Racial Segregation In The Neighborhood: Film Analysis

Racial segregation can be defined as a separation of people based on their race who live in a fixed boundary. Each group experiences the same life styles by participating in the same activities or eating the same foods but just in another part of town. The book Maniac Magee can be compared to the artwork New Kids in the Neighborhood in several ways by creating a mood dictated through the setting of racism. The setting of Maniac Magee takes place in a small town called Two Mills where blacks and whites are separated by Hector Street. Each side lives their own lives but never interfere with the opposite side as a result the mood can be characterized as sad. New Kids in the Neighborhood by Norman Rockwell creates a scene that takes place in 1967. The artwork was painted when America was going through the civil rights movement. The setting takes place in a nice neighborhood where families of different races are starting to move in the …show more content…
Two groups of children are in a neighborhood standing in a driveway staring at each other due to their different skin colors. The children are confused on how to act around the other race either because they have never been in contact with them or they are afraid of how the adult in the window will react. This setting creates a feeling of sadness for the viewer because at this time children did not fully understand the reasoning behind racism but were still expected to support the views of their parents or society on how to treat one another. I chose this artwork because I thought it ties into the book Maniac Magee perfectly because the overall setting of racism leaves the viewer with a sad feeling. Sadness is also demonstrated through the children because they do not know how to interact with one another even though they may have several things in common. I chose the artwork New Kids in the Neighborhood as an illustration to represent Maniac Magee because several elements are similar.