tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2121564167816529957.post6306456960316042928..comments2014-09-17T10:36:05.188-04:00Comments on The Fifth World Design Diary: The Fifth World Movies: AvatarJason Godeskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10068631538184332192noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2121564167816529957.post-19905194773299098532010-01-19T13:54:25.904-05:002010-01-19T13:54:25.904-05:00Hey --
No I haven't... I'll try and get o...Hey --<br /><br />No I haven't... I'll try and get on it one of these days... but my internet is *just* slow enough to make watching youtube *wildly* frustrating ;-)<br /><br />JAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2121564167816529957.post-78136727122999869302010-01-18T20:50:03.631-05:002010-01-18T20:50:03.631-05:00Ah—I guess I take that part more or less for grant...Ah—I guess I take that part more or less for granted. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3Xe1kX7Wsc" rel="nofollow">Have you seen this?</a>Jason Godeskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10068631538184332192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2121564167816529957.post-78542050406466415312010-01-14T23:58:30.539-05:002010-01-14T23:58:30.539-05:00Hey --
Fair enough.... I totally dig where you...Hey --<br /><br />Fair enough.... I totally dig where you're coming from. Perhaps part of it is that I feel this a bit less acutely than you for the simple fact that I'm female. So yes, I have the advantage of "race" but also the disadvantage of gender...<br /><br />In any case... I think what caught my attention in that article, more than anything else, was this: "that "white" is a social class only loosely connected to pale skin, that thinking of ourselves as "white" makes us obedient to an unjust system, that the best thing "white" people can do is not to sit around feeling guilty for the crimes done in the name of whiteness, but to disown whiteness and take the other side."<br /><br />What would that look like? What *could* it look like? Seems like an interesting question...<br /><br />JaneneAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2121564167816529957.post-79296969189254258982010-01-14T22:51:34.094-05:002010-01-14T22:51:34.094-05:00I did read that, but I think he misses the point. ...I <i>did</i> read that, but I think he misses the point. Frankly, the very first point he raises—"A movie must take viewers on a journey, and the journey has to start from where we are."—lays out the problem itself. If you can't empathize with someone simply because he has skin a few shades darker than yours, then you have some bigger problems. Hollywood doesn't "meet us where we are" with this, it panders to us, and keeps us from developing more empathy. People don't seem to have any problem relating to Denzel Washington, Samuel Jackson, or Halley Berry. El Norte hardly proves otherwise; that movie came out of PBS. That just proves that big movie companies do better at big releases than PBS, which kind of goes without saying. Die Hard has nothing to do with it—sure, Bruce Willis plays the biggest badass, but he doesn't go off to join some closed society and become the biggest badass there.<br /><br />Now of course, "whiteness" exists only as a myth used by the powerful to manipulate poor people to fight each other, and we really need reminded that "race" does not exist. But historical repercussions do. Sure, descending from Europeans means that my ancestors got conquered long ago, and I have a long line of slaves to point to, but to somehow suggest that this abrogates my responsibility for what came later strikes me as almost obscene. Fact remains, I get paid more, I get a job more easily, I enjoy a whole host of benefits that you can lump under "white privilege," because of the color of my skin, and what I've got between my legs. While that remains, it remains irresponsible and yes, even racist, to ignore that fact. That fact leaves those of us with such privilege with the responsibility to undermine it, to try to create a more just and equitable world. That's the value of white guilt. We have a lot to feel guilty for, and if we benefit from it, we don't get to pass the buck on our responsibility by saying that someone else did the deed. We still benefit from it. But hopefully, that guilt will stick in your stomach and keep you from ever falling complacent. It will remind you of what you owe, and the responsibility we have to live up to.Jason Godeskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10068631538184332192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2121564167816529957.post-23213310647280027012010-01-14T10:38:55.350-05:002010-01-14T10:38:55.350-05:00Hey!
Ran made a pretty good counter argument to y...Hey!<br /><br />Ran made a pretty good counter argument to your "white guilt" stance on avatar.... you've probably already seen it, but just in case: http://ranprieur.com/archives/028.html#avatarAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com