“The Giddy Multitude: The Hidden Origins of Slavery” was a chapter that discussed the consequences of the enslavement of Africans as the key source of labor. This chapter talks about how this idea was not only problematic for the blacks, but how it in turn injured the American society. Takaki talks about how the slave owners did not thoroughly consider the consequences of only enslaving Africans.
“The Tempest”, a play written in about a man named Caliban was used to open this chapter. Many Europeans had the viewpoint that Caliban was savage due to the idea that he was black, and that was rare during those times. Many, for some reason, had the idea in their heads that Africans were cannibals, and therefore evil. And on the other side, whites were pure beings. Slavery in the United States was not well thought through. Though slavery had been around for quite a long time, the idea was never just put upon blacks. It originally was composed of both blacks and white indentured servants. Because they both were seen as servants, they were both seen in the same class and viewed each other as equal to one another. Because they viewed each other as equal, neither one had any prejudice toward the other and therefore they had no problem joining together to fight for rights. Once this began to become effective, the slave owners began to split the two groups up, eventually breaking it down to just blacks. This came about because the blacks alone were unable to fight for their rights, because essentially, they had none. After a while of this going on, a man came along who had new ideas. A man by the name of Thomas Jefferson stepped in and began to make moves toward the abolishment of slavery. Though, according to Takaki, Thomas Jefferson believed that blacks were inferior to whites by nature, and he personally owned ~267 slaves, he still felt bad for them. His ideas were to abolish slavery, but then to rid of them out of the United States, and ship them to an island in the carribean. His main reason for this was because, according to Takaki, Jefferson stated that blacks and whites could never live together. Racist ideas were brought about in a few different ways, but Takaki believes that these actions in particular could take much of the blame for how everything is today.
I have seen this information and learned about it before in high school. None of this being new information today, but the idea still bothers me. I personally have many black friends, and these ideas still blow my mind. All my life I have seen myself as equal with everyone, and I just cant bring myself to understand why that idea had to change a long time ago, when they were equals then as well.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Ethnic Notions
The film “Ethnic Notions” was a very opinionized film. This film had a lot of cartoons, figureinge, and photographs that incorrectly projected the image of the black race. These different representations were all overemphasized representations that lead to ideas of the black race that are crude generalizations and negitive images.
Through time, the view of the black race has been changing through the eyes of different people. Though the view has changed, the ideas of the past and negitive ideas are still present. Though many do not express them, they are still present in the minds of many. These past ideas were mostly negitive toward the black race. Ideas such as the idea that black men were careless and always happy and singing instead of being productive. Ideas that the black women were all the “mammy” type, willing to do anything for anyone just to make them happy, and that they were happy to do the dirty work and take care of those who don’t care about them. They general idea for quite a time, was that the black man was a lazy carefree man who was only productive in being happy about life. “Birth of a Nation” the video, has random people take on the roles of black people by using what is called “black face”. Black face was when any person, black or white, would paint their faces black and take on the role of the “Sambo”. Even when the person playing the role was black, they were made to paint their face even blacker and to use other make-up to create a larger looking mouth to create that large smile idea.
This video seemed to bring out a few main points. One of these points being that blacks were seen as savages still. Many had still seen them as uncivilized and unable to be productive in anything they do. The other key point that was expressed was that blacks were happy servants. This was a crude and untrue stereotype that slaves were happy. Obviously the image of the “Sambo” lead many whites and others who looked upon these ideas to perceive them as true. But in reality, the blacks were not happy, but the exact opposite. They were in a struggle to stay happy, and always looking out for a way to gain freedom that could lead them to happiness.
Are these images still present today? Yes as a matter of fact they are. If you look around the media, sometimes cartoons, they often still portray they black man as the “sambo”. Also, if you would look out in stores, and look at certain food labels, you may notice that “uncle bens rice” still shows the face of “uncle ben”. In relation to that, Aunt Jemima is still portrayed on the syrup containers. All of these examples proving that, although not as extreme, these images are still present today.
I found this film to be very informational to me personally. I personally have used “Aunt Jemima” syrup many times, and have never paid attention to the image portrayed. This video opened my eyes, and has me noticing things that I have not noticed before about some of my old favorite cartoons and other media items. I realize that these images are derogatory and prove to me that these image outlooks are still used to this day.
