Racism Exists in American Culture

Florida students use a " hatchet chop" to intimidate opposing teams and fans, with their hardinesss covered in war-paint. much(prenominal) images reinforce the notion that Native Americans are savages. To see the superstition such stereotypical portrayals of Native Americans represents, Dr. Richard Lapchick, of Northeastern University, provides a comparison, "Could you presuppose people mocking African Americans in black face at a jeopardize? You go to a game where there is a team with an Indian name and you pass on see fans with war paint on their faces. Is this not the akin to black face" (Native 1)?

A more subtle entirely perhaps more pernicious form of racism is attest in the Disney scud Pocahontas. Racism often attempts to distort history from the perspective of dominant races that control social institutions. In the film Pocahontas, Chief Roy Crazy Horse (47) argues the film not just when relies on a conventional racist portrayal of whites

and Indians but also distorts history, "Not only is the ?good Indian/bad Indian theme' inevitably minded(p) new life by Disney, but the history, as put down by the English themselves, is badly falsified in the name of ?entertainment.

'" The touchable story of Pocahontas includes her people's betrayal by John Smith and the withaltual(prenominal) decimation of their lands and culture. Such distortions serve to educate children and another(prenominal)s in ways that uphold racism from one generation to the next.

Chief Roy Crazy Horse. "The Pocahontas Myth." In Wyle, Susan, Edit. Revisiting America: Readings in Race, Culture, and Conflict. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/ prentice Hall, 2004, 47-49.

"Native American Mascots Big Issue in College Sports." Tolerance.Org: A Web Project of the Southern Poverty Law Center. . 9 May, 2001. 27 January 2006, 1-2.

In her essay on the Disney film, Jacquelyn Kilpatrick argues that film is even more effective in influencing the thinking and attitudes of people than other forms of media. Instead of providing a true image of Pocahontas and her relationship with Smith, the "Romeo an
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