Post #2 Intro to Critical Race Theory

Purdue Owl’s essay summarizes Critical Race Theory and its importance in analyzing the world. Bell and Stefancic’s say, “Our social world, with its rules, practices, and assignments of prestige and power, is not fixed; rather, we construct with it words, stories and silence. But we need not acquiesce in arrangements that are unfair and one-sided. By writing and speaking against them, we may hope to contribute to a better, fairer world.” I think this is a great statement saying that change is inevitable and welcomed. It forces anyone who is angered or complacent to not solidify their position. It means that we are always learning and always changing. Recognizing and responding to racism is what CRT promotes. Racism is a problem and to resolve it, the roots must be exposed. Critical race theory can be used to study different forms of media in order to observe how its representation of races and cultures interact with our society at large. Those who use this approach take into account white privilege, microaggressions, as well as other prejudices and how they play into keeping institutionalized racism in place. Factors such as microaggressions, white privilege, institutionalized racism, social construct, and intersectionality play a role in racism, according to the CRT essay. It also takes intersectionality into consideration and emphasizes the importance of well-portrayed representation in media/sharing of one’s stories.

Derrick Bell’s “Who’s Afraid of Critical Race Theory” was a great informative piece about a look into the struggles of black people throughout history. Harris’ grandmother’s struggles to pass as a white woman in order to bring food home to the family shows how racism probably got far as it did. Sometimes, racism is ignored because calling it out would result in someone possibly losing their job. This causes racism to slowly become the norm.

As seen in the TMZ video of Travis Turner, sometimes what someone may think is coming off as appreciation or relatable is actually just coming off as insulting imitation. I think this is what happened in Turner’s incident.  I feel like the clip we watched was a failed attempt at trying to not appear racist. Travis Turner, the voice actor, first said that “If they want they can say whatever ” when asked if he is concerned about the black community’s reaction to him voicing a black character. He then goes on to explain that he relates because he has lived in hotels and has made music with Snoop Dogg, which means he relates to the “urban” community.

If we apply the CRT on Travis’ interview, we can easily pinpoint out all the ignorant comments made, and can also see the consequences of his actions. As a white man, he takes up the space that could have very easily been given to a black person. To him, the character is only that. A fictional character. However, black people and other minority groups exist and are not merely fictional characters for one’s amusement. And to have media representation that is already rarely given be played by someone who only knows the surface level of your culture beyond insulting. Part of CRT is holding people accountable for the things they say and do.