What do you think of the amount of hate and animosity some people are directing towards The Hunger Games, for casting a beautiful African-American girl for the part of Rue?
edit: made rebloggable!
(asked by iwanttobelikearollingstone)
I am so mad at people over this. Rue was described as having “dark brown skin and eyes, but other than that, she’s very like Prim in size and demeanor.” Dark brown.
While many had hoped that the film would cast a woman at least ambiguously of color as Katniss due to being described as “olive-skinned,” our ask box has been loaded with people arguing that dark-skinned people can still be white! (Never mind that J. Law isn’t dark-skinned at all.) People were so unwilling to love and acknowledge a character who was explicitly of color that they would rather insist on a broader definition of whiteness. But I digress.
No, Collins never describes Rue as black, because that is not a meaningful racial category in the book. She is “dark brown,” and people are mad that they cast a relatively light-skinned brown girl in this role. People are so mad that they have to look at a black girl.
How mad are they? Mad enough to completely ignore the way that the book describes Rue. Mad that they were almost tricked into feeling human empathy for a black person:
Why are they so mad that a girl with “satiny brown skin” was played by, uh, a girl with “satiny brown skin”? (Other than because they’re racist and can’t stand the imposition of having to humanize black people.) I think a lot of it has to do with the way that Katniss parallels Rue and Prim, and people refuse to attach Prim’s innocence and purity to a black girl.
What I can’t understand is why people aren’t mad that Thresh has also been cast as a black man? Why are they totally fine with a brutish but noble man being black, but not a wily, pure, beloved, innocent girl?
A few things are pretty clear about the relationship between skin color and class as it relates to Katniss, Thresh, Rue, and the Everdeens:
- Thresh and Rue are both brown-skinned, and this is related to the fact that they are very poor, oppressed agricultural workers from district 11
- People who live in the Seam—including Katniss and her father—are olive-skinned with dark features, and this is very closely related to the fact that they are poor, oppressed and socially invisible miners
- Katniss’s mother is lily-white, and this is very closely related to the fact that she came from a merchant class
- Katniss’s feelings of affinity with Rue and Thresh are very closely related to the fact that they were also poor and oppressed workers
- Peeta comes from a merchant class, and has ashy blonde hair
- Katniss’s feelings of dissonance with Peeta are very closely related to the fact they he did not grow up hungry or in a poor and oppressed situation and as such she sometimes can’t relate to him
This isn’t about phenotypes, this is about a clear if unarticulated racial hierarchy in The Hunger Games. Suzanne Collins’s dystopia is not a colorblind one, and white folks are pissed about it. It matters that Katniss was of color, that Rue was of color. It matters not only because we want girls of color to be allowed to see themselves in the media. It matters because it has everything to do with the Capitol and the class and power structures that Collins invented.
White people who read this kind of fiction want to see a colorblind world. They want to see a world which takes place in North America a few hundred years from now but where not only has the memory of slavery and colonialism been completely erased, but so have the formerly enslaved and the formerly colonized. And they want to see a dystopic future where they are the subjects of oppression. They want to see Winston Smith. They don’t want to see any people of color whatsoever.
And if they do have to look at a black face, they sure as hell don’t want to like it.
One thing that’s less clear (at least in The Hunger Games, I haven’t read the other two books yet) is the racial makeup of the Capitol itself. I imagine it’s not completely white but, you know, pretty white. The question most unanswered is that of Cinna: to my knowledge (at least in book one), Cinna is never described as a person of color. That’s why it’s so great to see Lenny Kravitz cast in this role—they cast a black man in a likeable, important role and they didn’t even have to! But I can’t help but wonder if it contributes to the image of a “colorblind” Panem, one in which race isn’t linked to class and power. (But I’m glad he’s got the part, anyway.)
It’s stuff like this that have made me lose interest in anything Hunger Games related. What is wrong with people?
♥ᏒᏃᏱ♥: madamethursday: The amount of white whine in comments for the poster...
The amount of white whine in comments for the poster about racism and “fair skin” is kind of making me facepalm so much right now.
Oh, fellow white people. That ad? Was mild. It was a mild and rather polite way of trying to tell you something that’s been an obvious fact of…
This. A must-read for a number of people I know.
NateON: Race on NOSF
A friend posts on my behalf and brings some sanity to the conversation:
I have lived in Compton. SIPS wouldn’t be killed, he would be robbed but not because of his skin color. More likely his clothing and speech which would clearly define him as an outsider. Believe it or not, there are white…
A cautionary tale for Chris Brown fans (and Michael...
