Film review: "A Conversation About Race"
11/24/2008 - 10:03am
It’s not often that you see a documentary about your own society that makes you squirm a little bit…without any sex or violence. And that’s especially true when you agree with the filmmaker’s viewpoint.
But the subject of racism in America has become so taboo, so powerfully charged, that any discussion of it in an open, honest, way is both refreshing and disturbing.
And so it is with Craig Bodeker’s new hour-long documentary, “A Conversation About Race”, in which Mr. Bodeker discusses issues of race with Americans (Denverites, to be specific) who believe they see or face racism in their everyday lives.
Mr. Bodeker’s views on the issue are clear, just from his having the courage to take up the issue and ask the questions he asks. And it’s about time that someone with these views makes a public statement, such as with this film, that “racism” in today’s America, to the extent that it still exists at all in a nation which just elected Barack Obama, is not even a shadow of the true racism of former generations.
Bodeker interviews “some of racisms believers, (to) look for inconsistencies” whom he found either by posting a CraigsList ad to “stop racism now” or by interviewing random people on the streets of Denver. He didn't have to go far to find either the volunteers or the gaping logical and experiential holes in their beliefs.
Bodeker’s premise, which is clearly borne out by the answers his interviewees give, is that “Racism is used as a tool of intimidation, like a hammer, against Caucasian whites.” He shows how so many people who say they believe racism is around them all the time actually can’t come up with any examples of it, or even with a good definition.
Bodeker says he isn’t aware of “another issue that is more artificial, manufactured, or manipulated than this whole construct called ‘racism.’”
He makes the point that not only is there a massive disconnect between true racism and the so-called racism that so many people claim to see in their daily lives. He also makes the point that in our society, it’s apparently only white people who are capable of being racist.
Bodeker says his goal isn’t to make these believers in rampant racism look silly. Instead, they make themselves look silly. The obviously muddle-headed liberal white people simply look stupid. The blacks look brainwashed and unwilling to conceive of the idea that society isn’t biased against them.
And then there’s the remarkable line of questioning (particularly of the black interviewees) about Mexicans…but I’ll leave you to watch that for yourself.
Overall, the video is a great use of an hour. It’s thought-provoking, bringing to the forefront an issue which is uncomfortable, especially for whites, to discuss…but which shouldn’t be since the vast majority of us aren’t racist and since many, or maybe most, white Americans are descended from people who came to the US after the civil war and had nothing to do with any “historical injustice” against blacks or anyone else.
A trailer for the film really doesn’t do it justice, but you can at least get a sense of the movie’s style.
“A Conversation About Race” is an intense, even gripping hour of film. It is available on DVD from the web site of the same name, and I encourage you to get a copy and watch it. As a white guy, the discussion is at first uncomfortable, but only until Bodeker's fundamental point - that the vast majority of us have nothing to be uncomfortable about and that the real problem is with the people who claim society is racist - sinks in. The film raises questions about an issue which, with the election of Barack Obama (and the Jeremiah Wright controversy during the campaign) should be the subject of a "national conversation…a conversation both Craig Bodeker and Barack Obama seem interested in having, though I wonder if Obama would show Bodeker’s honesty and courage in showing that the emperor has no clothes.
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When will it end?
I really wish they could have interviewed me on this topic. From what I saw, it seemed that the film maker was going for the “wow” effect in how he phrased his questions. I really did not hear any in-depth answers from the people being interviewed. The one thing that I would have liked to have heard was what do people thing about interracial marriage? And what do white people really tell their kids behind closed doors? Because a part of racism is being taught how to be racists, and racism is just a continuation of that message from generation after generation of white folks. You would think that all the bigots would have died off by now.
interesting points
Hi Bob,
There probably is something to the "wow" effect here, but I also think it's relevant that he can create a "wow" effect by interviewing people to give answers we've probably all heard someone say but not criticized even though they're ripe for criticism.
Many of the answers, however, are much more in-depth than what you see in the trailer, with most interviewees asked many questions so you can see their thought process carried through.
I'd also note that one of the main (black) interviewees made a repeated specific point about preferring to date white women (which, to be clear nobody I know, including myself or Bodeker) thinks is even the smallest problem. Indeed, I think the only thing strange about inter-racial dating or marriage is that we don't see more of it.
I really think part of the message of the film is that "racism" these days may be more anti-white than anti-black, by both whites and blacks.
Early On
Thanks Rossputin for your reply. This is an interesting topic race, one that will continue to plague us as a country if we do not confront it and do something about it, the ultimate paradox don’t you think? I am intrigued that the film maker used primarily Denverites in his documentary, I would like for him to have traveled around the country, primarily to the south to get more in-depth interviews from a different breed of African-Americans say perhaps my grandmother that actually had farm land taken from her by white land owners. Or maybe just some African-Americans such as myself that have transplanted from the South (Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas) out to Colorado and can give explicit accounts of racism.
Now I am not naive enough to think that people do not have to work hard and persevere in order to be successful in life, but when you as a people have to overcome real and direct racism early on in American history, to having perceived equal rights in this country, to the current system of institutional racism its somewhat dispiriting to make African-Americans out to look like hopeless victims that keep complaining about racism. I think all that anyone wants is an equal chance in life, a great start if you will. For those of us that like history the real history of this country find it interesting that some whites say “get over it already!” See website: www.withoutsanctuary.org. For those of us that do not know history are doomed to repeat it.
Why Denver?
Bob,
I have a feeling that the Denver location was simply because Mr. Bodeker lives in the area and did this on his own dime.
When you watch the film, I think the range of interviewees is wide enough, including people who make it clear they're not from Denver or have lived substantial amounts of time elsewhere, that you don't feel too confined by the location. But I certainly do take your point.
One other thing about racism: It's a very different thing for a person to say he or she has experienced it at some point (or even more than one point) versus to say he sees it in his daily life...but not be able to give examples (or at least not reasonable ones).
So let me ask you...exactly where do you see "institutional racism" in modern America? For the record, I can actually name one area, but I'm not going to say what it is until I hear back from you...I will say that it shouldn't affect the "day to day life" of the vast majority of people of any color.
I hope you'll watch the whole film. I think it's well worth the time.
Thanks for the notes.
Ross
Mandatory Sentencing for African-Americans
One way that I see institutional racism is with mandatory minimums, and the difference between powder and crack cocaine sentencing guidelines between African-Americans and Caucasian, wherein low-level people involved with crack cocaine are subject to harsher penalties than higher-level people involved with powder cocaine. Let’s take for instance Tim Allen the star of Home Improvement; he was sentenced for possession of cocaine for five years, but African-Americans caught with the same equivalent of crack cocaine received harsher penalties. This is a blatant example of “institutionalized racism.”