American Society and Politics in Film

This film was very intriguing. Not only did it showcase the overall difficulties of women fighting for their rights, but it also showed the interplay between women. The women in this film unite to create  one power to fight. During the process, however, they seem to also show the internal divisions that they have between themselves. Multiple examples seem to come about in the film portraying this divisive hostility, to varying degrees. One example can be seen when the women were gathering for their march, but a black woman confronts them about their mistake to put her and her peers in the back of the line. Politically speaking, the women did not feel it was best to have them elsewhere. The woman of color disagreed and a hostile environment was created. Despite this, later on we see that she eventually ends up joining the parade regardless. Another example can be seen in the court scene discussing the budget. The two council women have always seemed to have it out for Alice and her ...

  Race in America has been used as a justification for the economic system of slavery, and following this original sin of the United States of America, the conception of being black and being white has not fully recovered. The mockumentary “C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America” directed by Kevin Willmott helps draw the connection between slavery era arguments on race and society by extending the history of slavery into the modern day. In doing this a series of parallels are drawn, where I particularly noticed a commercial for a version of COPS instead focusing on catching runaway slaves without a noticeable change to the show format, and where heavily stereotyped images of black people were plastered on advertisements and products, some of which had remained past the mockumentary’s production. Through the portrayals that we see during these commercials, black people are portrayed as the guilty being hunted and then in stereotyped images of ignorant and childish. These portraya...

What language and imagery in American political history have been used to portray racial understandings of white = superior and black = inferior? Why has such imagery and associated stereotyping so often been effective? There is an extraordinary amount of language and imagery in American political history that have been used to portray that white = superior and black = inferior. Through the use of fear, the media has created the image that black individuals are more violent and dangerous. I will highlight some of the imagery or language that stands out to me the most: A Birth of a Nation and news media.  The first is the film A Birth of Nation , ironically one of the section's titles of the CSA film. This 1915 film had a large impact on American culture. The film depicts black men (white men in blackface) attempting to rape white women and portrays the Klansman as the hero. This film was a large factor in the resurgence of the KKK. Although it portrayed such horrendous stereot...

  Since the beginning of racial theory and the idea of race, narratives and experiments have been conducted to try and prove that the white race is superior. Early experiments on black people about the size of their brains related to their lower intelligence and they went so far as to claim black people were a different species. Then when slavery was brought to the U.S. the dehumanization of black people became so engrained into society. Slavery was around for over 400 years so it was centuries of discrimination and dehumanization that have created the lasting ideas around white superiority and black inferiority. Then as shown in the CSA film most of the ads they showed were real ads that further establish discriminatory narratives. Labeling black people as criminals and less than others. In our history, there was the 3/5rds law stating that a black vote is actually 3/5ths of a white vote. It is so deep in our society, this lesser-than narrative has been spread through laws and sig...

     The film shows many of the difficulties women faced during their fight for suffrage. The suffrage movement had to contend with powerful men in Washington as well as the average man who did not support the movement. The women in the film also had to contend with each other to an extent. The women’s suffrage movement was not a homogeneous group, its members were women from all backgrounds: wealthy, poor, Black, and white. One of the first examples of these differences came when the only notable Black woman in the film asks for the Black women to walk at the front of the parade instead of the back. The main characters, white women, dismiss this request saying they do not want to conflate the issue or civil rights with women’s suffrage. Other internal divisions, such as the brief disagreement during the recruitment of the factory workers, appear. One of the greatest divisions occurred between the National American Woman's Suffrage Association (NAWSA) and the National Wom...

Maddie D Reflecting on this question led me to a google search about representation of Black Americans in the media. I happened upon a study performed by Dr. Travis L. Dixon reported under the title “A Dangerous Distortion of our Families.” The study examines how families are represented in the news and media throughout the United States based on race. The study really stood out to me because it made me realize some of the subconscious biases I was not aware of yet that have probably been caused by the representation I see of people of color in the news.  Overall, the study found that news outlets and other media disproportionally portray families living is poverty as Black families, suggest a disproportionate amount of Black families receive welfare compared to White families, falsely show Black fathers as often uninvolved in their children’s lives, and overrepresent the connection between Black families and criminal behavior ( read the study here: https://colorofchange.org/wp-con...

Hannah Crouser In the film The Confederate States of America it is easy to see how close we were to living the reality painted in the film. As well as how many events they did not have to change from real history to make the reality true. White Americans have used race as a way to tell who is greater than others for decades. Just look at Jim Crow laws, or T.V. shows shown today. For a long time, we believed that black people were more likely to be criminals because of a difference in their skull shape. Even if we have proven that these pseudoscience ideas are not true the implications of believing in them are still seen today. Black women’s pain is taken less seriously, and Black men are over-represented in our prison population. White people don’t want to admit that they are equal to people who look different from them, so they use those differences as a way to explain the way they treat them. The consequences of doing so are still seen today, yet we continue to do it. We have incarc...

