This paper will present the subject of culture loss for African-American girls in the video A Girl Like Me by Kiri Davis and for the last Indian of his tribe, the main character of The Last Yahi by Jedd Riffe. People’s roots help them to identify themselves and feel confident when looking in the mirror. Depriving humans of historical, cultural values may lead to valuable traditions disappearing forever.
In A Girl Like Me, the black teenagers speak openly about the social issues that bother them: what hair to wear, how to behave, and whom to marry. They would like to practice the African traditions of their ancestors, but society discourages them by stating that light skin and straight hair are beautiful. After hearing it many times, the girls start to believe it and think that white is beautiful. They are sad when talking about all the limitations society imposed on African Americans. White people often do not realize that their natural features, such as lighter skin or smooth hair, are accepted from the beginning. They are viewed as beautiful by default by society as a whole. Black people, on the other hand, have to go through the initial transformation to fit into society and start building their careers and social lives.
In the previous case, the black girls at least had their community to support them. Ishi, the Last Yahi, did not have such a luxury as he was the last representative of his tribe. Being allowed to live in the shop run by Americans, he became a stranger in his land, at that point, invaded by the white foreigners. Instead of living his tribe’s traditions through hunting, dancing, and crafting, he could only tell about them in a foreign language as if it was a fairytale of the past. The listeners were curious, but they would never feel and live the Yahi traditions. Ishi’s culture is going to remain in history research papers and museums, but it will never be fully revived again.
Both of these videos show how ignorant and selfish people can be when they have an opportunity to study a different culture. It is not until decades later when that researchers and enthusiasts finally start to treasure the disappearing traditions. Hopefully, one day the humans will be able to respect each other’s genetics and traditions and coexist in peace.