American Racism

            Racism today is often times hidden. It’s subtle. I don’t know anyone who would openly admit to hating people of a certain race. I do, however, know people who have prejudices. They would never confess this underlying discrimination, but it’s there nonetheless. Maybe it’s the way they renounce racism too heavily but in reality are apprehensive of people of other races. Maybe it’s prevalently hidden in conversations they have about race. Whatever it is, we see racism everyday; it’s just not as blatant as it once was.

            This same genre of racism is rampant in movies. Even movies like Crash, that are supposedly battling it, have their fair share of racist moments or themes. American History X is one of these movies. Other movies seem to be coincidentally racist. It just so happens that the bad driver is Asian. Or it just so happens that the alcoholic is Native American. American Gangster is one of these kinds of movies.

            American History X is about a Derek and Danny Vineyard. Derek became apart of a neo-Nazi organization. He is involved to the degree that he is one of the better-known figures in white supremacist organizations in the area he lives. He hates minorities. The movie shows him brutally murder a couple black guys among other severely racist acts. He is idolized by most of the racist white people in the community.

            The movie is supposed to show its anti-racism through the journey Derek, and consequently Danny, takes to becoming an accepting person. He realizes that racism is a terrible thing and tries to reverse some of the damage he caused. He tries to convince his friends that he was wrong. Through this transformation the viewer idolizes Derek. His change of heart is the act of a noble protagonist. The problem is that he always was the protagonist. Even when he was ruthlessly murdering people just because they were of another race the viewer is, to some extent, on his side. He hates people who aren’t white and the viewer is almost encouraged to sympathize with him. His change of heart is so trivial and hinges on such a weak turning point that Derek’s arguments for why he is racist almost drown out the moral of the movie.

            In one scene the Vineyard family is having family dinner. Derek gets in an argument with his mom’s boyfriend about minorities. The mom’s boyfriend is trying to convince Derek that often times minorities are victims trapped in a racist system. Derek hates this idea. He also argues to justify cops beating up black guys. Cops have the authority to make “those calls.” He argues similar things throughout most of the movie. Obviously he has a change of heart in the movie but in a lot of ways it doesn’t seem to do much for the message. In the family dinner scene Derek is extremely persuasive. He’s intelligent and speaks eloquently. He still seems to be the protagonist while arguing these points and the film almost encourages the viewer to side with him. A clip of the scene is on youtube and the top comment agrees with Derek: “This whole speech is dead on. The fact that they make the character a nazi just takes away from the fact that he's telling the truth. I don't agree with everything he says in this movie, but I sure agree with this. Rodney King was a piece of shit.”

            As well as being intelligent Derek is handsome, tough, and charismatic. When that face is put on racism it’s a lot more appealing. I think in a lot of ways this movie encourages racism. Like the person who commented on youtube, most people won’t subscribe to Nazism. They will, however, accept some of the racist attitudes when the argument is too one-sided. In another scene Derek and his white friends play a group of black guys in basketball to see who gets the court. The loser isn’t allowed to play there ever again. Derek’s team wins. Again, he’s still the protagonist. There is a sense of victory felt by the viewer.

            In American Gangster Denzel Washington’s character, Frank Lucas, is as likeable as any of the other characters he’s played. He’s smooth, savvy, charming, and tough. The problem is, he’s the biggest drug dealer in Harlem. He’s being chased persistently by Russell Crowe’s character Richie Roberts. Richie is in a lot of ways like the American cowboy type of character. He’s wild, gets the girls, accomplishes tasks through unconventional means, but is still a good guy who makes ethical decisions. Frank on the other hand is the face of drug dealing. He also happens to be black. So the face of drugs in the movie is a black one. If that doesn’t reinforce harmful stereotypes then I don’t know what does.

            Recent studies from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention have shown that white people are more likely to sell and use drugs then black people. This is contrary to most people’s belief. When you put a black identity on the drug problem, in a hit Hollywood movie, it encourages these fallacious beliefs.

            It seems as though we can’t escape racism. Whether it’s subtle or blatant it seems to always be hidden somewhere. Even in movies that are supposed to be battling the disease seem to subconsciously perpetuate it. If we’re not conscious of it we might find ourselves being persuaded towards discrimination. 

