Briefly respond to the following questions based on Richard Dyer's "On the Matter of Whiteness." Post your response in the "Comments" section directly below this post. Remember to write your name in your response post.
According to Richard Dyer, why is it important to study race and images of race?
How are whites typically seen or spoken about?
What are the problems associated with examining whiteness?
What role does non-white have in defining white? Why is it difficult to make a criticism of this role?
What are the paradoxes of whiteness?
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1. According to Richard Dyer, why is it important to study race and images of race?
ReplyDeleteAccording to Richard Dyer, it is important to study race because it is "central to the organization of the modern world." "Who gets listened to", as well as "who bombs and who gets bombed."
2. How are whites typically seen or spoken about?
Whites are typically talked about in terms of the non-race. Whites are typically considered to be the ones without color and therefore the most changing, most diverse race. We are seen as just people, and because of that non-white people are seen as something else, non human even.
3. What are the problems associated with examining whiteness?
White people are discussed as the norm. Whites are discussed as the center of the world, with all the people around us showing us how diverse the world can be, not how diverse the world is. The world is an uncentered, fragmented place with multiple identities. The problem with examining whiteness is that people who discuss it are generally white. White people also feel a guilt towards the world. The history of the world shows that white people have oppressed non-whites. What does that do to the discussion? It hinders it from being a platform to discuss the white race.
3. What role does non-white have in defining white? Why is it difficult to make a criticism of this role?
The word white, to describe humans, in itself is a problem. If you refer to everyone who is a non-white as black , that wouldn't be descriptively correct, and if you use people of color as a non-white reference, you would be wrong again. People who are described as white have a color to their skin as well. The only other option to describe other people who are not white, is non-white, which is regrettable as well; there just isn't any other better option.
4. What are the paradoxes of whiteness?
Some of the paradoxes of whiteness include whites always need to be everything and nothing, overwhelmingly present and apparently absent, and both alive and dead at the same time.
Richard Dyer "On the Matter of Whiteness"
ReplyDelete1) Why it is important to study race and images of race?
Racial imagery is central to the organization of the modern world. Race decides wars, who gets the better job, who lives in the better neighborhood, health care and education. Even if race is ignored it is still a factor and used to refer to the physical differences between people.
2)How are whites typically seen or spoken about?
Whites are almost invisible and rarely mentioned.You might say I have a black friend or that Chinese waiter,but seldom is a white person referred to as white by another white person.
3)What are the problems associated with examining whiteness?
It seems that when a person's whiteness is mentioned they become offended by being grouped with all the other races. There is an air of superiority that may be traced back to our European heritage that people who are white like to be known as "nonraced" while grouping all other people by race.
4)What role does non-white have in defining white? Why is it difficult to make a criticism of this role?
Non-white is a difficult term to define because it has negative connotations, it focuses on what people are not instead of what they are. Using nonwhite recognizes white as a color also nonwhite includes a wide range of people who are neither black or white.
5)What are the paradoxes of whiteness?
Some of the paradoxes of whiteness are to be nonraced yet a part of the human race,to be both individual and universal, a sense of spirituality and invisibility, to be everything and nothing. It is the very paradoxes that exist in society that give whiteness its representational power.
Joseph Skow
ReplyDeleteBlog #1
According to Richard Dyer’s essay, “On the Matter of Whiteness,” the importance of studying race and images of race is to understand factors that, if even ignored, are used to identify physical attributes between different people. Even in the context of daily storytelling people, consciously or unconsciously, refer to others as “this black guy,” or “that white guy.” In this way and on a much larger scale, racial imagery is used to systematically organize the world. Racial factors that govern on a much larger scale consist of who’s listened to, or perhaps who gets the better job? In return…who lives where, who drives the nicer car (disposable income), who has healthcare, and who receives better schooling? Race has/can also result in confrontation; who’s in what war, on what side, for what reason? Considering the concept of war based on race, our world history is even derived from different racial perspectives, mainly the victors, or for all intensive purposes, the “whiteness.”