When I was 19, I married my high school sweetheart. He had never hit me in anyway. Never had yelled at me. He was in the Navy and we moved nearly 1000 miles away from home. We had been married one week when he first slapped me. I forgave him. We had been married about a year when he first punched me in the stomach. I forgave him. After about a year and a half it became common for him to slap, punch or kick me.
I lived for the times he was out to sea. I made excuses. I never blamed him, I always blamed me.
After three years of marriage we moved back to our home state. After we had been to visit family, he punched me the entire trip home and had left bruises on my face and arms. All because I smiled and hugged one my best friends: a gay man.
I knew he would kill me.
I went to work the next day and was paid while I found a shelter and went to a doctor. I went home and packed. He came home early and proceeded to beat me with his fists, a belt and kicked me repeatedly. He also threw me down stairs.
The only reason I’m alive is that I played dead and he went to look for something to put “that dead cunt in.” I was able to open the door and get out of that apartment and stop a car and get help.
I found out later that the doctors at the hospital didn’t think I would make it through the night. I had 4 broken ribs, a punctured lung, fractured skull, broken leg, fractured leg, a broken nose, a broken ankle and various other injuries. They told my dad that if I hasn’t told the person that took me to the hospital what had happened they would have thought I had been in a car accident. They told dad it would be a miracle if I lived. My dad was planning my funeral in his head. When I woke up I talked to the police, got a restraining order and filed for divorce. He went to jail for less than a year.
He remarried someone who knew me. Someone who had seen the pictures, someone who wouldn’t listen to me. She said he was “too hot to do that” she also said “he can hit me anytime.” He does, I’ve seen her bruises. She is living in hell now because she didn’t listen or pay attention to the police report.
Those girls out there saying that Chris Brown can hit them. He will, girls, and next time he’ll be sure to get someone that is not famous and won’t have an army behind her. He might even kill you but don’t worry sure he will look “hot” doing it. Grow up and stop idolizing an abuser.
He doesn’t deserve a Grammy, a number 1 album. He deserves to be treated the same way he treated Rhianna.
If you want to see what someone like him can do, volunteer at a shelter and you will see.
Exactly.
(Source: drdonnaatx)
Colorblind Ideology is a Form of Racism
What is racial colorblindness?
Racial issues are often uncomfortable to discuss and rife with stress and controversy. Many ideas have been advanced to address this sore spot in the American psyche. Currently, the most pervasive approach is known as colorblindness. Colorblindness is the racial ideology that posits the best way to end discrimination is by treating individuals as equally as possible, without regard to race, culture, or ethnicity.
At its face value, colorblindness seems like a good thing — really taking MLK seriously on his call to judge people on the content of their character rather than the color of their skin. It focuses on commonalities between people, such as their shared humanity.
However, colorblindness alone is not sufficient to heal racial wounds on a national or personal level. It is only a half-measure that in the end operates as a form of racism.
Problems with the colorblind approach
Racism? Strong words, yes, but let’s look the issue straight in its partially unseeing eye. In a colorblind society, White people, who are unlikely to experience disadvantages due to race, can effectively ignore racism in American life, justify the current social order, and feel more comfortable with their relatively privileged standing in society (Fryberg, 2010). Most minorities, however, who regularly encounter difficulties due to race, experience colorblind ideologies quite differently. Colorblindness creates a society that denies their negative racial experiences, rejects their cultural heritage, and invalidates their unique perspectives.
Let’s break it down into simple terms: Color-Blind = “People of color — we don’t see you (at least not that bad ‘colored’ part).” As a person of color, I like who I am, and I don’t want any aspect of that to be unseen or invisible. The need for colorblindness implies there is something shameful about the way God made me and the culture I was born into that we shouldn’t talk about. Thus, colorblindness has helped make race into a taboo topic that polite people cannot openly discuss. And if you can’t talk about it, you can’t understand it, much less fix the racial problems that plague our society.
Colorblindness is not the answer
Many Americans view colorblindness as helpful to people of color by asserting that race does not matter (Tarca, 2005). But in America, most underrepresented minorities will explain that race does matter, as it affects opportunities, perceptions, income, and so much more. When race-related problems arise, colorblindness tends to individualize conflicts and shortcomings, rather than examining the larger picture with cultural differences, stereotypes, and values placed into context. Instead of resulting from an enlightened (albeit well-meaning) position, colorblindness comes from a lack of awareness of racial privilege conferred by Whiteness (Tarca, 2005). White people can guiltlessly subscribe to colorblindness because they are usually unaware of how race affects people of color and American society as a whole.