You're Not Your Fucking Lipstick

            “Yes these are bruises from fighting. Yes I’m comfortable with that. I am enlightened,” says Jack as he bumps into a woman, knocking the papers out of her arms. Jack is becoming a man. One way of understanding Fight Club’s message is a guy’s need to become a man. A guy’s insatiable desire to do manly things instead of things like flipping through Ikea catalogs. Fight Club oozes with manliness: constant fighting, massive explosions, and glorified muscles. That’s the lens through which the movie displays its message. That is not the message though. The message I receive from the movie is a unisex one. Both women and men like Fight Club and that’s not only because Brad Pitt is in it. It is relatable to everyone. Though it’s told through the eyes of white, male Jack, everybody can access the message. In Fight Club the message is delivered through a testosterone powered story. Despite being drowned in masculinity, the significance of the movie is androgynous. If only it didn’t reinforce gender stereotypes so drastically.

            Jack isn’t very masculine. He loves buying things from Ikea and decorating his house. This is obviously something normally attributed to femininity. He goes to self-help groups where emotions are rampant. Being emotional is also something normally attributed to femininity. One of the support groups he enjoys most is the testicular cancer support group. The men here don’t have balls. Lacking balls is another attribute normally attributed to femininity. Consequently, society seems to have labeled Jack as weak. This association between femininity and weakness is harmful. Femininity is associated with being female. Therefore, being female and being weak are implicitly equalized in the film. A very damaging message indeed. If we’re able to look past that, however, the film can be used to encourage and “enlighten” those of either gender. It’s not simply the femininity that depresses Jack. It’s the dichotomy between what he is because of society, and what society is telling him he should be. All the products and pressures of his culture weigh him down. Surely a female can relate to this. All of the things a woman is supposed to be, causes severe stress for tons of women. Reifying what it is to be human through the products marketed to women is dehumanizing. The media says, “This is what a woman looks like” and to not respond is to create great anxiety. It’s not masculinity as such creating Jack’s problem, it’s conforming to impossible expectations.

            Fight Club is about rejecting those impossible expectations. It’s not about manliness. Referring to an ad with displaying a “manly”, male, Gucci model Jack asks Tyler, “Is that what a man looks like?” and Tyler laughs. In his monologue Jack declares, “I felt sorry for guys packed in gyms… trying to look like how Calvin Klein or Tommy Hilfiger said they should.” As with every scene in the movie, this scene on the bus only depicts the problem as males face it. Truth be told, women face the exact same problem. “Is that what a woman looks like?” “I felt sorry for girls packed in gyms.” It’s the same thing. Society tells us what we are supposed to look like. Fight Club tells us how to fight back. The “fight” in Fight Club isn’t about dudes beating the crap out of each other. It’s about beating the crap out of the system. Reject the ideas that advertising, business, and government inject us with. Women and Men aren’t what the TV says they are.

            After a discussion about the absentness of their fathers, Tyler tells Jack that they are, “A generation of men raised by women.” Talking about marriage he then says, “I’m wondering if another woman is the answer we really need.” This may seem like it’s talking about men and women but it’s not. It is still referring to the system. We’re supposed to grow up, get a job, and get married. The quote works just as effectively (probably more so) when the gender is reversed. “I’m wondering if another man is the answer we really need.” It represents the rejection of the formula we’re supposed to live. It isn’t the rejection of a gender.

            The reinforcement of damaging gender stereotypes in Fight Club can’t be denied. The marvelous thing is that the movie’s message is to reject what media and entertainment shove down our throats. If these stereotypes are accepted then the entire message of the movie has been lost. “You are not your job. You’re not how much money you have in the bank. You’re not the car you drive. You’re not the contents of your wallet. You’re not your fucking khakis.” This is the point of the movie. It doesn’t matter what society says you are, you’re not that. If you let society determine who you are, you need to seriously reexamine your life. If you accept that women are unimportant and weak like Marla is in Fight Club, you’re doing something wrong. “You’re not your fucking khakis” means the same thing as, “You’re not your fucking skirt, or purse, or lipstick.” Fight Club tells us to reject the cultural norms of our society. If we accept the cultural norms found within the movie, we didn’t understand the movie. 