Through time, the view of the black race has been changing through the eyes of different people. Though the view has changed, the ideas of the past and negitive ideas are still present. Though many do not express them, they are still present in the minds of many. These past ideas were mostly negitive toward the black race. Ideas such as the idea that black men were careless and always happy and singing instead of being productive. Ideas that the black women were all the “mammy” type, willing to do anything for anyone just to make them happy, and that they were happy to do the dirty work and take care of those who don’t care about them. They general idea for quite a time, was that the black man was a lazy carefree man who was only productive in being happy about life. “Birth of a Nation” the video, has random people take on the roles of black people by using what is called “black face”. Black face was when any person, black or white, would paint their faces black and take on the role of the “Sambo”. Even when the person playing the role was black, they were made to paint their face even blacker and to use other make-up to create a larger looking mouth to create that large smile idea.
This video seemed to bring out a few main points. One of these points being that blacks were seen as savages still. Many had still seen them as uncivilized and unable to be productive in anything they do. The other key point that was expressed was that blacks were happy servants. This was a crude and untrue stereotype that slaves were happy. Obviously the image of the “Sambo” lead many whites and others who looked upon these ideas to perceive them as true. But in reality, the blacks were not happy, but the exact opposite. They were in a struggle to stay happy, and always looking out for a way to gain freedom that could lead them to happiness.
Are these images still present today? Yes as a matter of fact they are. If you look around the media, sometimes cartoons, they often still portray they black man as the “sambo”. Also, if you would look out in stores, and look at certain food labels, you may notice that “uncle bens rice” still shows the face of “uncle ben”. In relation to that, Aunt Jemima is still portrayed on the syrup containers. All of these examples proving that, although not as extreme, these images are still present today.
I found this film to be very informational to me personally. I personally have used “Aunt Jemima” syrup many times, and have never paid attention to the image portrayed. This video opened my eyes, and has me noticing things that I have not noticed before about some of my old favorite cartoons and other media items. I realize that these images are derogatory and prove to me that these image outlooks are still used to this day.
A challenge to democracy
This film “A Challenge to Democracy” was a very interesting film. From the beginning of the film it was very clear that the idea was to try to justify what the Americans had done to the Japanese and the internment camps during world war two. The film was very misleading, and seemed to have the goal of convincing the world, and the Americans that what we had done to the Japanese was not as horrible as it was made out to be. The removal of the Japanese from their homes, into internment camps was an unjust thing to do, and the American government knew it, thus they felt a need to justify it.
To begin the film, the creators immediately mislead the public. They immediately state that the reason for removal of the Japanese into camps was for their safety. Stating that it was due to military hazard and that there was a major threat of invasion. Many chose to believe that they were removed due to their threat to the United States, and because they Japanese were disloyal. This can be proven to be untrue. Of the many who were relocated, 100000 to be exact, almost two thirds of them were legally American citizens. Despite this fact, they were still removed from their homes and placed in communities far away from their homes. There were about 10 of these major communities all over, mostly located in the middle of nowhere, like desert areas. Wire fences surrounded these communities they were living in as if it were a prison. A whole family was given a small living space to live in with only few supplies, such as: stove, pots, light bulb, mattresses and some blankets. They were provided with places for some recreational freedom, but nothing near what they were used to before. The movie states that they were fed within the communities, but they were only fed in small rations. They were provided with some sort of school system, church services, and their own government within each community. Through all of this they could still not be paid as highly as they were able to when they were home. Even those who were professionals in important fields, such as medicine, were only paid around 19 dollars a month. Though after a while some began to leave the camps, only families who were allowed by the government could do so. These people were seen by the government to have proven in some way, their loyalty to the United States, thus showing no threat toward the government. From the reading of Takaki, he ended talking about how the Japanese had hard times integrating into the American culture and society and how those hopes were devastated by Pearl Harbor. This film seems to build on that toward the end while talking about how many were able to work their way back in and into respectable positions after being treated unfairly and placed in camps. The Japanese have had a lot of overcoming to do, just as many other races have in the United States, and this film expresses more about what they went through to achieve what they have to this day.
