America on Film. Sean GriffinЧитать онлайн книгу.
memorable roles in the hit TV comedies The Office (2005–13) and Parks and Recreation (2009–15), is the daughter of African American musician Quincy Jones and white actress Peggy Lipton. Other contemporary actors with mixed‐ethnic/racial backgrounds include Jennifer Beals, Halle Berry, Wentworth Miller, Angelina Jolie, Cameron Diaz, Max Minghella, Keanu Reeves, Mariah Carey, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and Vin Diesel. Like The Rock, Vin Diesel has become a major Hollywood action star, appearing in various films and franchises such as The Fast and the Furious (2001–), xXx (2002–), and Guardians of the Galaxy (2014–). Before his Hollywood successes, however, Diesel wrote and directed a short film about media stereotypes. Multi‐Facial (1999) follows Diesel’s character as he auditions for roles as an Italian American, a Latino, and a black rapper. His shifting personas in front of the casting directors (as well as his fellow actors) suggest that race and/or ethnicity is merely a matter of performance, a certain attention to and replication of behavioral traits and speech patterns. As a calling card, the film propelled Diesel into his Hollywood career, but it also chides the film industry (and especially casting directors) for perpetuating racial and ethnic stereotypes.
The growth in the number of performers who seem to transcend racial or ethnic categories may seem like a positive development in American film and television. Yet it should be recognized that industry interest in such individuals is often more due to economic interests than social or political ones. If some people regard, for example, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as white, and others as a person of color, then he potentially draws in multiple audiences. Furthermore, the public perception of such stars taps into the historically complex issues and opinions over passing and assimilation within white communities and communities of color. Still, the growing awareness and acceptance of multi‐ethnic identities further complicates what many usually assume as the unproblematic nature of whiteness.
Questions for Discussion
1 Think about your own national, ethnic, or racial heritage. To what extent does it shape your personal identity? Share your thoughts with your classmates. Are people of color more aware of these issues than are many whites? If so, why?
2 What are the pros and cons of assimilation? What should America’s “national identity” be? How does film help to construct that national identity?
3 Religion is a powerful ideological state apparatus. How does religion intersect with questions of race and nation? What role does religion play in the process of assimilation (or resistance to assimilation)? Are some cultural groups more defined by their religion than by their race or nation?
Further Reading
1 Bernardi, Daniel, ed. The Birth of Whiteness: Race and the Emergence of U.S. Cinema. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1996.
2 Bernardi, Daniel, ed. Classic Hollywood, Classic Whiteness. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2001.
3 Bernstein, Matthew, and Gaylyn Studlar. Visions of the East: Orientalism in Film. New
4 Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1997.
5 Dyer, Richard. White. New York: Routledge, 1997.
6 Ferraro, Thomas J. Feeling Italian: The Art of Ethnicity in America. New York: New York University Press, 2005.
7 Foster, Gwendolyn Audrey. Performing Whiteness: Postmodern Re/Constructions in Cinema. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 2003.
8 Freidman, Lester D., ed. Unspeakable Images: Ethnicity and the American Cinema. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1991.
9 Gubar, Susan. RaceChanges: White Skin, Black Face in American Culture. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.
10 Hill, Mike, ed. Whiteness: A Critical Reader. New York: New York University Press, 1997.
11 Lester, Paul Martin and Susan Dente Ross, eds. Images That Injure: Pictorial Stereotypes in the Media. 2nd edition. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2003.
12 Lipsitz, George. The Possessive Investment in Whiteness: How White People Profit from Identity Politics. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2001.
13 Miller, Randall, ed. The Kaleidoscopic Lens: How Hollywood Views Ethnic Groups. Englewood, NJ: Jerome S. Ozer, 1980.
14 Negra, Diane. Off‐White Hollywood: American Culture and Ethnic Female Stardom. New York: Routledge, 2001.
15 Negra, Diane, ed. The Irish in Us: Irishness, Performativity, and Popular Culture. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2006.
16 Rogin, Michael. Blackface, White Noise: Jewish Immigrants in the Hollywood Melting Pot. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1996.
17 Semmerling, Tim Jon. “Evil” Arabs in American Popular Film: Orientalist Fear. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2006.
18 Shaheen, Jack G. Guilty: Hollywood's Verdict on Arabs after 9/11. Northampton, MA: Olive Branch, 2008.
19 Shaheen, Jack G. Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People. New York: Olive Branch Press, 2001.
20 Tamburri, Anthony Julian. Re‐viewing Italian Americana: Generalities and Specificities on Cinema. New York: Bordighera, 2011.
Further Screening
Going My Way (1944)
Gentleman’s Agreement (1947)
The Quiet Man (1952)
Marty (1955)
Annie Hall (1976)
Moonstruck (1988)
Pleasantville (1998)
The Siege (1998)
Focus (2001)
Gangs of New York (2002)
Babel (2006)
Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People (2006)
Amreeka (2009)
The Italian Americans (2015)
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