Friday 21 September 2012

The Fallacy of "Race" and the Continuing Apartheid In Hollywood Casting


The Inbetweeners: Review By Francislholland

Anyone not white in this movie?
  • OVERALL
    5.0
    SUPERB
  • Story
  • Acting
  • Directing
  • Visuals
Hmm. Is the cast of this movie all-white? Was it made during apartheid, or was it made by people whose minds are still living in apartheid.

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the all-white movie post isn't indicative of an all-white film. Maybe it just seems that way.

Do you like this review?


  1. Unabomber, I think you're right. People have been obsessed with this "race" thing ever since they invented the word to embody all of their color-aroused antagonistic attitudes associated with skin color. Once the concept was invented, it became like an open source code to which everyone with a color-aroused feeling, a color-aroused thought and/or a color-aroused behavior could add something. Like apps for Android, over the last 400 years many people and institutions have conceived of reasons to add to this open source code and many of them have developed killer applications that have dominated the human mind. They have created a virtual world that seems so real that it has become virtually impossible for us to remember and recognize that this virtual world is entirely of "our" (humans') own creation.

    Every time any of us uses the word "race," we contribute something to the open source code of "race."

    "Race" is actually the furthest thing there is from science. Skin color, like any other color, such as a paint chip from our house, can be measured scientifically and can even be designated with reference to numbers in the Internet Color Chart -- the one that HTML coders use to make colors appear in web pages. Skin color is knowable. The only way that most of us can change the reality of a skin color is by mating with someone of a different skin color.

    However, any one of us can contribute to the open source code of "race," and to perceptions about what "race is," just by sharing and promoting ideas about it, e.g. on the Internet. "Race" is and "race" becomes whatever most people, or people most in power, believe it to be, subject to how it is used. In that sense, concepts of "race" are the furthest thing there is from a science, because "race" exists only in our minds. People who study "race" are not studying the natural world; they are studying human emotions and beliefs and the behaviors that result from these emotions and beliefs.

    Like Pokemon characters, the content of "race" is ever-changing and is as variable as the human imagination.
    seconds agoby @francislhollandDelete
  2. @francislholland I think I understand where you are heading, however, I think that maybe officially, "race" may not exist, seeing as though we are all the same on the inside, having the same organs, and the power to think and move. But, at the same time, I think people came up with the word "race" more to decipher the difference in skin color, perhaps. I feel that this was started back in the days when people were more "racist" than they are now.
    7 hours ago
  3. Thank you, Unabomber, in most respects.

    You say that "race does exist until all skin colors are the same." You also say that you know that "race" exists because your own skin is white.

    But, how does the fact that skin color exists prove that "race" exists? It seems to me that your proof of the existence of skin color only proves the existence of skin color.

    If I say that I know the Easter bunny exists because I have owned a bunny and I have seen many bunnies, then you might rightfully respond that the existence of bunnies does not prove the existence of Easter bunnies. That's true.

    Likewise, the existence of women not prove the existence of mermaids or Mary Poppins.

    The existence of skin color does not prove the existence of "race" anymore than the existence of tall people proves the existence of a "tall race." The existence of short people does not prove the existence of a short "race," and the existence of brown people does not prove the existence of a brown "race."

    Sorry to repeat myself, but evidence of the existence of white skin simply proves the existence of white skin.
    8 hours ago
  4. @mcleve02 haha check this out... @francislholland I was totally being sarcastic. However, race does exist until all skin colors are the same. Ok, according to the US Department of Energy's Human Race Genome Project, or whatever, race does not exist. However, I am white, therefore not of the "African American" "race". At least it looks like you've done your homework, and are not just some moron. Anyways, as for the review, I would explain a little more than just the "race" the movie has. You seem to be a decent writer, seeing as how that comment below is longer than your review.
    8 hours ago
  5. I never said the movie was "racist." "Race" doesn't even exist, as the US Department of Energy's Human Genome Project has proved.

    "Race" is actually the most discussed scientific concept that has no basis whatsoever in science. And since "race" has been proved not to exist, therefore we have to accept the necessity of giving up the word "racist," since "racism" can only exist if "race," itself did.

