Comments on: This morning’s reviews

By: Pages tagged "impertinent"

Pages tagged "impertinent" — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 12:20:25 +0000

[...] bookmarks tagged impertinent This morning’s reviews | The Living Consequences saved by 13 others spiderman221 bookmarked on 01/18/09 | [...]

By: Julie Fanselow

Julie Fanselow — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 18:01:49 +0000

James,
Thanks to your family for undertaking this journey. I work for Everyday Democracy (formerly the Study Circles Resource Center) which – since the early 1990s – has been helping communities hold large-scale, inclusive, action-oriented discussions on topics including race.
I don’t see your family’s conversations as self-indulgent so much as a necessary means of talking through what happened 200 years ago.
A colleague of mine defines recognition of white privilege like this: You’re sitting in a dark room and someone comes in and throws on a bright light. It really hurts at first, but after a while, you appreciate the light.
As an adoptee with little knowledge of my family history, it’d be convenient for me to say, “Not my problem … I have no idea whether my ancestors had any role in this.” But as a white person who was born in the United States, I know it IS my problem, because – even as a non-elite, middle-class white person – I know I’ve benefitted from the systems put in place during the slavery era. “Traces of the Trade” made me all the more committed to being an ally to African Americans in the quest for justice and equity.
Thanks for your family’s willingness to put yourselves in the bright light, on national television, no less. I am sure the film is going to help advance the national (and local!) discussions on race that we all know we need to have.

By: mike

mike — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 05:04:51 +0000

the consequences of slavery has a continuing legacy that burns through the souls of its victims today. I know that today the way we see each other as white and black people and how we interact is miserable. before we self destruct, some attempt must be made at honesty and reconciliation so that at least we can all own up to the history of our deeds. I really don’t want any apology as a black man from whites. I won’t be critical about what I think and feel when white people talk about how they feel about slavery. It was a good show and I appreciate pbs for airing it.

By: James

James — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 03:54:15 +0000

Rachel, I appreciate your critique of the film as a film. I wasn’t much for the “group therapy” aspect of the journey, either, as any of my relatives who were with me during filming can readily attest.

However, you should probably bear in mind that many reviewers have been impressed with how the film was made. I suspect that how well it works depends greatly on the viewer’s temperament, approach to race, and taste in films, but clearly Katrina’s approach to the subject matter strikes a chord with many people.

(In case you didn’t realize, I’m the one who made the comment in the film about the group discussion amounting to “self-indulgence,” so I appreciate your use of that term here.)

By: Rachel Cohen

Rachel Cohen — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 03:29:32 +0000

Please–chinless white people indulging in group therapy on video. While the topic might be important, the film is amateur hour. The best scene is at the dinner table, where Harvard and Princeton grads try to justify their privileged lives.

Don’t miss the dropped raw chicken scene. Were tax dollars spent on this piece of self-indulgence?

By: Inheriting the Trade | Monday morning in Brooklyn

Inheriting the Trade | Monday morning in Brooklyn — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 14:03:09 +0000

[...] please note my cousin James DeWolf Perry’s blog posting–at Impertinent Questions–this morning about all the positive reviews Traces of the Trade is receiving as well as a nod [...]