Clearly, I'm not a daily blogger kinda guy! Well, I spend enough time on the computer as it is, so blogging is low on my list of priorities. But lately, a number of things have coincided to stir the old blogging juices once again.
One of those is the summer movie season - usually a season pretty devoid of interest unless you like to watch stuff blow up. However, the recent release of "The Help" has generated a storm of controversy, recently analyzed by A. O. Scott at the NY Times. One of my facebook friends was irate at the positive spin this movie was receiving, and posted a critical review. The review, as you can see if you follow my link, was entitled "The Help" - a feel good movie for white people. I thought the review was good and raised some important points. A. O. Scott in his analysis contends that the director intended to raise the issues noted in the critical review. Since I haven't seen the movie yet, I'll withhold judgment - but the issues are important and won't go away.
Last year, it was "The Blind Side" that stirred this kind of thing in me. I rated it as a "good" movie but couldn't help noting that one could view it as patronizing. Is the only way out of dire circumstance for people of color due to some kind-hearted white folks? We watched "Precious" recently and my wife said afterward "I wonder if some republican was behind the production of this movie" - because one could look at it as "proof" of the evils of the welfare state.
It is very difficult to have an honest discussion about "race" in this country (or maybe any country). However, as a science type, I'd like to point out what evolution tells us about "race".
What we've learned from evolution is that all modern humans sprang from a single population that lived about 75,000 years ago. What we've learned from evolution is that the genetic diversity of what we might regard as a "race" is just as great as the genetic diversity of the whole species. What we've learned from evolution about human races is that the superficial differences between what we like to call "races" are just that - superficial.
I find that very hopeful. At some future point, perhaps we can move beyond "race" and start to think in much more inclusive terms.