    Now, were the people who made the movie aroused in favor of white male actors and against other skin colors when they were choosing the actors? If you look at virtually all of the comedies that you find when looking for "comedies of 2012" and "comedies of 2011," a stunning number of them simply don't have a single person who is not white in the publicity poster.

    I wouldn't ban movies such as this. But, I think that those who produced it ought to be liable for employment discrimination if it can be shown (e.g. by the fact of having an all-white cast in a country that is 35% beige and brown) that they engaged in discrimination on the basis of skin color when selecting the cast.

    The solution is not to ban the movie. The solution is to toughen laws against color-based discrimination and apartheid while absolutely refusing to see movies that have all-white casts.
    15 hours ago
  6. @The-Unabomber He isn't right... have you noticed how all his f*cking reviews have been based on race...

    Yes I agree this is a sh*tty movie, but it's not racist... seriously why the f*ck is everything about race with you... seriously knock it the f*ck off... People are not being racist don't bring that bullsh*t to this damn site... No one here wants to hear it!
    21 hours ago
  7. If you are right, then this movie is obviously racist and should be banned.
The following comments, pasted here in no particular order, are from a MovieWeb conversation that ensued when I asserted that the movie to the left seems to be an apartheid flick, since apparent, from the movie poster, all of the main characters are white in a nation where 35% of the populace is not white.  For that matter, it seems also to be misogynist, since the only people shown in full on the poster are white men, while only the women's legs are fully show, making them only incidental to the white men's experiences.

Francislholland Thank you, Unabomber, in most respects. You say that "race does exist until all skin colors are the same." You also say that you know that "race" exists because your own skin is white. But, how does the fact that skin color exists prove that "race" exists? It seems to me that your proof of the existence of skin color only proves the existence of skin color. If I say that I know the Easter bunny exists because I have owned a bunny and I have seen many bunnies, then you might rightfully respond that the existence of bunnies does not prove the existence of Easter bunnies. That's true. Likewise, the existence of women not prove the existence of mermaids or Mary Poppins. The existence of skin color does not prove the existence of "race" anymore than the existence of tall people proves the existence of a "tall race." The existence of short people does not prove the existence of a short "race," and the existence of brown people does not prove the existence of a brown "race." Sorry to repeat myself, but evidence of the existence of white skin simply proves the existence of white skin. seconds ago The Unabomber @mcleve02 haha check this out... @francislholland I was totally being sarcastic. However, race does exist until all skin colors are the same. Ok, according to the US Department of Energy's Human Race Genome Project, or whatever, race does not exist. However, I am white, therefore not of the "African American" "race". At least it looks like you've done your homework, and are not just some moron. Anyways, as for the review, I would explain a little more than just the "race" the movie has. You seem to be a decent writer, seeing as how that comment below is longer than your review. 44 minutes ago Francislholland I never said the movie was "racist." "Race" doesn't even exist, as the US Department of Energy's Human Genome Project has proved. "Race" is actually the most discussed scientific concept that has no basis whatsoever in science. And since "race" has been proved not to exist, therefore we have to accept the necessity of giving up the word "racist," since "racism" can only exist if "race," itself did. Now, were the people who made the movie aroused in favor of white male actors and against other skin colors when they were choosing the actors? If you look at virtually all of the comedies that you find when looking for "comedies of 2012" and "comedies of 2011," a stunning number of them simply don't have a single person who is not white in the publicity poster. I wouldn't ban movies such as this. But, I think that those who produced it ought to be liable for employment discrimination if it can be shown (e.g. by the fact of having an all-white cast in a country that is 35% beige and brown) that they engaged in discrimination on the basis of skin color when selecting the cast. The solution is not to ban the movie. The solution is to toughen laws against color-based discrimination and apartheid while absolutely refusing to see movies that have all-white casts. 8 hours ago THE JOKER @The-Unabomber He isn't right... have you noticed how all his f*cking reviews have been based on race... Yes I agree this is a sh*tty movie, but it's not racist... seriously why the f*ck is everything about race with you... seriously knock it the f*ck off... People are not being racist don't bring that bullsh*t to this damn site... No one here wants to hear it! 13 hours agoby @mcleve02Flag The Unabomber If you are right, then this movie is obviously racist and should be banned. 24 hours ago