How does this film show what the U.S government would go through to make everything just? I think that this film shows that the U.S government is willing to “sugar coat” the reality, to make it more appealing to the public. Obviously what the government had done was unjust and unfair to the Japanese, making crude assumptions that just because a person is part of a race, they are connected with the wrong doings of everyone else in the race. This all relates to the video “ethnic notions” and how there were some assumptions that just because a certain few blacks were the stereotypical “sambo”, the rest of the race was viewed as this too. And the stereotypical “nanny” or “big mamma” figure of the black lady is seen the same way. So what I think is that the U.S has trouble throughout history with refraining from making these assumptions, leading them into situations where what they do is unfair.
In conclusion, I would like to say that the film was a very good example of how the U.S, throughout history has tried to sugar coat things to make the country as a whole not look as bad for its mistakes. Everyone in my eyes is going to make mistakes, and I just believe that it is better for them to except their wrongdoings, than to hide behind a blanket of lies. This is a sort of one-sided view, both from my own perspective, and from the video, yet I think its something we should all think about. Still to this day, our government has a lot to learn about not making assumptions and giving in to generalizations.
To begin the film, the creators immediately mislead the public. They immediately state that the reason for removal of the Japanese into camps was for their safety. Stating that it was due to military hazard and that there was a major threat of invasion. Many chose to believe that they were removed due to their threat to the United States, and because they Japanese were disloyal. This can be proven to be untrue. Of the many who were relocated, 100000 to be exact, almost two thirds of them were legally American citizens. Despite this fact, they were still removed from their homes and placed in communities far away from their homes. There were about 10 of these major communities all over, mostly located in the middle of nowhere, like desert areas. Wire fences surrounded these communities they were living in as if it were a prison. A whole family was given a small living space to live in with only few supplies, such as: stove, pots, light bulb, mattresses and some blankets. They were provided with places for some recreational freedom, but nothing near what they were used to before. The movie states that they were fed within the communities, but they were only fed in small rations. They were provided with some sort of school system, church services, and their own government within each community. Through all of this they could still not be paid as highly as they were able to when they were home. Even those who were professionals in important fields, such as medicine, were only paid around 19 dollars a month. Though after a while some began to leave the camps, only families who were allowed by the government could do so. These people were seen by the government to have proven in some way, their loyalty to the United States, thus showing no threat toward the government. From the reading of Takaki, he ended talking about how the Japanese had hard times integrating into the American culture and society and how those hopes were devastated by Pearl Harbor. This film seems to build on that toward the end while talking about how many were able to work their way back in and into respectable positions after being treated unfairly and placed in camps. The Japanese have had a lot of overcoming to do, just as many other races have in the United States, and this film expresses more about what they went through to achieve what they have to this day.
How does this film show what the U.S government would go through to make everything just? I think that this film shows that the U.S government is willing to “sugar coat” the reality, to make it more appealing to the public. Obviously what the government had done was unjust and unfair to the Japanese, making crude assumptions that just because a person is part of a race, they are connected with the wrong doings of everyone else in the race. This all relates to the video “ethnic notions” and how there were some assumptions that just because a certain few blacks were the stereotypical “sambo”, the rest of the race was viewed as this too. And the stereotypical “nanny” or “big mamma” figure of the black lady is seen the same way. So what I think is that the U.S has trouble throughout history with refraining from making these assumptions, leading them into situations where what they do is unfair.
In conclusion, I would like to say that the film was a very good example of how the U.S, throughout history has tried to sugar coat things to make the country as a whole not look as bad for its mistakes. Everyone in my eyes is going to make mistakes, and I just believe that it is better for them to except their wrongdoings, than to hide behind a blanket of lies. This is a sort of one-sided view, both from my own perspective, and from the video, yet I think its something we should all think about. Still to this day, our government has a lot to learn about not making assumptions and giving in to generalizations.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Chapter 10 Takaki
This chapter is a ver expressive chapter. It expresses a lot about how Asians were treated in America and Hawaii. But its primary focus was on the racial discrimination of the Japanese in America and of people and their inability to merge successfully into the American culture.