Colorblindness in a psychotherapeutic relationship
How might colorblindness cause harm? Here’s an example close to home for those of you who are psychologically-minded. In the not-so-distant past, in psychotherapy a client’s racial and ethnic remarks were viewed as a defensive shift away from important issues, and the therapist tended to interpret this as resistance (Comas-Diaz & Jacobsen, 1991). However, such an approach hinders the exploration of conflicts related to race, ethnicity, and culture. The therapist doesn’t see the whole picture, and the client is left frustrated.
A colorblind approach effectively does the same thing. Blind means not being able to see things. I don’t want to be blind. I want to see things clearly, even if they make me uncomfortable. As a therapist I need to be able to hear and “see” everything my client is communicating on many different levels. I can’t afford to be blind to anything. Would you want to see a surgeon who operated blindfolded? Of course not. Likewise, a therapist should not be blinded either, especially to something as critical as a person’s culture or racial identity. By encouraging the exploration of racial and cultural concepts, the therapist can provide a more authentic opportunity to understand and resolve the client’s problems (Comas-Diaz & Jacobsen, 1991).
Nonetheless, I have encountered many fellow therapists who ascribe to a colorblind philosophy. They ignore race or pretend its personal, social, and historical effects don’t exist. This approach ignores the incredibly salient experience of being stigmatized by society and represents an empathetic failure on the part of the therapist. Colorblindness does not foster equality or respect; it merely relieves the therapist of his or her obligation to address important racial differences and difficulties.
Multiculturalism is better than blindness
Research has shown that hearing colorblind messages predict negative outcomes among Whites, such as greater racial bias and negative affect; likewise colorblind messages cause stress in ethnic minorities, resulting in decreased cognitive performance (Holoien et al., 2011). Given how much is at stake, we can no longer afford to be blind. It’s time for change and growth. It’s time to see.
The alternative to colorblindness is multiculturalism, an ideology that acknowledges, highlights, and celebrates ethnoracial differences. It recognizes that each tradition has something valuable to offer. It is not afraid to see how others have suffered as a result of racial conflict or differences.
So, how do we become multicultural? The following suggestions would make a good start (McCabe, 2011):
- Recognizing and valuing differences,
- Teaching and learning about differences, and
- Fostering personal friendships and organizational alliances
Moving from colorblindness to multiculturalism is a process of change, and change is never easy, but we can’t afford to stay the same.
References
Comas-Diaz, L., and Jacobsen, F. M. (1991). Clinical Ethnocultural Transference and Countertransference in the Therapeutic Dyad. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 61(3), 392-402.
Fryberg, S. M. (2010). When the World Is Colorblind, American Indians Are Invisible: A Diversity Science Approach. Psychological Inquiry, 21(2), 115-119.
Holoien, D. S., and Shelton, J. N. (October 2011). You deplete me: The cognitive costs of colorblindness on ethnic minorities. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 10.1016/j.jesp.2011.09.010.
Tarca, K. (2005). Colorblind in Control: The Risks of Resisting Difference Amid Demographic Change. Educational Studies, 38(2), 99-120.
McCabe, J. (2011). Doing Multiculturalism: An Interactionist Analysis of the Practices of a Multicultural Sorority. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 40 (5), 521-549.
Reblogging for the next time I hear some “I don’t see race” “by acknowledging race exists, you’re the real racist” “you’re just further dividing us when we should be UNITED!!!” bullshit.
Little spoon!
Minukat has been unusually cuddly today - which is nice but totally wrecking my plans for productivity. Gah!
Korean Accommodations – Love Motels
Like any destination, Korea has the standard variety of accommodations, ranging from backpacker hostels to four star hotels. However, somewhat unique are the love motels that can be rented by the hour or overnight.
It really isn’t as sketchy as it sounds!
Click through for the full article!
Look, Minu - who are you to judge? Little Miss Lazybutt. FYI, I’m staying in on a Friday night because I have to wake up early tomorrow morning! So there!
Seoul Street Food
I used to live in NYC so I’m no stranger to street cart vendors — quick, convenient and best of all cheap. Seoul has its fair share — hawking various flavors ranging from sweet 호떡 (hodduk) to spicy 떡뽁이 (ddeokbboki). Ordering food can be a bit intimidating, especially when there are crowds of people around the stand — but generally pointing and other such hand gestures get the job done. It’s worth the effort!
More via the link!
(Source: mememaster)
