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Critical Race Theory

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Submitted By msanchez2124
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The movies I have chosen to study are Crash and Boyz-n-the Hood. In both these films I had found numerous forms of the critical race theory in the form of the essentialism philosophy. Essentialism philosophy is the reducing of the experience of a category, gender or race, to the experience of one sub-group . Basically, all oppressed people share the commonality of oppression. However, that oppression varies by gender, class, race, etc., so the aims and strategies will differ for each of these groups. I chose these films because of this portion of the critical race theory. Its interesting how no matter what race or gender one is, they could still be facing some sort of the same oppression. These films are also very representative of both the past and present day California. Situations in both films can be seen directly around us. Crash takes aim at a wide range of essentialism philosophy in that it deals with a string of different situations and racial prejudices. It ranges from typical white on black racism, to more strange indian on mexican stereotyping. Throughout the film we can see how everyday situations had become racial prejudices. In the movie Boyz-N-the Hood it is mostly directed towards black racism, but it is interesting because a good number of the racism is done by blacks on blacks. This was very interesting to me. At the time when this film was made, essentialism philosophy of the CRT was very prominent in the LA area, especially with the gangs. One scene which I found particular showing of this essentialism philosophy was a scene in which the actor Cuba Gooding Jr. was pulled over by a black cop and a white cop. In ch scene, the white cop was not the harsh or mean one as would usually be expected. It came from the black police officer. He got in his face and grilled him. He was stereotyping Cuba, asking him which gang he was from and assuming which set he claimed. Cuba is so furious with the treatment but knows he cant do or say anything, especially in this era with the corrupt police offers that were running rampant at the time. All he could do was shed a few tears. This was too much for him, as when he went home he began swinging furiously in the air, as if he was fighting the cop. Cuba was a student and had plans of getting out of the ghetto, reason being confrontations like the one he encountered with the police officer.

Outline
Intro
CRT essentialism philosophy
Crash
Boyz N The Hood
Annotate Films
In depth Analasis
Crash
essentialism philosophy discuss scenes indian and mexican men
Boyz In The Hood
Racist Black Cop
Conclusion
Crash and Boyz in the Hood Essentialism Philosophy

Bibliography

"An Anarchist Introduction to Critical Race Theory." (Revolutionary Anti-Authoritarians of Color). N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2014. .
"Crash." All Content. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2014. .
Ridley, John. "'Boyz N The Hood' Rings Out, 20 Years Later." NPR. NPR, n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2014. .

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