Havlyn Ehrich  CSA FILM       Incorporating this weeks’ film, CSA clearly portrays white Americans as privileged and proper, wealthy, good and successful. At the same time, they portray black Americans as dependent, ignorant and helpless outside of white support. In our real world, most popular films of the last millenia included only white actors, both kids and adults, as did TV advertising and media. I’ve seen this entertainment industry’s bias played out, as a kid while watching that era’s movie and television and while watching media from my parent’s era. So much of our culture is influenced by what we hear and see. As black Americans were left out, the likely unintended consequence is a diminished perception of their ability. This translates equally into important positions at major corporations as well as significant political leadership roles at the federal level. I’ve often asked myself “where did this come from?” speaking about racism and how it cultiva...

"Darky, chattel, mammy, coon, jigaboo, sambo" — examples of the stereotypes used to portray Black people as inherently inferior to white Americans and that appeared in the C.S.A advertisements . All of the fake advertisements in the C.S.A. film contained some stereotype of Black people, whether subtly or blatantly obvious. The scariest thing to me about th e “fake” ads were how the racist ideas still exist and control today's American society. The imagery portraying whites as dominant and Blacks as inferior has persisted throughout history because of a system that condones it and because of a continuing willingness to believe it.   American society has always allowed and even encouraged the debasement of Black people. At first it was to defend slavery, and then as slavery “ended” and Blacks began fighting for equality, it was to defend white supremacism. One obvious example of encouraging racist ideas was the election of Donald Trump as president. Electing someone wh...

Watching the movie and reading the article "The Double Terror of Being Black in America" didn't really show me anything new, but it did show me how American society tries so hard to hide the truth behind what has happened in the past and what is happening today. I have grown up biracial as I am half Black and half white, therefore, I have seen both sides of the spectrum and have had both experiences. Something that really stood out to me during the film was the conversation of mixed children and the fear of them. I think the main point of fear is that they can have the perspective from both races and can possibly pass for white if their skin is lighter. This creates another racial problem, not only from the fear of Black people from white people, but the fear of mixed people from white people, and the fear of lighter skinned Black people from darker skinned Black people; colorism. White people have pushed this fear of the "other" onto Black people fearing themse...

Race will always be a defining factor of America's history and identity and although important progress has been made in an effort to strive for inclusivity and equality, there are still many lingering notions of past beliefs that impact us today.  In the past, language about the superiority of the white race over others was very explicit and made no effort towards equality.  In the era of Jim Crow, Americans, specifically those of color, were constantly reminded of race when they saw "white only" signs in almost every public space.  Everywhere it could be seen that whites got better treatment than everyone else and it certainly was not "separate but equal."  As seen in the film as well, hearing racial slurs was a common occurrence in everyday life and used as a way to maintain power over people of color.  It also seemed to be used as a way to define people of a certain race.  In Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail", he explains h...

Since chattel slavery in the United States, there has been a bias within American culture painting those with dark skin as indecent, childish, ignorant, helpless, and evil while those with white skin are believed to be decent, mature, intelligent, and good. This bias has been crafted as American society was built on a racist foundation. “Race science” was an idea crafted by early scientists that “proved” that different races evolved differently which led to different characteristics among races. However, racism among the scientist community and improper standardization techniques allowed for these incorrect findings to be published and shared with the public. The pseudo-scientific language from these studies allowed for the concept of whites being naturally superior whereas blacks were naturally inferior. These findings were the justification for unethical treatment of those with darker skin as they were deemed to have less desirable traits. Although modern science has deemed a lot of ...

Racist imagery and stereotyping have been used to great effect in the US to demean African Americans and uplift white men. Black people in the US have always been shown as inferior in every way when compared with white men. This narrative has been perpetuated by media outlets. The movie portrayed this with occasional add breaks advertising various products that all portrayed Black people as subservient. Politics also perpetuates this narrative as political candidates have used this narrative to support their campaigns. The imagery this narrative produces has been so effective because it validates the backwards beliefs portrayed in the movie. One of the greatest fears expressed in the film, alleged sexual threat to white women from African Americans, has been used to create imagery that supports the narrative. 

In response to the first blog prompt, I think that the media portrays America to be exceptional and "the best" in many ways. In the film, the values behind what has made America what it is today such as liberty, justice, and truth were a very large part of why John Smith was so interested in history. There were parts in the film that were very patriotic, where bells were ringing and shots of Abraham Lincoln, the White House, and other famous monuments were shown with an extremely patriotic song in the background. In these scenes, the producers are showing the audience how many important things we've accomplished as a country and that everyone can benefit from them, though this isn't necessarily true. When John Smith is reading the names on the wall in a scene, he looks at another man reading, who looks African American, basically praising Lincoln for "ending" slavery. Today, though Lincoln did do things to improve the quality of life for those enslaved, he a...