The chapter opens by informing the reader about the sudden merger of Japanese immigrants into the United States. The main reason for this sudden “flooding” of Japanese into the U.S was because they were trying to get away from the “economic hardships” of their culture and their country overall. Those who chose to work on plantations in America were able to make almost 6 times the amount that they could have made in Japan. This making for a good catalyst for more and more of them to continue to come over and apply their labor here. The immigration of the Japanese was different from that of the Chinese because the Japanese tended to immigrate in families and not just for the good of one individual. Though they were paid more, they still were discriminated against and worked unfairly. A lot of those immigrants who come here ended up working in Hawaii on sugar plantations. Here they were discriminated against, through work and pay. People of other groups were found to be getting paid more for doing the same work and the same amount of it. The plantation owners tried to prevent strikes on the wage differation by separating the workers into different areas and not allowing them all to be in one area at the same time. Many women began to get frustrated as well because of the fact that they went out and did the same kind of work just as well as anyone else and yet they were still paid less for the same work. This raised a lot of commotion but not a whole lot was ever done about it. Many Japanese decided to try to become farmers on their own to get away from the discrimination and everything, but even though they were able to start and run their own farms, they still were able to gain no respect from others.
Takaki also talked about how many Japanese who were born of split heritage (American/ Japanese) were still often considered only Japanese because of their unwillingness to let go of their Japanese heritage.
What have we done to change the way the Japanese were treated when they came over to the Americas? We are still dealing with a lot of discrimination against Japanese in America. This discrimination isn’t nearly as bad as it was at first, but like the discrimination against many other groups, there are still those people out there who have held on to the old ways. I do think though in many ways, we have progressed. There are many companies that have become well known and Japanese based that have become very popular with the world. A few good examples being: Honda, Suzuki, and Kawasaki. These mainly being motor vehicle based, but that is a very important part to out society today.
This information from chapter ten was rather interesting to me. I personally was not aware that all that discrimination went on when they first came here. I was aware that they had come over, and that at one point after Pearl Harbor they were put into camps, but nothing like this had ever been told to me.
The chapter opens by informing the reader about the sudden merger of Japanese immigrants into the United States. The main reason for this sudden “flooding” of Japanese into the U.S was because they were trying to get away from the “economic hardships” of their culture and their country overall. Those who chose to work on plantations in America were able to make almost 6 times the amount that they could have made in Japan. This making for a good catalyst for more and more of them to continue to come over and apply their labor here. The immigration of the Japanese was different from that of the Chinese because the Japanese tended to immigrate in families and not just for the good of one individual. Though they were paid more, they still were discriminated against and worked unfairly. A lot of those immigrants who come here ended up working in Hawaii on sugar plantations. Here they were discriminated against, through work and pay. People of other groups were found to be getting paid more for doing the same work and the same amount of it. The plantation owners tried to prevent strikes on the wage differation by separating the workers into different areas and not allowing them all to be in one area at the same time. Many women began to get frustrated as well because of the fact that they went out and did the same kind of work just as well as anyone else and yet they were still paid less for the same work. This raised a lot of commotion but not a whole lot was ever done about it. Many Japanese decided to try to become farmers on their own to get away from the discrimination and everything, but even though they were able to start and run their own farms, they still were able to gain no respect from others.
Takaki also talked about how many Japanese who were born of split heritage (American/ Japanese) were still often considered only Japanese because of their unwillingness to let go of their Japanese heritage.
What have we done to change the way the Japanese were treated when they came over to the Americas? We are still dealing with a lot of discrimination against Japanese in America. This discrimination isn’t nearly as bad as it was at first, but like the discrimination against many other groups, there are still those people out there who have held on to the old ways. I do think though in many ways, we have progressed. There are many companies that have become well known and Japanese based that have become very popular with the world. A few good examples being: Honda, Suzuki, and Kawasaki. These mainly being motor vehicle based, but that is a very important part to out society today.
This information from chapter ten was rather interesting to me. I personally was not aware that all that discrimination went on when they first came here. I was aware that they had come over, and that at one point after Pearl Harbor they were put into camps, but nothing like this had ever been told to me.
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