Jensen and Wosnitzer are interesting as far as they go. I appreciate Ed for forwarding their critique in the first place, and find Blase Bonpane's dismissive comments unworthy of someone who proclaims a moral dimension to politics (as opposed to tailoring politics to what is palatable or popular). "activism" is due particular criticism for the glib and snotty headline on the rejection of the critique, answering the question, "Is "Crash" a white supremacist movie?" with the throwaway catch-phrase, "Uh, no." As if the answer was self-evident to any simpleton. (Is that you, Tom? If so, another disappointment).
However, while Jensen and Wosnitzer are right to situate the film in white supremacy or white nationalism (which is far from a phenomenon restricted to self-proclaimed neo-nazi boneheads, but in fact the dominant political-social-economic-cultural paradigm of life in the US empire), their critique leaves a great deal to be desired, and in fact lays them open to the kind of dismissive charges of cultural elitism that "Activism" and Blase seem to share with right-wing media bullies who loathe Hollywood's limousine liberals. What is the crux of the problem? They say: > >>The United States was founded, of course, on an > ideology of the inherent > >>superiority of white Europeans over non-whites > that was used to justify the > >>holocausts against indigenous people and Africans, > which created the nation > >>and propelled the U.S. economy into the industrial > world. This stands the world on its head. The US was not founded on an ideology -- the US was founded on a material reality of land theft, slave labor, physical and cultural genocide, ecological devastation and privatization of the commons and of nature itself. The ideology was simply a mechanism or technique used to justify this settler colonialism, kidnaping and private expropriation. The ideology cannot be fought without confronting the material realities and harsh contradictions that have generated it. Failing to see this means that they also cannot see the actual material and political contradictions that working and oppressed people experience in their daily lives, and thus the kernel of a revolutionary process of social and personal transformation. Thus they are reduced to cultural criticism of "whiteness" as their ultimate card to play, and don't see the prospect that working class white people, despite white privilege and white supremacy, have a potential of explosive anti-imperialist struggle themselves, and even more so in response to and solidarity with the anti-colonial struggles of New Afrikans, Puerto Ricans, Mexichicanos and others. At 06:23 PM 3/30/2006, Raska Che wrote: >I agree with Jensen and Wosnitzer. > >You should check out Jensen's book, The Heart of >Whiteness: >Confronting Race, Racism, and White Privilege. I don't >think it's way off base at all. But that could just be >a product of my own cultural perspective, which is not >white. > >Also, if you have access to cable, there's a really >fascinating show running right now called Black. >White., executive produced by Ice Cube. In this show, >you can see very clearly how white people deny white >supremacy, even when they think they are engaging in a >critical discussion or exploration of race issues. >Like with "Crash." > >Jensen and Wosnitzer's argument against this movie is >not just that it focuses on racism among non-whites; >it is that this myopic focus fails to address the >larger underlying issue of white supremacy. What's >more, the film lets patriarchy off the hook as well; >the fascist cop later saves the black woman he >sexually assaulted, and not only is there no >repercussion for his action, but he earns himself >redemption. Even fascist misogynists have a heart, so >don't worry about holding them accountable for their >actions. Lovely message. For a much more complex and >effective treatment of this same kind of dynamic, see >the way Tommy Lee Jones handles the snake-bit border >patrol agent who is saved, and then rightfully and >satisfactorily clobbered, by the Mexican woman he >previously assaulted. > >Anyway, I had a similar analysis of "Crash" when I >first saw it last year. It serves white supremacy and >other forms of oppression through this really >insidious multi-culti approach. As the parameters of >difference production and othering shift, look for >Power to continue using similar tactics to manipulate >difference in order to maintain itself, a la Condi >Rice et al. > >By the way, it is not writers like Jensen who cause >the Left to not be taken seriously. People don't take >the Left seriously in part because demagogues on the >Right have blasted away at them so long with >emotional, illogical attacks through their dominated >media, and have shifted all discourse so far right, >that anything slightly left of O'Reilly is a raging >Stalinist. There are other reasons too, of course. One >of the reasons *I* don't take the Left as seriously as >I could, as a Leftist, is the refusal on the part of >many leftist whites and men to examine and challenge >white supremacy and patriarchy, even as they go around >spouting "progressive" views and fighting fo social >justice etc. > >In my view, from a non-white perspective, Jensen is an >exception to this--or at the very least, a model of a >white American man trying, consciously, to confront >this behavior, and NOT replicate it, through his >analysis of white supremacy as well as the misogyny >and violence of pornography. As such, I take exception >to his being written off so glibly. (White) men could >take a note from his book. > >c/s > > > >--- Blase Bonpane <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > I agree, Ed. > > > > And this is not the first time I have found > > his material way off base. > > > > Thanks for this and for all of your great missives, > > > > Blase > > > > > > > > activism wrote: > > > > > Am I the only one having trouble buying what this > > guy is selling? > > > > > > "Crash" has a flawed analysis of racism? Maybe. It > > minimizes white racism? > > > Could be. But, white supremacist???? That is going > > overboard rhetorically. > > > > > > How do you get from saying that non-whites are > > sometimes bigoted, to being a > > > white supremacist? You may disagree with both > > positions, or think they're > > > wrong, or bad, but the two positions are not > > identical. A professor of all > > > people ought to know that. > > > > > > I bet Don Cheadle