what a woman who could have joined the D.A.R. has learned about the socially-constructed, political notion of "race" by just paying attention and NOT keeping her mouth shut...
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Jon M. Chu: "Silent Beats"
This short film by Jon M. Chu is so powerful, I'm not even going to say anything about it. It's entitled "Silent Beats" and won the Princess Grace Award in 2006. Prepare to be made veeeery uncomfortable. Prepare to be forced to think long and hard about some of these images afterward.
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5 comments:
Very powerful and very telling.
The video reminds me of all the reasons why I fear for my male relatives who must walk through the world as black men.
Why so uncomfortable if it is true?
I think this short film does an excellent job of highlighting the tension that young Black men have to live under so much of the time. It takes a terrible toll on them while those that maintain the tension think they are justified in creating it. Knowing how often young Black men are left to suffer this pain alone makes me sad and uncomfortable -- especially since my life is SO much easier.
Additionally, the older White woman KNOWING that she can steal a candy bar without having to experience the least amount of nervousness or any suspicion that she might do so (hopefully) serves to heighten consciousness in readers who may not generally acknowledge how much White people get away with. And heightened consciousness typically makes people uncomfortable.
Aside from the fact that some of my readers are new to racial awareness, even I am made uncomfortable by anything that does this fine a job of rubbing our noses in what young Black men have to deal with and get no respite from. And then, of course, knowing that there are many who are aware of their pain and somehow feel that recognizing it is enough also makes me uncomfortable.
powerful imagery. power statement.
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