Diversity Cinema: The Color of Fear 2: Walking each Other Home

The Color of Fear is an insightful, groundbreaking film by Lee Mun Wah, about the state of race relations in America as seen through the eyes of eight North American men of Asian, European, Latino and African descent. In a series of intelligent, emotional and dramatic confrontations the men reveal the pain and scars that racism has caused them. What emerges is a deeper sense of understanding and trust. This is the dialogue most of us fear, but hope will happen sometime in our lifetime. (running time: 55 minutes)

The sequel to the original Color of Fear, explores the intimate relationships amongst the men as well as answering the question, “What can whites do to end racism?” The answer to that question, and many others, are explored in this fascinating conclusion to one of the most explosive films on race issues in the United States.

This is a hard film to watch, chew, swallow, and to finally digest. If you have not been privileged enough to self-reflect on your personal prejudice, you may not be ready to see this film. Thanks to a professor of mine, Dr. Brad Hall, at the University of New Mexico, I was forced to investigate my personal prejudice. Although initially, I thought I had nothing to write about, the process exposed a number of cultural and ethnic prejudices that had somehow been deeply engrained within me. Fortunately, I have a great kung-fu grip on the ugliness and it rarely, if ever, raises its ugly head. However, I know it is there! I am aware of it and I consciously control it. If you have not performed this exercise, I highly recommend that everyone write a page or two of your personal prejudice and then try to understand where the prejudice comes from. This is a great personal exercise to accomplish before watching the “Color of Fear 2.”

White people may in fact be offended by the attacks on them referred to as “White Supremacy” in the film. Be aware and open to the view points of the color of fear. Do not take the attacks personal, but rather digest them and entertain them to discover how other people feel. Take a moment to walk in the shoes of a Japanese-American, two African-American, a Mexican-American, and a Latino-American. Listen to the stories, the fears, the reality, of other individuals living in America. Do not judge, learn.

Elizabeth Martinez defines White Supremacy as, “White Supremacy is a historically based,
institutionally perpetuated system of exploitation and oppression of continents, nations, and
peoples of color by white peoples and nations of the European continent, for the purpose of
maintaining and defending a system of wealth, power, and privilege.”  This definition can be
rewritten many times. It appears to me that the human being regardless of ethnicity has a need
for hierarchy which perpetuates some form of supremacy. Here are four ethnic groups chosen
as they are portrayed in the film:

“African Supremacy is a historically based, institutionally perpetuated system of exploitation
and oppression of the African continent, nation, and African people… African supremacy is for
the purpose of maintaining and defending a system of wealth, power, and privilege.” For example,
Africans sold other Africans into slavery.

“Chinese Supremacy is a historically based, institutionally perpetuated system of exploitation
and oppression of their continent, nation, and people… Chinese supremacy is for the purpose of
maintaining and defending a system of wealth, power, and privilege.” 

“Japanese Supremacy is a historically based, institutionally perpetuated system of exploitation
and oppression of continents, nations, and people… Japanese supremacy is for the purpose of
maintaining and defending a system of wealth, power, and privilege.” For example, ask the
Chinese.

“Spanish Supremacy is a historically based, institutionally perpetuated system of exploitation
and oppression of continents, nations, and people… Spanish supremacy is for the purpose of
maintaining and defending a system of wealth, power, and privilege.” For example, ask the
American Indians with their feet missing. 

All cultures and world continents are guilty of perpetuating some form of supremacy.

If you watch the full feature, you have accomplished a great thing. By watching the full 55 minutes, you will prove that you are able to objectively hear the voice of others (very important in cultural understanding). Whether you agree or not, is not the issue, it is the action you made to take the time to hear what others are trying to teach you. Awareness is the key to understanding.

My personal critique of the film includes the following. Where is the American Indian representation? Where is the American woman? Who are these men being portrayed? How were they chosen to represent there ethnic peers? What is their socioeconomic status?

Diversity films are similar to mathematical statistics as they can be skewed to represent the presenter’s case. However, I do not deny the fact that privilege is reality.