and the other fine actors in > > this movie would be surprised to > > > find they acted in a white-supremacist movie. I > > bet Oprah Winfrey would be > > > shocked to learn she endorsed white supremacism. > > > > > > A white supremacist is a guy in suspenders, boots > > and Nazi regalia. Or, you > > > could stretch a point and say that a white > > supremacist is someone who redlines > > > poor neighborhoods, fights affirmative action, > > abolishes bilingual education > > > and editorializes against Black History Month. > > Correct me if I'm wrong, but I > > > don't think the moviemakers did anything like > > that. > > > > > > I think Jensen is just miffed that they didn't > > make the movie the way he would > > > have liked it made. > > > > > > No wonder nobody takes the Left seriously anymore. > > Thanks a lot, Professor > > > Jensen. > > > > > > > > >>ZNet Commentary > > >>Crash March 24, 2006 > > >>By Robert Jensen and Robert Wosnitzer > > >> > > >>"Crash" is a white-supremacist movie. > > >> > > >>The Oscar-winning best picture -- widely heralded, > > especially by white > > >>liberals, for advancing an honest discussion of > > race in the United States -- > > >>is, in fact, a setback in the crucial project of > > forcing white America to > > >>come to terms the reality of race and racism, > > white supremacy and white > > >>privilege. > > >> > > >>The central theme of the film is simple: Everyone > > is prejudiced -- black, > > >>white, Asian, Iranian and, we assume, anyone from > > any other racial or ethnic > > >>group. We all carry around racial/ethnic baggage > > that's packed with unfair > > >>stereotypes, long-stewing grievances, raw anger, > > and crazy fears. Even when > > >>we think we have made progress, we find ourselves > > caught in frustratingly > > >>complex racial webs from which we can't seem to > > get untangled. > > >> > > >>For most people -- including the two of us -- > > that's painfully true; such > > >>untangling is a life's work in which we can make > > progress but never feel > > >>finished. But that can obscure a more fundamental > > and important point: This > > >>state of affairs is the product of the actions of > > us white people. In the > > >>modern world, white elites invented race and > > racism to protect their power, > > >>and white people in general have accepted the > > privileges they get from the > > >>system and helped maintain it. The problem doesn't > > spring from the > > >>individual prejudices that exist in various ways > > in all groups but from > > >>white supremacy, which is expressed not only by > > individuals but in systemic > > >>and institutional ways. There's little hint of > > such understanding in the > > >>film, which makes it especially dangerous in a > > white-dominant society in > > >>which white people are eager to avoid confronting > > our privilege. > > >> > > >>So, "Crash" is white supremacist because it > > minimizes the reality of white > > >>supremacy. Its faux humanism and simplistic > > message of tolerance directs > > >>attention away from a white-supremacist system and > > undermines white > > >>accountability for the maintenance of that system. > > We have no way of knowing > > >>whether this is the conscious intention of > > writer/director Paul Haggis, but > > >>it's emerges as the film's dominant message. > > >> > > >>While viewing "Crash" may make some people, > > especially white people, > > >>uncomfortable during and immediately after > > viewing, the film seems designed, > > >>at a deeper level, to make white people feel > > better. As the film asks us to > > >>confront personal prejudices, it allows us white > > folk to evade our > > >>collective responsibility for white supremacy. In > > "Crash," emotion trumps > > >>analysis, and psychology is more important than > > politics. The result: White > > >>people are off the hook. > > >> > > >>The first step in putting white people back on the > > hook is pressing the case > > >>that the United States in 2006 is a > > white-supremacist society. Even with the > > >>elimination of formal apartheid and the lessening > > of the worst of the overt > > >>racism of the past, the term is still appropriate, > > in ideological and > > >>material terms. > > >> > > >>The United States was founded, of course, on an > > ideology of the inherent > > >>superiority of white Europeans over non-whites > > that was used to justify the > > >>holocausts against indigenous people and Africans, > > which created the nation > > >>and propelled the U.S. economy into the industrial > > world. That ideology also > > >>has justified legal and extralegal exploitation of > > every non-white immigrant > > >>group. > > >> > > >>Today, polite white folks renounce such claims of > > superiority. But scratch > > >>below that surface politeness and the > > multicultural rhetoric of most white > > >>people, and one finds that the assumptions about > > the superiority of the art, > > >>music, culture, politics, and philosophy rooted in > > white Europe are still > > >>very much alive. No poll can document these kinds > > of covert opinions, but > > >>one hears it in the angry and defensive reaction > > of white America when > > >>non-white people dare to point out that whites > > have unearned privilege. > > >>Watch the resistance from white America when any > > serious attempt is made to > > >>modify school or college curricula to reflect > > knowledge from other areas and > > >>peoples. The ideology of white supremacy is all > > around. > > >> > > >>That ideology also helps white Americans ignore > > and/or rationalize the > > >>racialized disparities in the distribution of > > resources. Studies continue to > > >>demonstrate how, on average, whites are more > > likely than members of > > >>racial/ethnic minorities to be on top on measures > > of wealth and well-being. > > >>Looking specifically at the gap between white and > > black America, on some > > >>measures black Americans have fallen further > > behind white Americans during > > >>the so-called post-civil rights era. For example, > > the typical black family > > >>had 60 percent as much income as a white family in > > 1968, but only 58 percent > > >>as much in 2002. On those measures where there has > > been progress, closing > > >>the gap between black and white is decades, or > > centuries, away. > > >> > > >>What does this white supremacy mean in day-to-day > > life? 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