Final Blog

After this semester, I have learned the importance of film in commenting on the state of society.  Film is an all encompassing medium that reaches as far as any form in existence.  I also found myself amazed by the amount of subtlety in art from this course.  The minute details found in these films and the overarching themes they represent concerning race and ethnicity astounded me and taught me to watch and read with a much finer comb.

This course has also shown me a lot about the power of collaborative learning.  Through group discussion, peer editing, and reading my peers' blogs, I've come to realize how much learning can be done by collaborating with others who may not look at problems the same way I do.  My learning style must adapt to accept collaboration in a world where seeing the most possible perspectives is most advantageous.

Overall, I've seen myself grow both as a writer and a thinker in this course.  It has taught me how to critically and emotionally evaluate issues of race in our society as they act in commercials, movies, and in public discourse and then communicate my views to the world in a convincing, clear, and positive manner.

Visions and Voices: "New York is like Johannesburg" Response

Before watching "New York is like Johannesburg" the idea of racism on a global scale had never really occured to me.  Yes I knew that racism takes place globally yet I never thought that racism in the United States was similar to anywhere else.  However, through its discussion of criminalization and radicalization in South Africa, the connection the panel was trying to make became clear.  The similarities between how African-Americans and black South Africans are radicalized by police forces and unfairly treated are staggering.  Although there may be more violence in response to racial conflict in South Africa, the cause is not dissimilar from causes of racial conflict in the US.  Issues like the stop and frisk policy in New York were mentioned by the panel in connection with the criminalization of many black people in South Africa.  Where the differences between the two are seen is in demographics.  African-Americans constitute a minority in the US where as South Africa has a 79% majority of black citizens.  This is vital because when racially charged events happen in the US widespread coverage is not always seen or equal, yet in South Africa if a black man is unfairly harassed by police, the majority of the country is outraged.  This makes me consider how both nations still have the capacity to allow blatant mistreatment to continue while outwardly expressing disgust for these conflicts.