The Color of Fear

The Color of Fear. 90 minutes. 1994. Purchase from Stir Fry Productions, 1222 Preservation Park Way, Oakland, CA 94612. Institutions $450, individuals $225. [phone].

The Color of Fear is an upfront, honest, and nuanced discussion of race and ethnicity in America. For the producer and participant, Lee Mun Wah, a Chinese American, the film represents an emotional message to his deceased father and others that talking about racial issues is a healthy alternative to racist divisiveness. For students and teachers, this film captures many of the most current and compelling debates on race. Wah brings eight racially and ethnically diverse people together to attend a retreat:

(1) "American" of English and Danish ancestry

(2) Latino with a Mexican father and Irish mother

(3) African American of African and distant Cherokee descent

(4) third generation Japanese American man

(5) seventh generation Euro-American with Scottish and English roots

(6) Mexican American, Latino, or Chicano

(7) "American," more specifically Chinese American

(8) African American

Most of the participants did not know each other at the outset. By the end of the workshop, after wrenching sessions of frustration and venting, they all emerged with clearer pictures of the "blindness" of white racism and the complexities of interethnic prejudice.

The film can be split into two parts, which allows one 45-minute section to be shown in each of two classes. The first section addresses white racism in America and the second probes the issue of interethnic racism within the context of white racism. The documentary projects the viewer into the heart of a discussion in which people of color try to educate the self-proclaimed "American" about the existence of discrimination, the importance of ethnic group membership in their identities, and the need for white sensitivity and tolerance of differences. The significance of this film lies in showing students how the everyday good intentions and unanalyzed privileged status of whites (as embodied by the white "American") can lead to the unintentional oppression of people of color.

I recommend this film for all students, especially those in race and ethnicity classes, but would hesitate to drop this "bomb" on students of introductory classes. Since it touches on many of the important threads of the racial debate in our society today, it...