Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Screen Race:power of illusion part1

The main idea or point that the author/video is trying to get across is that race is a biological myth or idea that we as a society have created. This video tries to show us that yes our skin color is different but our genetics are not that far off from each other. It is stated that there is as much if not more difference within the same race than that of separate races. Actually we are the closest to each other genetically than any other species. Questions arise such as who decides race and what could be described as a racial life? In other words we have to look at the person as a whole and not just the outside because sure your skin color could be different, but there are thousands of years of genes that have been passed to you and they could have come from different parts of the world. Yet a person is racial zed by what the color of their skin may be.
In this movie many different points are brought up about what defines race. Most people look at the visual differences of that person such as body shape, skin tone, etc. These kinds of assumptions created the five different groups known as races. People are put into a certain race base on certain characteristics that they posses. Again this is showing the idea of the external. There is nothing proving that a certain biological thing can define race. It is a myth like I have stated earlier that us as humans have created. Some use this myth to explain the differences such as athletic ability. People can argue that a black person has an extra muscle in their leg that makes them run faster. It is said that population differs by distance and location. There is a continuous change in skin color or in other words you can not pick out a specific area and say that is where this color lives.
This movie was very interesting in that I would have never guessed that we of all species are the closest related in terms of DNA. I mean we seem so different but we are not. What really caught my attention was the stuff about certain races having athletic advantages/the athletic gene. I have always wondered if that was true and nothing has been proven yet but I hope one day that this question will receive an answer. I do agree with the movie the stuff about what we as people look at to determine a person’s race. We should not be the deciders of that.
1. Why is it a certain person can be labeled Mexican or white if they are both? (Example- I am half Mexican and half white but I am labeled as white because that is what my outer appearance portrays.)
2. Will there ever be a connection found between biological factors and race?

No comments: