Mass Incarceration In The Age of Colorblindness Discussion
The Hate U Give
Introduction:
This report will critically analyse the societal problems “The Hate U Give” attempts to solve. The film is based on a novel by Angie Thomas, published in 2017, and George Tillman Jr. directed it. It draws attention to the problem of systematic racism in the United States and police violence. This research examines racism, power imbalances, and police violence against African American citizens. The report will employ the sociological imagination (Germov & Poole, 2019) as a concept and instrument to critically assess the social issue, including historical ramifications, social structures, cultural implications, and what change could be needed to fix the situation. It looks at how different groups’ reactions to an event affected their ideas and beliefs about African Americans. Through this film we can get insight into the motivations behind the behaviours of others. (Germov & Poole, 2019) The Sociological Imagination is a framework that C. Wright Mills developed to understand the critical connections between our individual experiences and our larger social realities. Although the picture depicts the typical themes associated with films starring a predominantly black cast (ghetto, lower-middle class, violent, etc.), it does it uniquely. Mass Incarceration In The Age of Colorblindness Discussion
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Film:
Starr, the protagonist, is a black American student attending a predominantly white boarding school. Her white boyfriend and a group of white pals attend the same school. Her childhood acquaintance, a young black American man, also lives in her community. The cops brutally kill the boy, and this tragedy drives the plot. Starr is forced to decide whether to give evidence after realising that her “friends” aren’t her friends, and the police aren’t doing anything to help. The youngster who was killed belonged to the gang. Hence this choice is affected by the group’s connection. Starr channels her rage and frustration towards persuading the general population that their problem-solving methods are flawed and that violence and conflict must end. The issue of racism in the United States has always been there, but it has received increased attention in recent years. Indeed, the Black Lives Matter movement is one of the most significant events of 2020. Black Americans have watched or experienced criminal injustices, and this film shows the authority that police hold. There has been a rise in demonstrations and other efforts to promote equality. Several recent and historical examples of police brutality have led to calls for the prosecution of officers who were responsible for the victims’ injuries or deaths. The Hate U Give portrays and evokes feelings awakened to those experienced by someone who went through something similar. Mass Incarceration In The Age of Colorblindness Discussion
Social Issues:
Police brutality:
The main social issue that is dealt with in The Hate U Give is police brutality against African Americans in the United States. The film shows anguish and terror. Black people feel when interacting with law enforcement through Starr’s character. Racism and discrimination are structural problems in the criminal justice system, not merely local ones like police brutality. The film shows that black individuals are more likely to be stopped, searched, arrested, and given longer prison sentences than white people.
As far back as the slave patrols of the 18th and 19th centuries, the United States has a history of police violence towards African people. It is well known that these patrols, which were meant to keep track of and control the movements of enslaved Africans, were harsh. The civil rights movement of the 20th century brought attention to police brutality, and in the 1960s, there was a big push to stop the violence. Problems exist even now, as evidenced by the 2020 shooting of George Floyd, a black man whose death brought widespread attention to the continued use of excessive force by law enforcement officers against black individuals. Mass Incarceration In The Age of Colorblindness Discussion
The socioeconomic structure of the United States is built on a history of racial discrimination and inequality, both of which contribute to the problem of police brutality. All parts of the criminal justice system, from the police to the courts to prisons, have racial differences firmly rooted in this socioeconomic framework. This system contributes to the over-policing of black neighbourhoods, the racial profiling of black citizens, and the excessive use of force by law enforcement.
Police brutality against black people has profound cultural repercussions. African Americans’ mental health is uniquely affected by the trauma and fears they feel when dealing with law enforcement. The criminal justice system reinforces a culture of dehumanisation and marginalisation by sending the message that black lives do not matter. Negative depictions of black people in the news and entertainment media contribute to the stigmatisation of the black community and help perpetuate this culture.
Police brutality against black people has profound cultural repercussions. African Americans’ mental health is uniquely affected by the trauma and fears they feel when dealing with law enforcement. A culture of dehumanisation and marginalisation is maintained by the criminal justice system’s message that black lives do not matter. Negative depictions of black people in the news and entertainment media contribute to the stigmatisation of the black community and help perpetuate this culture.
Power imbalance:
A power imbalance exists when one social group or individual enjoys disproportionate influence in terms of resources, opportunities, and decision-making power. Systemic inequalities and the marginalisation of some groups may be reinforced as a result. In “The Hate U Give,” police brutality and the criminal justice system are shown to be important sites of power imbalance.