The America portrayed by Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, while not blind to certain serious systemic issues in the country, ultimately promotes a patriotic view of America as a nation built on a shared, if idealistic, civic creed. This creed would be described by Seymour Martin Lipset in American Exceptionalism  (1996) as "liberty, egalitarianism, individualism, populism, and laissez-faire" while referencing America's unique role as a nation founded on a creed.  Mr. Smith and his character do not condone the faults in America's political institutions, and the film does not argue that the institutions of the United States have lived up to their stated purpose. Mr. Smith as our point of view and hero reaches his position as senator despite lacking an understanding of the reality of U.S. politics, which his assistant has to patiently walk him through. Generally, Mr. Smith is able to serve as a senator through luck that corrupt pieces of the system let him through and event...

When watching the film Mr Smith Goes to Washington, the America portrayed in the film is an outdated image. All political figures are white men and women play a secondary "assistant" role. Due to this film being from 1939 however, this is an expected portrayal. While there is still a lot of work to be done, we have made progress since 1939 in electing political figures from all backgrounds and identities. America today values diversity significantly more than in 1939, and it is a move toward progress.  Additionally, in the film, the ideals of patriotism are displayed. This film highlights an "American Dream" type of story in someone succeeding on their own merits starting from nothing. The "American Dream" is a common idea used to describe how America is exceptional. However, this image is not always inclusive. The "American Dream" is not a reality for everyone. Depending on your background, culture, race, identity, etc, there are more boundaries...

Hannah Crouser  The Ideal America portrayed in the film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is one where people believe whole hardly, almost naively, in the idea of patriotism and opportunity. Many view the United States as a place of equality, where people get to make a better life for themselves no matter their background. More, and more people are beginning to realize how flawed the United States truly is. It is a country that was founded on White supremacy, and it is very hard for people who do not fall under the category of whiteness to advance in a way they believe they will be able to. In the film, we see that all the senators are White males. We also see that the main character is able to pass his bill, and win in the end because he has the advantage of being a White male. The way Mr. Smith became a senator was in no way conventional, he appealed to the people. He was only chosen as senator because the children liked him. He has no knowledge about politics, yet he was able to suc...

I would agree that the American identity is built on a creed that was established during the American Revolution—the ideals, as  Lipset  says, of "liberty,  egalitarianism, individualism, populism, and laissez-faire ". When Smith first arrives in Washington and the patriotic scenes begin, it's not so much a portrayal of American history as it is a scene showing words from the Declaration of Independence, US Constitution, Gettysburg Address—words that define the American ideals and the American identity. I do think that other nations have creeds as well, ideals worked into their constitutions, but their entire nations were not created solely on those ideals. Other countries in Europe, as  Lipset  talks about, have a long, shared history that they can use to define their country's identity. America, on the other hand, began as 13 unique and sovereign colonies. This laid the foundation for Americans to  not  have a shared historic identity. The difficulty...

This idea that America is founded on a creed is true, however, the strength and power of this  is not what it is believed to be.  It represents an ideal world but it does not unite in the way that we, as Americans, believe that it does or hope that it does.  American values are drilled into us from a young age in a "dogmatic" way, as stated by the prompt, but if one only looks a bit further behind the scenes of the American political system in particular, it is clear that we do not all agree and we are far from united.   In the film, "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington", Mr. Smith arrives still firmly believing in the founders of the United States and the values that this country was built on.  Soon after, he starts to see the reality of how politics works and watches the pure American values he held dear crumble in the face of corrupt lobbyists and a corrupt system.  Although the characters surrounding Mr. Smith in the movie wanted his beliefs about the nat...

Maddie D  'America is the only nation in the world that is founded on a creed. That creed is set forth with dogmatic and even theological lucidity in the Declaration of Independence'...the nation's ideology can be described in five words: liberty, egalitarianism, individualism, populism, and laissez-faire." (From Seymour Martin Lipset, American Exceptionalism , 1996).      Now I don't know if one can believe that America is the only nation to be founded on a creed, but it is certainly one of them. The ideologies stated in the introductory quote have been used repeatedly throughout American history in stories and politics to further political agendas and promote patriotism with the idealism of unity. Unfortunately, the fact of the matter is, these ideologies have not been carried out throughout American history. The American government has failed over and over again to include and grant liberty to certain groups of people. As seen in the movie Mr. Smith Goes to Was...

  Havlyn Ehrich  The ideal America seen in the learning materials for this week is one that is patriotic, powerful, opportunity, equality, etc. When these said ideals are present, the United States is presented as one nation fighting for the rights of its people. More specifically relating to the movie, it shows that if you have a dream and are willing to put in the effort to achieve it, America is the land of opportunity to do so.  This showcases the exceptional work of the United States. Reality is, if one’s dream opposes those in power, it is not so easy to change the way of things. In addition, society has historically favored one specific type of human over another:  white men. American politics have been deeply seeded in white male ideologies and as a result, minorities tend to be left out of the “American Dream”. The film portrays this white male ideal in politics and excludes those of color and women. Though this is getting better today, we still fall short o...