The Color Of Fear Fact Sheet

The Color of Fear - America's 'Red Scare' By Toni Lee Robinson The world is torn by war. Terrorism strikes fear into the hearts of people everywhere. Sounds like today's 5:00 news, right? Actually, this was the world of the early 1900s. The Great War was raging in Europe. In Russia, a group called the Bolsheviks waged civil war. “The Color of Fear” is a film about the pain and anguish that racism has caused in the lives of 8 North American men of Asian, European, Latino, and African descent. Out of their confrontations and struggles to understand and trust each other emerges an emotional and insightful portrayal into the type of dialogue MOST of US fear, but hope. After seeing The Color of Fear, we spend the next session processing on an emotional level, via Paul Stand-up Exercise for Whites, which puts us in touch with the way 'whites' are affected by white racism and with the palpable reality of its prevalence. The next day or two we talk extensively about the content of the movie, re-exposing students.

Produced by: Stir Fry Productions 470 3^rd St. Oakland, CA 94607 (800.370.STIR)

Directed by: Lee Mun Wah

VHS & DVD; TRT: 90 minutes

© 1994

Winner of the National Educational Media Award Golden Apple.

Characters in the Film:

Roberto (Mexican American)

Lee Mun Wah (Facilitator & Chinese)

David Christensen (Euro American)

Yutaka (Japanese American)

Hugh (Latino American)

David Lee (Chinese American)

Gordon (Euro American)

Victor (African American)

Loren (African American)

“The Color of Fear” is a film about the pain and anguish that racism has caused in the lives of 8 North American men of Asian, European, Latino, and African descent. Out of their confrontations and struggles to understand and trust each other emerges an emotional and insightful portrayal into the type of dialogue MOST of US fear, but hope will happen sometime in out lifetime.

This film was the first in a 3 part series that engages the issues of racism, intercultural competence, and intercultural communication in a real and intense environment.

Study Guide:

Take a moment to think about your own experience with race and ethnicity. What has it been like to be your ethnicity? What are the challenges? What are the positives?

1. Think about each of the responses from each of the men in the film. How might they compare with your own life story in regards to race? If you cannot make any comparisons, howcome?
2. Why do you think Lee Mun Wah, as the facilitator, did not “talk” very much or stop any of the conversations?
3. If you are male, how does it make you feel to see grown men cry? How does it make you feel to see grown men hold hands and embrace? Is that something you are accustomed to seeing? Break your answer down.
4. If you are a woman, where do you find yourself within the film given that these are all men? Does it bother you that some of the men cry? Explain what you mean.
5. Spend some time talking with someone from a different ethnicity and ask them what their experience has been like. Might there be any comparisons with your life? If so, where are they at? If not, howcome?
6. So what about David Christensen? What do you make of him? Do you feel sorry for him? Explain what you mean. In the film, David C is obviously dealing with deep seeded race issues. Issues that trace all the way back to his childhood. How might your own developmental process been shaped in regards to race and ethnicity? How have you been racialized?
7. Where do you think we are at as a nation now that president Obama has been elected? Is racism declining? Over? A dead issue? Worse now than it ever was? Discuss this among a variety of different ethnicities to get a well-rounded perspective.
8. How might class factor into the race issue? Do you think classism is worse than racism today? How so? And, what is your own definition of class? Share that with several friends and see what they come up with too.
9. What are some realistic solutions you could offer the men if they were standing in front of you today? For your friends? List out a set of racialized problems you think are issues and see what solutions might realistically work.

Things to take notice of:

• Notice the copyright date. What is the significance of that? Why am I making you watch such an “old” film? How relevant can it be? Right?
• What are the major/ minor issues within the film?
• What points does each person make? Is it valid? How so?
• Where do you find yourself within the film?
• How important is ethnic ID in this film?
• What are the themes that arise in the film?

Deeper probing Questions to ask / be discussed in class:

• What point does Victor have when he confronts David C?
• What was so important about Gordon’s direct talk about White privilege to David C? What was that all about?
• What was the point of stating their ethnicity?
• What did Roberto mean that the “Cure for the pain is in the pain itself?”
• What did Loren mean by saying “Walk through some halls with some pride, your gonna scare somebody!”
• What was so important about Lee Mun Wah playing the “Devils Advocate” with David C concerning his daughters and getting into college?
• David C. stated that he would hire the right person for the job, but how does his past knowledge about minorities and “Coloreds” affect his hiring process?
• Does interethnic racism put minorities down while lifting Whites up?
• Does everyone have “equal footing” in society today?
• How does our own personal ETHOS play a role in this film? Life?
• Where are you at in the film? Which character could you be?
• Why do you think they announced their ethnic background first?
• How much does your past social construction of identity play a part in your own ETHOS, worldview, and stereotypes?
• What about internalized racism? What is that all about? Did David Lee have a point?
• When have you not intervened in the face of racism?

