The Last Dragon Analysis

As a minority, living in a world surrounded by racism and stereotypes can be very difficult to face. Many males believe that to become accepted by society, they must possess typical masculine qualities. According to modern culture these traits include strength, defiance, and assertiveness. These characteristics, however, are misrepresentations of black masculinity, and should not be a factor when defining men. A perfect example of how inequality deeply affects social interaction and developing adolescences can be found in John Singleton’s Shaft and Berry Gordy’s The Last Dragon. This paper will examine how racial discrimination and social standards presents a threat to black men’s masculinity and leads to the search for cultural identity. It …show more content…
Producers often times convey racism in media through the use of humor, so that the racial remarks being presented don’t come off as extremely offensive. Arguably, any judgment made by a person of a different race would presumably be offended if the statement were false and derogatory. There are multiple racist comments made in John Singleton’s Shaft that would cause any person to be insulted and feel threatened. In the opening scene, when Trey’s friend is retelling the story of the incident that occurred leading up to the murder, it is evident that Walter Wade was verbally harassing Trey, simply because he was the only black male in the bar. Walter immediately shouts out rude remarks such as “They don’t serve malt liquor here, alright, no aight. Hey dawg, is you deaf.” (7:37) This is just one of the many negative stereotypes attached to blacks that is brought up. Another instance in which a stereotypical remark is made is when Shaft is arresting Peoples. When Peoples is being searched for weapons, he says to Shaft “This is the only way you can touch me. You’re one pathetic Kentucky fried Nigga. I got some chicken wing for you.”