areas. 14

References

Banks, A. (1997). Teaching strategies for ethnic studies, (6th ed.). Seattle, University of

Washington: Allyn and Bacon.

Bender, L. (Producer), Nakano, D. (Writer/Director). (1999). White man’s burden.

United States: HBO Home Video.

Benson, L. Li, j. & Wlaters, H. (Producers). Li, J. (Writer). (2001). Kiss of the dragon.

America: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.

Schultz, F. (Eds.). (2004). Annual Editions Multicultural Education 04/05.

Connecticut: McGraw-Hill/Duskin.

Campbell, K. K. (1989). Man cannot speak for her. New York: Greenwood Press.

Dixon, I. (Producer/Director), Melvin, C. & Greenlee, S. (Writers). (2004). The spook

who sat by the door [Motion picture]. United States: Monarch Home Video.

Dow, B. J. (1996). Prime-Time Feminism: Television, media culture, and the women’s

movement since 1970. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

Entman R. M. & Rojecki, A. (2001). The black image in the white mind: Media and

race in America. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Hacker, A. (1995). Two nations: Black and white, separate, hostile, unequal. New

York: Ballantine Books.

Kerner Commission. (1968). Report of the National Advisory Commission on Civil

Disorders. Retrieved December 6, 2004, from History Matters Web site:

http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6553/.

Krausz, D. & Stocker, K. (Produsers), Heller, A. & Schmiderer, O. (Writers). (2002).

Blind spot [Motion picture]. America: Sony Picture Classics. 15

Library of Congress. (2002). With an even hand: Brown V board of education of Topica

Kansas. Retrieved December 8, 2004, from Library of Congress Exhibitions Web

site: http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/brown/brown-brown.html.

Macaulay, C., & Anderson, A. (2002). Winddtalkers [Motion picture]. America:

M.G.M. Home Entertainment.

Matt, M. (1997). Notable Latino Americans: a biographical dictionary. Westport,

Connecticut: Greenwood Press.

Mendez/Musica & Olmos, E. J. (Producers), Menendez, R. (Writer). (1998). Stand and

deliver [Motion picture]. America: Warner Brothers.

Murphy, E. (Writer). (1998). Life as a white man [Motion picture]. United States:

Trimark Home Video.

Nieto, S. (2004). Affirming diversity: The sociopolitical context of multicultural

education, (4th ed.). Boston: Pearson. . Nozik, M. (Producer), Fusco, J. (Writer). (1991). Thunderheart [Motion picture].

America: Tristar Pictures.

Omi, M., & Winant, H. (1994). Racial formation in the United States: From the 1960’s

to the 1980’s. (2nd ed). New York: Routledge.

Shaye, R, & Lynne, M. (Executive producers), Tolken, J., Walsh, F., Boyens, P., &

Jackson, P. (Writers). (2003). The lord of the rings [Motion picture]. America:

New Line Cinema.

Spielberg, S. (Producer/Writer). (1997). Schindler’s list [Movie recording]. America,

Universal Home Video. 16

Training Tools. (2004). What if the world were a village of 100 people?

Village Of 100, 2nd Edition [Electronic version]. Trainer Tool Chest Building

Tools. Retrieved December 26, 2004, from

http://www.trainerstoolchest.com/show_product.php?idnum=380.

Walker, C. (1997). Indian nation: Native American literature and nineteenth-century

nationalisms. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press.

Wintrop, J. D. (1974). The white man's burden: historical origins of racism in the United

States. New York: Oxford University Press.

Woo, J. (Producer/Director). Rice, J. & Batteer, J. (Writers). (2002). Kiss of the dragon

[Motion picture]. America: MGM Home Entertainment. 17

Limitations

Availability of popular movie clips to use a text was one limitation. Mississippi

Marsala, an excellent example of cinematography from both an interracial couple’s point of view, and a East/Indian-American perspective was unavailable. Time was another factor. It is simply impossible to detail every ethnic-American’s perspective in one semester let alone on one DVD. The challenge is to find enough visual text overviews that describe feelings and emotion of ethnic-Americans with corresponding scholarly texts. Same sex marriage, and Gay, Lesbian, Transgender, and Alternative lifestyles-

Americans popular movie recordings were unavailable. 18

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank John Haddad at U-Edit Video, and Mike Dumond at

Hollywood Video on Maryland Parkway for all of their help.

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