Starr, the protagonist of “The Hate U Give,” witnesses the white police officer who shoots and kills her black friend Khalil. This incident exemplifies the disparity in power between the police officer and the victim, who is black and unarmed and posed no immediate threat. The trial that followed showed how the justice system can be biassed against black people, especially those with prior convictions or ties to criminal gangs. The shooting of Khalil and the broader issue of police brutality sparks a series of protests and rallies that play out over the course of the film. These happenings show how social movements and other forms of collective action can be used to challenge power imbalances and draw attention to systemic inequalities. Mass Incarceration In The Age of Colorblindness Discussion
To grasp the significance of the power dynamic in “The Hate U Give,” one must use sociological imagination. The ability to see how larger social structures and historical processes shape individual experiences is what sociologists call “sociological imagination.” When analysing “The Hate U Give,” a sociological imagination can shed light on how racism and classism, among other systemic inequalities, contribute to power imbalances and shape individual experiences. The film focuses on how social stratification contributes to individuals’ perceptions of privilege or disadvantage.
The issue of power imbalance and its sociological implications can be studied in greater depth by consulting various scholarly sources. The article “Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex” by Kimberlé Crenshaw is a prime example of the intersectional approach used to better understand and address structural inequalities. The article “The Mark of a Criminal Record” by Devah Pager analyses how having a criminal record can prevent people, especially those from underrepresented groups, from obtaining employment. Michelle Alexander’s “The New Jim Crow” describes how the criminal justice system is used for racial control, specifically how people of colour, especially black people, are disproportionately affected by mass incarceration. Colour-blind racism, defined by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva in his book of the same name, refers to maintaining racial inequalities through ostensibly colour-blind policies and practices.
The events in the film, especially those involving race and the legal system, illustrate the problem of power imbalance. They also show how ingrained beliefs and institutional practices can reinforce existing power dynamics. Power inequity is a problem in “The Hate U Give” and beyond, but with sociological imagination and the insights of scholarly sources, we can get a better grasp on the issue and work to fix it. Mass Incarceration In The Age of Colorblindness Discussion
Conclusion:
Ultimately, “The Hate U Give” is a movie that tackles critical social issues like racism, police brutality, and the Black Lives Matter movement. Anjelica Huston directed the film. Through the narrative of Starr’s life, the film demonstrates the destructive effects of racial injustice on individuals and racial injustice has on individuals as well as communities. Using sociological imagination, we can dig deeper into these problems and look at the historical, cultural, and structural factors that affect them. By doing in-depth research, we can understand the fundamental factors contributing to these problems and take steps to effect real change.
The Hate U Give is a powerful movie that draws attention to police brutality towards black people in the United States is “The Hate U Give.” The film focuses on the pain and terror felt by people of African descent due to their interactions with law enforcement through the character of Starr. The problem has its origins in the historical legacies of slavery and racism, and the social and cultural institutions of the United States help to ensure that it remains a problem today. To adequately address the issue of police brutality against individuals of African descent, there needs to be a fundamental transformation in how people think about, represent, and conceive of the events. Mass Incarceration In The Age of Colorblindness Discussion
References:
Smith, E. (2010). Alexander, Michelle. The new Jim Crow: mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness [Review of Alexander, Michelle. The new Jim Crow: mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness]. CHOICE: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, 48(3), 597–. American Library Association CHOICE.
https://primo.csu.edu.au/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=cdi_gale_lrcgauss_A249221684&context=PC&vid=61CSU_INST:61CSU&lang=en&search_scope=MyInst_and_CI&adaptor=Primo%20Central&tab=Everything&query=any,contains,Alexander%20%20M.%20(2010).%20The%20New%20Jim%20Crow:%20Mass%20Incarceration%20in%20the%20Age%20of%20Colorblindness.%20The%20New%20Press.&sortby=rank&offset=0
Andersen, M. L., Taylor, H. F. (2020). Sociology: The Essentials. Singapore: Cengage Learning Asia Pte Limited. Mass Incarceration In The Age of Colorblindness Discussion
Bonilla-Silva, E. (2013). Racism Without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in the United States [Review of Racism Without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in the United States]. Contemporary Sociology: A Journal of Reviews, 42(1), 31–40.
Chang, H. (2017). “The Hate U Give” Is a Black Lives Matter Movie You’ll Want to Watch.
https://www.romper.com/p/stream-the-hate-u-give-a-gripping-film-about-racial-injustice-for-free-22973191
Craven, C. (2018). Police Brutality and Systemic Racism are the Real Villains of “The Hate U Give.”
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5580266/
Dowie-Chin, Tianna, et al. “Whitewashing Through Film: How Educators Can Use Critical Race Media Literacy to Analyze Hollywood’s Adaptation of Angie Thomas’ The Hate U Give.” International Journal of Multicultural Education, vol. 22, no. 2, 2020, p. 129+. Gale Academic OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A637123496/AONE?u=lbcc&sid=AONE&xid=60a35c76. Accessed 17 March 2023
Germov, J., & Poole, M. (Eds.). (2019). Public Sociology: An introduction to Australian society (4th ed.). Routledge.