The New Nut Shot

one of the cheapest ways to get a laugh in a movie is to show a guy getting hit in the nuts. For some reason people love it. They think it’s hilarious. But clearly it’s cut-rate. Physical humor isn’t the most intelligent kind of humor to begin with, and crotch shots are probably the least intelligent kind of physical humor. Writers don’t need to rack their brains to think of a scene showing a guy racking his nuts. Though I find myself chuckling at an occasional nut shot, I can’t help but be disappointed in the writers. They’re just plain cheap.

            While watching the movie Best in Show I noticed a different kind of humor that seems very similar to nut shot category to me. It’s just as unintelligent, just as predictable, and just as cheap. Likewise it is a pretty sure way to get a laugh without exerting much effort.

            Best in show is a mockumentary that follows five dogs and their owners through a dog show competition. The dog owners’ personalities and backgrounds differ greatly. Meg and Hamilton Swan are a yuppie couple who own a Weimaraner. The humor resulting from their personalities is original and recognizable. They love Starbucks, Macs, and clothing catalogs. The owner of a Bloodhound, Harlan Pepper, is a lovable hick. He is also an original character with some classic one-liners. Gerry and Cookie Fleck own a Terrier who they write and sing songs about. Gerry literally has two left feet and Cookie has slept with almost every new man the two characters encounter. Also original characters. The owners of a fancy poodle, Sherri Ann and Leslie Ward Cabot are funny and new. Sherri Ann is married to an almost dead rich guy but is in love with Leslie Ward. The two women end up together. Though there are a few lesbian stereotypes, the characters remain original for the most part. Lastly there’s Scott Donlan and Stefan Vanderhoof, the owners of a Shih Tzu. Scott and Stefan are a gay couple. The jokes resulting from these two are unintelligent, predictable, and cheap.

            The comedic gayness exuded by Scott and Stefan is just like the comedic agony exuded from a nut shot: it’s cheap. Scott is extremely flamboyant and 99% of his jokes are about how apparently gay guys act. He’s extremely sassy, sexual, effeminate, and fashionable. It’s cheap because it’s a stereotype. When a gay guy with a saucy lisp mentions how unfashionable someone is, people laugh.            The first thing Scott says in the movie is, “So basically, you know, a lot of meat!” He and Stefan are in a butcher shop in this scene and the butcher has just listed off what is available. Of course a gay guy would be unable to keep is cool in a place with so much “meat”. One of the next things he says is, “Get one of those pepperoni sticks out, I just want to hold it.” Evidently all gay guys only have one thing on their minds: penises. Less than a minute later, after the butcher shop scene, Scott makes another joke about wieners, “I knew a guy who had two members on the same body, dated him for about a half hour, got so exhausted.”

            For the remainder of the movie almost every scene with Scott and Stefan involves them checking out other guys, being overly fashionable, and acting nauseatingly sarcastic. What else would you expect from a gay couple? I find it strange that Scott and Stefan from Best in Show, Cameron from the television show Modern Family, Jack from Will & Grace, and other similar characters fit the “age-old pansy stereotype” when most of the gay guys I know in the actual world act very differently. I have to take a step back and think, “What do these stereotypes do for the gay community?”

            Being raised in Utah Valley influenced me to some degree to be partially homophobic when I was younger. In junior high I told my brother about a gay kid at school. He said some things that changed my outlook forever. He looked at me and asked sincerely, “Do you want to do every girl you hang out with?” I responded that I didn’t. He said neither do gay guys. Before now I egotistically assumed every gay I encountered probably wanted to get it on with me. This lesson taught me I was wrong. The problem is, characters like Scott seem to actually be horny for every guy they meet. They seem to only be thinking about penises and new clothes. They seem to be flamboyant to and intimidating degree.

            Though many movies and TV shows tell us differently, it’s obvious that all gay guys aren’t like Scott. Just as my brother taught me in junior high, gay guys are just like me except they do it with guys and I do it with girls. It turns out that this new nut shot style of comedy isn’t only cheap, it’s damaging. It is especially harmful in a conservative community such as Utah Valley where the limited exposure to homosexuality comes from the TV. My brother taught me something else. He told me that the gay kid at my junior high I told him about would grow up and probably move out of Utah. When people ask this kid what Utah is like he’ll probably tell them it sucks. He’ll probably accurately tell them that Utahns were cruel to him. Gay people are just like straight people, and all people deserve to be treated with respect.