Race the power of an illusion

WS: 332U Summer 2012

Race the power of an illusion part 2

The movie, “Race: The Power of an Illusion part 2” discusses the spread and belief of race in America. It looks at some of the reasons why Americans justified the slavery of African Americans, and the taking away of land of the Native Americans. The movie looks at how science acted as a frame of support for those who supported racism and slavery in America. Race is often a bitter subject to the minority, especially those who feel victimized. When people become victimized, they become more aware of their incapacities and limitations. They tend to hold these beliefs as true, and over time, these thoughts become engrained within them. The movie is a reflection of how science can fail out to bring reality, and how people are ready to believe anything that justifies their actions.

The movie makes one ponder about the issue of African Americans before they left their land and came to America as slaves. The fact that African Americans were sold and kept as slaves by the white man is an illustration that they had something useful to offer. They had been taken away from their land, where they had lived for a long time. In their land, they had families and communities. They planted their own crops and they found a way to fend for themselves. In times of sickness, they knew the right medicines to use, and when a women was about to give birth, they knew the rights procedures to apply. They had their own religion, and their own customs. They did not lack anything, but the white man did not notice this. All he noticed was that the Africans were not civilized, according to his own terms. The Africans were successful in their own way, but not in the way of the white man. The white man chose to impose his ways on those he deemed inferior, and disregarded their way of living.

The movie also highlights the suffering of the Native American under the hands of the white American. The white American found the Indian on the land, yet he felt that he had to possess the land for his own. He needed land, since he was in a new territory, in a foreign country. He had to acquire the land, using whatever means he found necessary, so he sought to chase the Indians from their land, and he sought ways to assimilate them through his own definition of civilization. He engaged in war with them. The Indian did not have any superior weapon, for in the past, he had only had to kill animals when looking for food. In some ways, the Indian made the white man rethink. The Native American had not been afraid to defend his territory. The fact that the white man had chased the Indian from his own land shows the greed that he had. This made the white man look for ways to justify his actions.

The movie examines how science justified slavery. Researchers, obviously the educated and civilized white men, found ways to prove that the white American was superior. The scientists at the time used the physical size of the skull to prove the smartness and superiority of the white man. They did not consider the advances or accomplishment of the African or the Native American. Through their research, the scientists were able to give the slaveholders and slave supporters more reason for having slaves. This only led to more people having slaves, since they could now justify their actions. The research also led to the advancement of racial discrimination, whenever the white man encountered someone from a different race.

Over time, Native Americans and African Americans have proved that they are not inferior to the white man. They have done this through their many accomplishments in different sectors, including education. Inferiority cannot be determined by someone’s physical appearance, but those who look for ways to justify this assumption will always find it, whether in biology, or in something else. People use science as a way of giving expert opinion, but in some cases, science may not have the best or final answer. The movie should make people realize that the more they highlight the concept of race; the racial matters will become more visible.

Work Cited:

Race – The Power of an Illusion Episode Two: The Story we tell. Dir. Herbes-Sommers, Christine. California Newsreel, 2003. Film