This was a very interesting segment which addressed the formation of race. According to Omi and Winant, racial formation is “the sociohistorical process by which racial categories are created, inhabited, transformed, and destroyed.” (Helkde and O’Conner 2004, pg 117) There is a brief historical analysis of racial awareness in the states. When Europeans arrived in North America and encountered Native Americans, they began to question who was fully human, who deserved the right to own land, and have rights.
It also looks at race in both a micro and macro level analysis by using examples of programs that attempt to solve the racial gap and how people tend to deal with race. Omi and Winant mention how some white Americans are tired of racial projects or programs that benefit people based on their race. Many people believe that this is racism in reverse. However, I have to disagree with those who are against Affirmative Action and that their belief that it is a racist program. It is shown that those who benefit the most from Affirmative Action are actually white females, because women are a minority. Another interesting point that this chapter examined was who can be racist and how.
This segment was a very good read because it examined many aspects that make up race. However, I like how they mention how categories and labels contribute to the formation of race. I believe that stereotypes are a huge contributor to racial formation.The media is a huge institution that shapes peoples perceptions of those who are different from them. Some examples are cartoons about Japanese Americans during WWII and negative stereotypes of Latinos in movies. The media is an important segment to look at because sometimes the only exposure that a white American receives of a minority group is through the media. I would also like to hear their thoughts of racial formation through the family.
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In naming the media as a huge institution that shapes the nation's perception of racial groups, I wonder why this institution doesn't attempt to remedy this by making changes in their content. Then I realize that the institution of the media is largely in the control of white males, whose perception of race and racial superiority has long been influenced by history and the institutions that shaped our history as a country, like the government and our education systems.
This idea of race groups and physical differences that has been taught to white males gets translated onto the silver screen or to literature from the single perspective of these white men.
How would a Native American be portrayed in film if the production company's CEO was himself a Native American?
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