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Title: Race, the power of an illusion Reference: Producer, Tracy Heather Strain, Independent
Television Service. Abstract: A three part series exploring the history of race perceptions and behaviors toward races in the United States, within the context of recent scientific discoveries which have toppled the concept of biological race. Episode two traces the race concept to the European conquest of the Americas, including the development of the slave system, which eventually crystallized into an ideology of white supremacy. By the mid- 19th century, race had become the “common sense” wisdom of white America, revealing how social and political inequalities came to be recognized as “natural.” Library of Congress subjects: Reviews and Numerical Ratings (2.5) After a promising start which sets up a series of interrogations aimed at examining the ‘scientific’ foundations of ‘race’ categories, this video soon devolves into endless repetition of its main mantra: there is no scientific foundation for racial categories. There are however are a few good examples to draw upon in classroom discussions, including those relating the biological characterization of ‘race’ to socially constructed types. Surprisingly, although this is a recent production, many students (in a third year ‘race’-racism course) assumed it was an old film, and believed that there must be more scientific developments affirming racial differences (there are not). Clips would likely work best, especially if supported with contextualized, historical references. Andil Gosine (3) I would highly recommend it for the simple fact that it tries to connect the history of racism to the present. It’s important to know how racism was created and for what purpose. It’s a discourse that has seeped into our consciousness & seeped into our way of thinking and rarely do we ask how we come to think that way. The video gives an extensive overview of how and why racism became a discourse. The fact that it was created for social, economic, and political purposes was thought-provoking. (For example, racism is argued to be a discourse created to rationalize slavery.) Also, though racism was first created to serve Europeans’ interests, the video shows how it is now institutionalized and embodied in culture, language, way of thinking. To me that’s disturbing. Again, the content really allowed me to undestand the title: in simplistic terms, it’s saying that those in a position of power are allowed to systematically normalize race in what is actually an illusion, a distortion of truth. This idea is good for sociologists to deconstruct, to realize that these are discourses and ways of thinking, that we can look beyond the surface. I would also recommend it for year 1 & 2 students specifically is because the video provides a stepping stone into understanding how discourses are created; for 3rd and 4th year students may be more likely to have been taught about this. Marsha McQueen (undergraduate) (3) The film successfully historicizes the notion
of ‘race’ and warns of the dangers of embracing imposed
identities. The concept of race is connected to ideological forces and
changes in material circumstances and effectively transformed from being
understood as an essential characteristic to a social construction shaped
by social relations. America is used as the context for this film, but
it is clear that the story is probably similar in other places. This
film is very informative, but it copies a ‘history class’-type
format that might bore students. Sarah Newman
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