The Color of Fear

I enjoyed this film more than I thought I would. My initial thought was that this was going to be a boring discussion about racism. However, this film turned out to be very interesting and brought up great points about race. The scene that stood out to me the most was the conversation between Victor and David. Victor talked about how being American equals being white. To become an American you have to give up your ethnicity and culture. Just as we talked about in class, the United States is a melting pot and in that pot everybody becomes the same. Victor also talked about how white people always want people of color to be more human and act like them. In other words, to be human is equal to being white in this sense. David could not understand the concept of white privilege and said he never felt special just because he was white. David refused to listen because he did not want to listen or realize what his people have done to people of color. David had not yet "waken up white". "... I did little to improve the world but instead help to make it and unwelcoming, uncomfortable, and unfriendly place for some" (Arminio, 124). His lack of cooperation led Victor to getting angry and yelling at David. This seemed to be the only way to get the point across to David. When other people tried talking to him it would go in one ear and out the other. By the end of the film everyone had changed in some way. David came to realize his white privileged and in general everyone gained a better respect for the different races.