On Violence, Stereotypes, and Film

Lisa’s post on Mel Gibson got me thinking…I agree that there is a symbiotic relationship between “our cultural manifestation” (e.g., film) and our “depravity” (e.g., aggression, violence) so that it is not entirely Mel Gibson who should be blamed for all the gore and violence we see in his films. There is a demand for violence among his viewers. After all, like any other art form, film is a medium that both mirrors society as well as shapes it. Watching Gibson’s Passion revealed not only a particular interpretation of Jesus (and the Jews) but gave us a glimpse of Gibson’s own tortured, possibly violent soul and his anti-Semitic leanings. Sometimes we create God in our own image, and the same can be said about movies that both reflect and perpetuate our own violence and/or stereotypes.

Speaking of perpetuating stereotypes in the media…As an Asian American consumer of film/media, I recently discovered a new way to combat negative stereotypes of Asians in the media and mainstream culture. I bought a digital camcorder not long ago and a PC editing software and decided to make my own videos! It is very amateurish, but I’d like to take this opportunity to showcase my humble 3-minute video entitled “Perpetual Foreigner” which is a short video about stereotypes. It was given rave reviews by some notable critics (i.e., my mother and my 7 year old niece). I hope you enjoy it too.

Comments

[Reyes-Chow]

I saw this short film. Well done, Phil is far to humble. You can a
"your pastor" to the list of people how gave it rave reviews. I would be honored to share the list with mom and niece ;-)

[Derrick Weston]

that was hilarious! and also very profound. Great work. We should do a project together sometime.

[Phil]

Thanks Bruce, Derrick...a project sounds good, but from now on no more kung-fu outfits for me.