Connection to the Literature

• How does David C represent and connect with what George Lipsitz asserts in his chapter?
• What elements of White Supremacy are present in the film as laid out by Herbert Blumer?
• How does a sense of group position shape how we see other racial and ethnic groups? What illustrations of that are seen in the film?
• How is categorization language (Them, they, us, you people) used at different variances by David C in the film? How does that affect race and ethnicity talks?
• Describe how Aguirre & Turner’s concept of colonialism, Puritan values, and the concepts/ issues of cultural and institutional legacy of early colonization connect with both the entire film and David C’s initial posture on racism? How might religion also play a role in racism?
• What part does spiritual and theological understanding have as it relates to racism?
• Explain what Aguirre & Turner mean by Anglo-Saxon hegemony and the dynamics of ethnicity? How is that seen through the film? Inter-ethnic discrimination? Break that down a bit.
• What elements of racism is Victor talking about as he reflects to David C the problems of racism?
• What roles does Gordon play in relation to Aguirre & Turner’s chapter on White ethnics?

Last Updated 4/7/2019

Daniel White Hodge PhD

CSULA

The Color of Fear is a emotionally charged film that will leave your students talking and rethinking their perception of the world around them. The film places eight men in a room to talk about race, prejudice, and discrimination. There are two men who are Hispanic, two who are African American, two who are Asian American, two who are White, and the film’s director Lee Mun Wah. The film was released in 1994, but every semester my students tell me that it is the best and most relevant video we watched in my sociology courses.

The film seems to have aspired to be a round table discussion, but turns more into an intervention for David Christensen, a white man who is unwilling to accept that the men of color actually experience discrimination. Throughout the film the men of color share times they have been the target of racism and discrimination and each time David minimizes and discredits them by saying that their claims are, “unfounded”. David tells them men of color that racism is no longer a problem and that the problem these men are experiencing is all in their heads- that they are seeing something that is not there. Not surprisingly, this infuriates the men of color, especially Victor a African American man.

Victor at two points in the film becomes angry at David, but each time he raises his voice his words become a razor sharp scalpel dissecting David’s flawed logic and inaccurate perception of reality. Victor challenges David to see that in the United States being American frequently is shorthand for being White, that the world that is open to David as a White man is not as fully open for men of color, and that issues of race, prejudice, and discrimination are alive and well even if David chooses to ignore them. Click here to see a video of the second time Victor vents/educates David. This time Victor presses David to see that social and systematic inequality exists:

The Color Of Fear Book

The video also discusses a variety of other topics including inter-ethnic prejudice and discrimination, masculinity, and Affirmative Action. However, after using this video a number of times it became apparent that the David/Victor relationship was by far the most compelling and eye opening part of the video for many of my students.

The Color Of Fear

Up to now I have taught sociology to classes that are predominately White. On the first day of my Race and Nationality courses many of students are unsure why a course like this is needed in a post Civil Rights Movement era. Some are uncomfortable with the idea that White privilege even exists. I tell my students on the very first day that in any group or community there are multiple realities- multiple ways of seeing the exact same situation. Often my students think that I am out of touch with reality or that I’ve “read to many books”.

The Color Of Fear Lee Mun Wah

What I love most about The Color of Fear is that after watching the film it is crystal clear how someone could live in a unjust world and be totally unaware of it. David seems to be a good, honest, hard working man, but yet he is surprised to the point of disbelief when he hears the men of color discuss how racism has affected them. When David finally accepts the experiences of the men of color I can feel the whole room decompress. Many of my White students have told me that they identify with David and all of my students tell me that they better understand White privilege. Furthermore, this is a great sociological piece because it opens doors in students minds and begs them to see beyond the individual and to how the social affects each of us.

Color Of Fear Discussion - Whites For Racial Equity “The Color Of Fear” Is A Film About The Pain And Anguish That Racism Has Caused In The Lives Of 8 North American Men Of Asian, European, Latino,...

As is probably apparent by now, this film is controversial. I have shown this film over 10 times now and I have a few recommendations for anyone intending to share it with an audience. First, if at all possible watch the entire film in one setting or at the very least two classes back to back. The video is about a process of coming to terms with the world around us and if you stop in the middle it may leave students thinking that there is no hope for a positive conclusion. Secondly, don’t let students discredit Victor during the film. I have had students become uncomfortable by Victor’s outbursts and make disparaging remarks about him like, “is this guy crazy or what?” Each time I have stopped the video and asked the class if they feel Victor is crazy, unhinged, or out of control. Most students say no. If you don’t address the comments right away I fear that students will write Victor off and quit listening to him.

I have my students write a paper on the film and you can find the directions for that here. I focus primarily on David, multiple realities, and the dichotomization of racism.

The Color Of Fear 1

Resources:
Directions for Color of Fear Response Paper
Buy The Color of Fear