Ethnic Relations Essays -- essays research papers

Final Exam   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The question of race and discrimination has been around a long time, dating back to the slave age. So the fact that it is still an issue today is no surprise at all. In fact, you might be able to say that race and discrimination is still around today but has changed over time. Why is it important to understand the question of race and discrimination? It is important because helps you be a more well-rounded person. I have learned this and have become more aware of this because I am taking this class. I will be examining ten pieces of popular culture and show how it relates to what I have learned in this class.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first example I would like to use is the movie â€Å"8 Mile†. The movie is about this white man that lives in a bad neighborhood in Detroit. He has a lot of good rapping skills and he works at a car garage. He knows that the only way he will get out of this bad place is if beats the black rappers and lands a record deal. The movie shows the adversity that he goes through. This movie represents how a white man struggles to get recognize in the rap industry since he is not black and since it is dominant by blacks. I think that this shows the world that it does not matter what skin you have, but the talent you have is more important. I think this ties into class on the issue of how too many times that people get categorized because the color of their skin. This shows the idea of whiteness. Black people have been used the idea of whiteness and have used it on him. Wellman quotes: â€Å"I can relate to people whose backgrounds are similar to mine† (We llman 152). Since he is white, the some black people have judged him first by his skin and looking passed his background. When in reality, he grew up with a rough childhood and the fact that he did have the talent to do what supposedly only black people could. The black people thought that just cause he had white skin that he was not able to produce the same rhythm as them because the white person did not listen to the kind of music they make.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The second example I would like to use is swing dancing. I saw a picture on the internet about swing dancing and how it showed white people dancing. Swing dance was formed by the African American people and it became very popular that it became the center of American life but... ...xist with no problem. This relates to the Min’s idea of how Asians want to be like whites and how they don’t want to be like blacks. I find this interesting because in this movie, the black people are trying to be like Asians, where as the Asians are trying to be like white people.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The final example I would like to use the James Bond movie â€Å"You only live twice†. The movie is about how Bond gets killed by the Chinese enemy in the beginning of the movie but he really was not dead. So he has a mission to stop the Chinese gang from taking control of the world. This reveals to the world how the Chinese can be dangerous too. I think this relates to the when Min talks about gangs in his book. What I find funny about this situation on gangs is that Asian want to become more like white people yet the gangs would be more a characteristics of the black people. So it is kind of ironic that Asians want to be white yet they are also like black people. I am not sure what exactly you can classify the Asian people as either white or black, but I would like to see that the Asian community be classified as their own group and not have to choose either white or black,