https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003116974
https://xyonline.net/sites/xyonline.net/files/2021-01/Coffey%2C%20Gender%20and%20Sexualities%202019.pdf
Kiang, Jessica. “Film Review: ‘The Hate You Give’.” Variety. Web. 8 Sep. 2018. https://variety.com/2018/film/reviews/the-hate-u-give-review-1202933118/. Accessed 10 Nov. 2020. Mass Incarceration In The Age of Colorblindness Discussion
Khan, S. (2019). The sociological imagination. In The Palgrave Handbook of Social Theory in Health, Illness and Medicine (pp. 181-195). Palgrave Macmillan.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/269106295_The_Palgrave_Handbook_of_Social_Theory_in_Health_Illness_and_Medicine
Germov, J., & Poole, M. (Eds.). (2019). Public Sociology: An introduction to Australian society (4th ed.). Routledge.
https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003116974
https://xyonline.net/sites/xyonline.net/files/2021-01/Coffey%2C%20Gender%20and%20Sexualities%202019.pdf
PAGER, D. (2003). The mark of a criminal records. The American Journal of Sociology, 108(5), 937–975.
https://web-s-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=0&sid=b64f601c-a701-4635-8ade-e5e017290a50%40redis
Smith, E. (2010). Alexander, Michelle. The new Jim Crow: mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness [Review of Alexander, Michelle. The new Jim Crow: mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness]. CHOICE: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, 48(3), 597–. American Library Association CHOICE.
https://primo.csu.edu.au/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=cdi_gale_lrcgauss_A249221684&context=PC&vid=61CSU_INST:61CSU&lang=en&search_scope=MyInst_and_CI&adaptor=Primo%20Central&tab=Everything&query=any,contains,Alexander%20%20M.%20(2010).%20The%20New%20Jim%20Crow:%20Mass%20Incarceration%20in%20the%20Age%20of%20Colorblindness.%20The%20New%20Press.&sortby=rank&offset=0 Mass Incarceration In The Age of Colorblindness Discussion
Staples, B. (2017). Book Review: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/31/books/angie-thomas-on-the-come-up-hate-you-give.html
The Hate U Give. (2018). [Film]. Directed by George Tillman Jr. 20th Century Fox
Thomas, A. (2017). The Hate U Give. HarperCollins Publishers.
Thomas, A. (2018). The Hate U Give. The Horn Book Magazine, 94(1), 44–45.
Vivar, M. T. H. (2011). Demarginalising the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Anti-discrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory, and Anti-racist Politics. In Framing Intersectionality (pp. 39–56). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315582924-10
Watch the film whilst thinking about the social issues that the film addresses. Use peer reviewed, scholarly, literature (a minimum of 4 sources), your Sociological Imagination, and the film to critically analyse the social issue/s the film addresses. Only identify one or two social issues of importance to write about. Research your chosen issue/s thoroughly. Write a 1,500 word report (donâ€
t let this scare you – the report is like a discussion with subheadings and the appropriate headings are outlined below). Mass Incarceration In The Age of Colorblindness Discussion
What you need to do:
Watch the film and take notes whilst wearing your sociological hat and applying your Sociological Imagination. A sociological perspective, as weâ€ve been learning, includes an awareness of, and ability to analyse the social world.
We recommend you only choose one or two social issues. These will be located in the film, and will stand out clearly i.e. heteronormativity and homophobia for Boy Erased; colonisation and racism for Mabo; gender inequality for Suffragette’s.
Use the Sociological Imagination as a concept and tool as you critically analyse social issues. This means using all four components to think about the chosen social issue – historical implications, social structures, cultural implications and what change might be needed to rectify the problem.
Go to the subject resources and the library and research the social issue you will be writing about – choose a minimum of 4 peer reviewed sources (journal articles or books or book chapters).
Write 1,500 word (plus references) film review and issue analysis report.
Writing the report. Use this format:
Introduction – this is where you set out what the paper will cover, tell the reader the title of the film, the main issues it covers and the issue you will discuss (200 words).
The film – provide a brief discussion/synopsis about the film – what is it about? Raise the social issues it deals with and how they are represented. The reader should get a good sense of the film synopsis without having watched it (300 words).
The social issue – use critical analysis to explore the issue. Critical analysis means you arenâ€t taking what you see on face value. An analysis of historical, structural, cultural and critical issues means you will say clearly in your work that you have considered each of these components. You will demonstrate that you have thought critically by considering all perspectives. You will not have sections or headings related to them but you will address them in the discussion. Remember, the social issues are located in the film. (800 words).
Conclusion – Remind the reader of the social themes in the movie, remind them about what the literature says about the social issues – remind them about your main point (200 words).
Handy hints and other stuff: Mass Incarceration In The Age of Colorblindness Discussion
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We have been learning about theory in lectures and modules – you may apply theory to the issue/s section i.e. class theory for films with themes of class relations will illuminate the issues and this will strengthen your work – therefore, using theory is recommended.
Film reviews are written in past tense.
In the social analysis section relate your discussion to the literature you collected – weave the issues raised in the film together with the scholarly literature – use the literature to explain the problem and analyse it.
You may go over or under the word limit by 10%.
Remember to reference the film using APA 7 – how to do so will be demonstrated in tutorials. Mass Incarceration In The Age of Colorblindness Discussion