Race and Hollywood Flashcards
Realism (as opposed to Modernism, postmodernism)
⦁ Realism: starts with Industrial Revolution in the 19th century / presents a recognizable story-world that reflects social conventions of the time
⦁ Modernism: start of the 20th century / searching for meaning (and the self) amidst significant, sociopolitical change
⦁ Postmodernism: starts after WWII in the 20th century / plays with mass media culture forms and scripts to produce intertextual references to broader culture
bell hooks: Intersectional Reading or ‘Balanced Critique’
⦁ bell hooks’ concept of intersectional reading or balanced critique emphasizes analyzing texts by addressing multiple, intersecting forms of oppression, such as race, gender, and class, rather than focusing on a single axis of identity - this approach highlights both a work’s strengths in representation and its limitations, fostering a nuanced and inclusive critique
⦁ Do the Right Thing explores intersecting issues of race, class, and power, showcasing diverse perspectives within Bedford-Stuyvesant
⦁ hooks might praise its critique of systemic racism while critiquing its limited exploration of sexism and gender dynamics, such as Mookie’s neglect of Tina and the sidelining of female voices
⦁ By acknowledging both strengths and limitations, Hooks’ approach highlights the film’s cultural significance while advocating for greater inclusivity in its social critique
Burden of representation
⦁ Refers to the expectation placed on minority creators, like Spike Lee, to represent their entire community accurately and comprehensively, often under heightened scrutiny
⦁ In Do the Right Thing, this concept is evident as the film grapples with racial tensions, systemic injustice, and cultural dynamics, placing Lee in a position where his portrayal of Black life and racism is seen as representative of broader truths
Anti-realism
⦁ Anti-realism - “disruptions” at the casting level of who is on screen; film’s conflicts thematized through “Fight the Power”; use of classical Greek drama standards; characters like the Corner Men are marginal to the action; vignettes that capture small moments that go unresolved; distorted, subjectification of the view through camera
Disruptions and Alienation
⦁ Disruption and Alienation - like in epic theater, the viewer should be astonished by the characters rather than empathetic to them; use of montage (both editing and complex articulations of shots and sequences); consider camera “behavior” throughout the film; stand-up performances of racial epithets (prominently featured in the film’s iconic “racial slur montage,” where characters from different ethnic backgrounds, including Mookie, Pino, Officer Long, and others, hurl insults at members of other groups directly into the camera)
Institutional/Individual Racism
⦁ Institutional racism: “prejudice in which the social practices of an institution embody discriminatory patterns”
⦁ Central theme in Do the Right Thing, illustrating how systemic inequalities permeate daily life
⦁ Police brutality
⦁ Economic inequality
⦁ Racial bias in authority figures
⦁ Exclusion and representation
⦁ Individual racism: “prejudice in which individuals regard others as inferior to themselves”
Race (as Social Construct)
⦁ Race (as a social construct): race is not a biological or inherent reality but a concept created and maintained by society to categorize and differentiate people based on physical traits, and these categories are then given social, economic, and political significance, shaping power dynamics and access to resources.
⦁ Lee critiques how racial categories are socially constructed and weaponized to enforce hierarchies
⦁ e.g., the “racial slur montage” illustrates how characters reduce each other to stereotypes, reinforcing systemic divisions despite shared experiences of marginalization
⦁ e.g., the escalation of tensions between Black residents and Sal’s Italian-American family underscores how race is used to draw boundaries of belonging and power
Race (ethnicity)
⦁ Ethnicity (on the other hand) is “rooted in perceptions of a shared ancestry, culture, and history … membership in these groups is flexible and can be invoked involuntarily”
⦁ Ethnicity is portrayed through characters’ cultural practices and expressions, such as Sal’s pride in his Italian heritage or the Korean grocer’s use of their native language
⦁ These ethnic identities coexist within the neighborhood but also clash when layered with racial prejudices, as seen in the conflict over Sal’s “Wall of Fame”
⦁ The film shows how ethnicity complicates racial dynamics
⦁ e.g., Sal and his sons, as Italian-Americans, occupy a liminal space—they face historical prejudice in America but hold racial privilege over their Black neighbors
⦁ e.g., the Korean grocers are positioned as racial “others” but benefit from economic opportunities that Black residents struggle to access
⦁ Lee rejects the idea of fixed racial identities by showing how individuals perform and perceive race differently based on context
⦁ Mookie’s role as a bridge between Sal’s family and the Black community demonstrates how these constructs are situational and fluid
Stereotypes and Racialization
⦁ Stereotypes are oversimplified, generalized beliefs about a group of people, often based on race, ethnicity, or other social categories
⦁ Racialization is the process by which social meanings are ascribed to individuals or groups based on perceived racial differences
⦁ It often involves attributing behaviors, values, or characteristics to people because of their race
Demographic Context/Background of Hollywood Film Production
⦁ The demographic context of Hollywood film production during the late 1980s, when Spike Lee made Do the Right Thing, highlights the systemic underrepresentation of Black voices and stories within mainstream cinema
⦁ This backdrop is crucial to understanding the significance of Lee’s film and its broader commentary on race, stereotypes, and representation
⦁ Dominance of white-centric narratives
⦁ Underrepresentation of Black filmmakers
⦁ Economic focus over social themes
