Over the past couple of days in class we have been watching the movie Gran Torino; the story follows a grumpy old man who lives in a neighborhood that is no longer predominantly white and he is a very racist to his Mong neighbors. He uses the worst stereotypical phrases and terms when referring to these people it really make you drop your jaw at some of the things he says.
Also during the past couple of days before we began watching the film we have talked about Transformers 2 and the controversy that surrounds that as well. In that particular film there are two “black” robots that posses negative stereotypes of African-American people. Examples in the film are using slang words, being illiterate and one even having a gold tooth. Both movies posses’ traits of racism, Gran Torino being more blatantly open about it, but there are still there.
My questions are when is racism or negative stereotypes okay to be used in movies if ever? Also, Could Transformers been just as funny and mediocre if the two robots we not so negatively stereotyped and modeled after African-Americans? I think the answer is yes. I also think that racism or negative stereotypes are okay to be used in movies when it shows just how ridiculous racism is. I feel that is what makes Gran Torino unique and different is the way the story unfolds. Now I do not want to spoil the end of the movie for whoever is reading this right now but even though racist terms and remakes are throughout the movie over time you begin to see that racism and hatred is no longer the case. Another movie that comes to mind about racism and negative stereotypes is Boyz n The Hood and how all young black men want to be gang bangers. Race was used quite a bit throughout that movie and then in the end the message and moral to the story was to increase the peace.
These are the times where I feel racism and negative stereotypes are okay in movies. In the case of Transformers race had nothing to do with the story, there was no need or point to having it within the film, and I think that is why people get upset and offended when they see it. Films that revolve around race don’t come around very often and they have to be dealt with carefully, but normally they possess a strong message that is able to open people’s eyes and influence change. What is sad is that most movies have racism and negative stereotypes in them and they have nothing to do with the film, yet still they deem it necessary to have it in them and in the end I feel that is just morally wrong.
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It's Hmong, by the way.
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