America has long-touted itself as “the land of opportunity” for people of different colors and origins, but some writers and scholars believe there are forces at work threatening to destroy the multi-cultural essence of its rich history. In an excerpt from the book Rez Life: An Indian’s
Journey Through Reservation Life, David Treuer explores the power of language as a means to ensure Native American cultural survival. In the film Crash, Paul Haggis presents stories of racial intolerance through the eyes of multi-ethnic characters struggling to overcome their fears.
In his book Models of American Ethnic Relations: A Historical Perspective, George M.
Frederickson presents four classes of ethnic relations through the prism of American history: …show more content…
In the second, Officer Ryan comments to the black representative behind the desk of an insurance office, “I bet there were 5 or 6 qualified white men who didn’t get your job … ”. Likewise, there are black examples of Ethnic Hierarchy against Asians and Hispanics. In the truck scene when Anthony runs over a Korean business owner, Peter yells, “We just ran over China-man …. there’s a China-man stuck underneath the fuckin (sic) truck!”. Likewise, Ria scolds Detective Graham for describing her as Mexican when
Duport 3 in fact her ethnicity is a South American mix. He quips, “I guess the big mystery is, who gathered all those remarkably different cultures together and taught them all how to park to their cars on their lawns”. These four examples from both the white and black communities demonstrate symptoms of Ethnic Hierarchy. In each case, the offending party speaks and labels others from a presumed position of cultural superiority.
Although Rez Life and Crash describe different aspects of Group Separatism and Ethnic
Hierarchy, they are similar in 2 ways. First, neither tells a story of Cultural Pluralism, that is, a celebration of differences among groups. In each work, subject groups either feel
Journey Through Reservation Life, David Treuer explores the power of language as a means to ensure Native American cultural survival. In the film Crash, Paul Haggis presents stories of racial intolerance through the eyes of multi-ethnic characters struggling to overcome their fears.
In his book Models of American Ethnic Relations: A Historical Perspective, George M.
Frederickson presents four classes of ethnic relations through the prism of American history: …show more content…
In the second, Officer Ryan comments to the black representative behind the desk of an insurance office, “I bet there were 5 or 6 qualified white men who didn’t get your job … ”. Likewise, there are black examples of Ethnic Hierarchy against Asians and Hispanics. In the truck scene when Anthony runs over a Korean business owner, Peter yells, “We just ran over China-man …. there’s a China-man stuck underneath the fuckin (sic) truck!”. Likewise, Ria scolds Detective Graham for describing her as Mexican when
Duport 3 in fact her ethnicity is a South American mix. He quips, “I guess the big mystery is, who gathered all those remarkably different cultures together and taught them all how to park to their cars on their lawns”. These four examples from both the white and black communities demonstrate symptoms of Ethnic Hierarchy. In each case, the offending party speaks and labels others from a presumed position of cultural superiority.
Although Rez Life and Crash describe different aspects of Group Separatism and Ethnic
Hierarchy, they are similar in 2 ways. First, neither tells a story of Cultural Pluralism, that is, a celebration of differences among groups. In each work, subject groups either feel