MM 100: Chapter 7 Critical Thinking Exercise

Directions: After reading the prompt below, write a 300 – 350-word essay as a response. I want to see three main points in your essay. Each point should be addressed thoughtfully and completely. 

THIS IS A FORMAL ESSAY. This means I don’t want to see bad grammar or poor spelling. Do not write it like a blog entry or a text message and do NOT leave the questions you should answer in your essay.

Double-space your assignments ALWAYS. They should also be written in Times New Roman, Calibri, or Cambria only at 12-point font. You WILL lose points for not following these directions.

As always, late assignments are not accepted.

Prompt:

This prompt comes from this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XebG4TO_xss

Think about famous movies that you have seen that have a White hero or heroine and a secondary character that is another race. What characteristics do the heroes/heroines have that the secondary character of another race does not? How can you tell? What actions make these people the stars of the films they are in? Now think about this – what if all of the heroes/heroines and the secondary characters of another race were given reverse roles? How would that change the movie? What do we lose as a society when we show White people the majority of the time as the heroes/heroines and other races as secondary characters? What lessons does this teach our society and especially people who do not have the ability to think critically about race and power? Explore these ideas fully.