White people are typically seen or spoken about in a manor representing the norm, or as Dyer said, linked “to a simply ‘human’ worldview.” He states that, “There is no more powerful position than that of being “just” human’…”(referring to “whiteness”), and continues by saying, “Whiteness needs to be made strange.” In this case “made strange” means not maintaining its consideration as “the standard.” At the same time, this may also be the reason most legends, heroes, or titles of aspiration (mainly in the arts or entertainment), come from non-white races. These are individuals that break the norm, go down the unbeaten path, and become the majority of independent staples in this country. Putting my previous example on storytelling into perspective, rarely will a white person describe a white person as “this white guy.” The unconscious factors that seem to matter when telling a story seem to concern race only when the other characters, if you will, aren’t white, as if it plays a roll, even if it has nothing to do with racial factors.
I don’t believe that “white people” are generally offended by being categorized as “white people.” In fact, I would argue that some white people might be extremely enthusiastic about this categorization, considering it’s unconscious “social standing” as “the norm,” or “what should be strived for.” Looking back on our history, not only do I think the concept of “whiteness” is far from concern with white races, I believe that any concern, anger, discomfort, or disagreement with the concept is covered by guilt regarding the long existence of oppression with non-white races. It is because of this guilt that “whiteness” becomes a taboo discussion, and most of the problems stem from the fact that the people studying this idea of “whiteness” are actually white!
Joseph Skow
ReplyDeleteBlog #1 (part2)
When referring to racial groups as “white vs. non-white,” or “white vs. colored,” a number of problems arise, starting with the consideration of “white” not being a “color” in and of itself. Unfortunately the concept of “white vs. non-white” is way off after breaking their social definitions down and putting them into perspective. To refer to people as either “white” or “black” only begins to break down the possibilities when examining racial diversity. Obviously there are people with Spanish, Asian or Oriental, and other ethnic backgrounds, which I wouldn’t consider what is socially known as “black;” and at the same time, with all the cultural backgrounds concerning peoples that just so happen to have “white” skin, many are still socially referred to as “white.” It’s difficult (especially for “white” people) to criticize these concepts based on our historical guilt, as well as the higher degree of difficulty at which identifying individual “white” races is. This also goes back to the “white” identification in other countries, originally being associated with power and control long before the USA was discovered.
The paradoxes of “whiteness” consists of needing no independent (human) definition while still being considered human, to strive for individualism while at the same time be identical, to be everything and everywhere while at the same time invisible, and to rule by being considered non-subject.
As a side note I would like to mention that racism and racially segregated categories are a manmade phenomena. As obvious as this might sound, it appears not as obvious to the world population that racial factors and consideration are just as easily preventable for future generations. Obviously equality between all racial groups is a newer ideal from the perspective of human existence, but as time goes on factors concerning decisions and opinions based on race should (could) potentially bleed out. As future generations are born into families less concerned with racial factors, not to mention born from inter-racial relationships, the concepts and awe of race can be considered an ancient practice from those “crazy animals of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.” I truly believe that if a small isolated community ranging in all types of diversity raised their children without the history of racism/racial consideration, and they were then sent out into the real world, that they would find our racial categorization and concern completely bizarre, useless, and animalistic.
Najla Alkhatib
ReplyDeleteAccording to Richard Dyer, why is it important to study race and images of race?
According to Richard Dyer, it is important to study race because race has become a very important factor in many decisions and judgments in our lives.
How are whites typically seen or spoken about?
White people are seen as just people, white is not considered a race, it is almost never mentioned as a person of race “White”. It is sort of like saying people are either people “white” or other color and races.
What are the problems associated with examining whiteness?
Examining whiteness might become generate a white study movement, which in turn will become a new problem of white people trying to get in touch with whiteness and we might have a white equivalent of “iron john” and company. So instead of trying to study whiteness to get it out of its centrality and authority we might reinstate it.
Another problem is guilt of white people towards what other white people have done to non white people.
What role does non-white have in defining white? Why is it difficult to make a criticism of this role?
Non-white people also consider white as a just people. So they help in making the white people in power and in the center.
What are the paradoxes of whiteness?
The paradoxes of whiteness are fascinating . whites need to be everything and nothing, be an individual and a niversal subject.
Andrew Boese
ReplyDeleteAccording to Richard Dyer, it is important to study the topic of race because race plays such a significant role in our daily lives. It is one way we as humans structure our society.
Whites are the referred to as the "invisible" race. I never refer to myself as white. A person from a Latin American country might identify themselves by what country they come from. As a white American, I never really introduce myself as having German heritage.
One of the problems associated with the studying of "whiteness" is the guilt of our ancestors. For centuries, white people have oppressed African Americans and other non-whites. This creates a bias for how white people actually view whiteness.
