Racism portrayed in media

 The Korean soccer player, Ji Sung Park was discriminated against when he was playing in Europe. Racial discrimination can occur anywhere and to anyone. The issue occurs in anywhere, including Korea. This is a serious and important issue currently. This Culture Sketch features racial discriminations that have been seen in the media.

Songs

 Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit” is a song about racial discrimination. The song title‘ ”Strange Fruit”’ refers to a black person who was lynched to death and hung on a tree by whites. The lyrics come from Abel Meeropol’s poem. The song was released in 1939, and it criticizes prevalent racism imposed on blacks as well as the lynchings of blacks in the US. The lines “blood on the leaves and blood at the root” and “then the sudden smell of burning flesh” describe the scene of a black person being lynched.

 In 1978, this song was dedicated to the victim at the Grammy Hall of Fame. Also, this song was nominated by Recording Industry of America and National Endowment for the Arts. At the end of December 1939, The Timesplaced this song as the song of the 20th century. Why don’t you listen to it?

Movies

 There are various movies about racial discrimination. This Culture Sketch introduces a movie The Help.

 The Helpis the story of what happened in Southern Mississippi in 1963. Racial discrimination against blacks was prevalent in America in 1963. Mississippi is particularly notorious for its discrimination in America. In this state, the black women are maids, and the white women are home owners. White women are allowed to discriminate against black maids.

 Healy was one of those typical white women. However, Skeeter was different. Skeeter is a white female, but she, unlike her friends, thought that it was unreasonable to discriminate based on skin color. Skeeter had a maid named Constantine. When she was young, she treated Constantine like her mother. So, she became upset when black women are discriminated against. Therefore, she decided to write a story about black women.

 However, it was never easy. Her friends and boyfriend opposed what she did. She even broke up with her boyfriend. These scenes show how whites at the time didn’t consider the human rights of blacks. The book is about all black maids but it focuses on the story of Avril and Mini in the film.

 Avril and Mini represent two different groups of black people at the time. Avril represents most blacks who didn’t resist racial discrimination for the sake of their safety. Mini represents a small portion of black people who that actively resisted racial discrimination.

 In the movie, blacks and whites were required to use different restrooms by law. Blacks could only use black-only restrooms. We can tell from Avril's lines that discriminative policies were in place. The most disappointing scene in the film is where Mini tells her daughter that she is a housekeeper. It can be inferred that the slavery status was hereditary.

 A famous line from this movie to quote here is “You is kind. You is smart. You is important.” This line is meant to be grammatically wrong to show how black people spoke English in those days. I strongly recommend <The Help>, since the film portrays racial discrimination really well. If you have already seen the movie, I recommend you to read the novel.dhzl

 We looked at how the issue of racial discrimination was portrayed in media. However, it has not ended yet. Racial discrimination is still a universal problem. We have to make a lot of effort to address the racial discrimination problems, regardless of individuals, societies, or nations. It is important for you to remember that all humans are equal. Keep in mind the famous saying “Walk a mile in someone else’s shoes.” What we want is a society that promotes equality, a society where people can be happy, regardless of their race.

 

 

“I fought against white rulers. Everybody enjoys equal opportunities and must live together. I am ready to die for it. "-Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela.

 

 

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