The issue of social identity that is based on the construct of race remains one of the most relevant problems in the dynamics of modern processes of globalization of life. Race is a category created or socially constructed to distinguish a group of people based on physical characteristics. Being the basic anthropological parameter of identity, race is often not in the zone of awareness, since this parameter is closely intertwined with socio- and ethnocultural implicit manifestations of identity. This provides it a place in the “blind” zone of social categorization, especially when it comes to media representation. The request for a theoretical understanding of the phenomenon of racial identity and how it relates to representation is stimulated by the processes of transitivity of the modern social space. Racial identity in the media is often considered in terms of discrimination, stereotyping, and is determined by the degree of closeness of a person to a minority culture.
The actualization of racial identity, which absolutizes anthropological differences between people, in the era of modernity was due primarily to European expansion and colonialism. European cities and newly born nation-states began to expand their borders by incorporating other parts of the world into the international trade system, which led to their colonial settlement. In the context of superiority-based ideas about the role of Western civilization, the image of the “alien” begins to be considered from the position of a time perspective and location on the evolutionary scale. As a result, backwardness, prejudices, ignorance, lack of culture, and superstition were attributed to other peoples and cultures.
The ideas of savagery, barbarism and civilization paved the way for the emergence of the idea of ​​race, but, in turn, were themselves reworked by it. Thus, in constructing relations according to the principle of “friends and foes,” “racial” becomes the basic markers, traversing into the media and literature. Cinematic representation of different racial groups maintained a prejudiced approach from the start. Only in the last thirty years, as a result of two peculiar film revolutions, the influence of racial minorities on world cinema has become impossible to ignore.
However, there are still many problems with racial identity representation and evaluation by the film community. The clash of perspectives and the implications of it are discussed by Anzaldua (2003) in her essay Towards a New Consciousness. The author delves into the idea of rasa cosmica which transcends ethnic stereotypes in attempt to unify the four major world races. The barriers that the concept of race creates can be broken by developing tolerance for ambiguousness and acceptance towards others. Anzaldua (2003) develops a narrative that dissects identity into many forms in order to offer a better understanding on the internal and external struggles racial, gender, cultural, and gender stereotypes bring.
The modern level of art dictates the need for a holistic study of accurate cinematic representation as an element of artistic culture in close relationship and mutual influence with other arts – primarily with literature. Chiarulli (2021) supplies that “the dialogue between cinema and the other arts contains both clashes and reconciliations, shaped a need to categorize forms of artistic experiences” (p. 110). Considering the synthesis of arts in cinema as a sum of literary, theatrical, musical, and pictorial principles, a creator must remember that the main property of this synthesis is to create a new quality. Within this quality, the synthesized arts have to change significantly, falling into the sphere of realism and reflecting the issues existing in society – such as racial representation, for example.
Although at present classical racism, based on ideas about the natural inequality of people, has gone to the periphery of political and intellectual life, racism has not disappeared from the life of modern society. The “old racism”, especially in media, was replaced by the “new racism” associated with the notions of cultural inequality of different racial groups. The new racism declares not so much cultural superiority as cultural differences between races and insists that hostility towards another culture is normal or even necessary. Langton (1994) discusses the premises of the “new racism” towards the Aboriginals in Australia, as it grew from the cultural discrepancy and colonial ambitions of Anglo-Australians.
From the point of view of rapidly changing modern filmmaking and cultural diversification, it is important to understand that the works of non-European or non-American screenwriters cannot be subjected to European action development structures. Langton (1994) states that “critics find it difficult to discuss Aboriginal works because of an almost complete absence of critical theory, knowledge of, and sensibility towards Aboriginal film and video production” (p. 89). The author emphasizes the invisibility of Aboriginal people in the discourse of cinematic representation, fueled by political, historical, and social issues.
It is clear that inequality and identity are closely intertwined, since cultural change occurs in conditions of social inequality. Racial identification itself is a powerful manifestation and even a way of establishing social differences in society. Doane (2019) also explicitly states that “colorblindness has been identified by race scholars as one of the major political strategies for the preservation of white supremacy and racial inequality” (p. 13). The colonialist approach and tense social relations between Aboriginals and non-Aboriginals create barriers to correct representation of the former in the cinema industry. Langton (1994) supplies that the problem, nevertheless, lies not in the racial discrimination, but in the lack of knowledge on how to accurately convey Aboriginal identity and issues on screen. The correct ethnic background of the movie’s creator might offer conceptually different ways to reach a dramatic tension, providing the resolution of the story conflict in a completely different key.
The issue of representation is important not only because people of a different nationality or race can incorrectly convey the customs and behavior of another, but also in a sense of unity with society. Cinema is a mass art that many perceive as a mirror of reality. Therefore, if there are no people one can relate themselves to in the matter of identity on the screen, and their problems are not discussed, then this media cannot be truly emphasized with. “Black” or “Aboriginal” cinema is almost always socially oriented, as it deals with the problem of racism in society. Some take a radical attitude and blame everything on the Whites, others see the disunity of collective racial identity and the destroyed past. To solve it, the authors create a new mythology like in Black Panther, recreate and destroy the model of slavery in Antebellum, or directly criticize reality, as in Boys Next Door. The final goal is the same for everyone – the harmonization of a society divided socially, culturally, and politically in order to develop a new, more complete sense of identity.
References
AnzaldĂşa, G. (2003). La conciencia de la mestiza: Towards a new consciousness. In C. McCann & S.-K. Kim (Eds.), Feminist theory reader: Local and global perspectives. essay, New York: Routledge.
Banjo, O. O. (2018). The paradox of ost-racialism: Black Hollywood’s voice in post-racial discourse. In S. Turner & S. Nilsen (Eds.), The myth of colorblindness: Race and ethnicity in American cinema. essay, Springer International Publishing.
Chiarulli, R. (2021). «Strong curtains» and «dramatic punches»: The legacy of playwriting in the screenwriting manuals of the Studio Era.Communication & Society, 34(1), 109–122.
Doane, A. (2019). Colorblindness: The lens that distorts.The Myth of Colorblindness, 13–33.
Langton, M. (1994). Aboriginal art and film: The politics of representation.Race & Class, 35(4), 89–106.