Non-white plays a role in helping to define what exactly "white" is. The word "white" is forever changing. 100 years ago not even the Irish were not considered to be white. It is a term that is accepted by society, and can change depending on society's views.
The paradoxes of whiteness are that whites need to be everything and nothing at the same time. They need to be a unique individual but also be a part of the universe.
Gabrielle Dietiker
ReplyDelete1.According to Richard Dyer, why is it important to study race and images of race?
Dyer states that “ racial imagery is central to the organization of the modern world” it decides who gets a job, health insurance, whose voices get heard and who attacks whom.
How are whites typically seen or spoken about?
Whites are typically spoken about as being non-raced. We are seen as the norm and as “ just being human” which Dyer states is the most powerful position. For example a white person would never say “ my best friend Jon is white” but they would say “ my best friend Jon is black”.
What are the problems associated with examining whiteness?
The first problem with examining whiteness is the green light problem, which gives the white people the go ahead to write and talk more about themselves. There is also this problem with “me-to-ism”. Which is basically the white person wanting all the attention on themselves and not other races. The third problem is guilt for what the white people have done to the non-white people.
What role does non-white have in defining white? Why is it difficult to make a criticism of this role?
Non-white defines every other race other then white. The problem in the term is its negativity as if the people are classified as what they aren’t.
What are the paradoxes of whiteness?
The paradoxes of whiteness are being everything yet nothing, being of humankind but also an individual, being present yet absent and being both alive and dead.
According to Richard Dyer, why is it important to study race and images of race?
ReplyDeleteDyer stated “ racial imagery is central to the organization of the modern world.” What Dyer is implying is that the image of a given person’s race will yield judicial presumptions in another person’s eyes, and these judicial presumptions can influence the person’s occupation, education, and other important socioeconomic standings. Therefore, it is important to study race and images of race.
How are whites typically seen or spoken about?
Whites are typically seen as the undefined majority. This being said, Dyer argues that whites are seen as the norm, while people of other colors are seen as non-norm. White is typically not considered a race, but everything that isn’t white is.
What are the problems associated with examining whiteness?
In examining whiteness, difficulties arise due to the melting pot that creates the white race. Most people get offended with such coinage, and studying whiteness unveils a thorough history of degradation of non-white races.
What role does non-white have in defining white? Why is it difficult to make a criticism of this role?
Non-white plays the sole role in defining white. You are white if you are not another race, typically. It is difficult to make a criticism of this role because it focuses soley on appearance. Over time, the defined whiteness vs non-whiteness has changed, and continues to do so as society progresses.
What are the paradoxes of whiteness?
The main paradox of whiteness is the fact that white typically is supposed to mean nothing, yet it can mean everything.
Geoff Morgan
1) According to Mr. Dyer, racial imagery is central to the organization of the modern world. Race is technically what decided all major aspects of ones life.
ReplyDelete2) Whites were looked at as "Just People". They do not consider white as a race. They like to think of it as a non-race, even though they want to be considered a part of the human race.
3)Most whites get offended by being grouped or thought to be a part of a group, as if somehow they thing they have more power or authority over others. Through the studying of whiteness, many dark and offensive event that were carried out by the whites in early times, helped destroy their reputation and therefore they felt guilty.
4) Initially, the problem starts with the word white. The term has different connotations. The term is also not effective in the sense that everyone else in the community is non-white. So, what this is saying is that you are either white or not. Many people from different parts of the world look as if they could be white but can not be consider as a part of the white community, they are non-whites.
5) Some paradoxes to be considered include whites always need to be everything and nothing.
According to Richard Dyer:
ReplyDeleteWhy is it important to study race and images of race? Studying race and images of race help us to identify physical attributes between different people, such as white and non-white; as well as, it has become an important factor in many decisions and judgements in our lives.
How are whites typically seen or spoken about?
White people are seen as just people because white has not been considered a race. They have also been refered to a the "invisible" race.
What are the problems associated with exmanining whiteness? There are many problems to associate with examining whiteness, but one that comes to mind is the guilt from our ancestors. White people have been known in the past, to oppress any person who is non-white.
What role does non-white have in defining white? Why is it difficult to make critism of this role?
What are the paradoxes of whiteness?
The biggest paradox of whiteness is the fact that white typically is supposed to mean nothing, yet it can mean everything.