This assignment could be used as a critical analysis assignment in College Composition II or as preparation for a comparison/contrast essay assignment in College Composition I.
View the film True Colors (1991), a 19-minute documentary about racism in daily life as revealed through the hidden camera experiences of two professional discrimination testers.
WRITTEN REFLECTION
Briefly reflect in writing on the following questions before watching the film:
Is discrimination based on skin color different from other forms of discrimination? Explain.
In which areas of life would you say that people of color experience the most discrimination?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
How were the two discrimination testers treated differently? Which incident(s) left the biggest impression on you? Why were the men treated differently? For example, why did the black salesperson ignore Glen, the black tester, but not John, the white tester? Why was the black tester being trailed in the retail store? Did the different experiences of the two men come as a surprise to you? Explain. Based on the men’s experiences, why is “have a nice day” an expression of racism? This documentary is over fifteen years old. Would a similar test today result in similar results? Why or why not?
WRITING IDEAS (Group Work)
If you were assigned to write a critical analysis essay of the two men’s experiences, what would your tentative thesis statement be?
(1) First, discuss the men’s experiences, formulating a list of overall impressions. Feel free to use any of the prewriting techniques – such as side-by-side columns of the two subjects – to organize your thoughts.
(2) Then choose one of the overall impressions to develop a more specific tentative thesis statement. Make it interesting! Say something more than “X is different from Y.” Your group’s spokesperson should be ready to share your tentative thesis with the rest of the class.
WRITTEN REFLECTION
Briefly reflect in writing on the following questions before watching the film:
Is discrimination based on skin color different from other forms of discrimination? Explain.
In which areas of life would you say that people of color experience the most discrimination?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
WRITING IDEAS (Group Work)
If you were assigned to write a critical analysis essay of the two men’s experiences, what would your tentative thesis statement be?
(1) First, discuss the men’s experiences, formulating a list of overall impressions. Feel free to use any of the prewriting techniques – such as side-by-side columns of the two subjects – to organize your thoughts.
(2) Then choose one of the overall impressions to develop a more specific tentative thesis statement. Make it interesting! Say something more than “X is different from Y.” Your group’s spokesperson should be ready to share your tentative thesis with the rest of the class.
Resource:
True Colors. Dir. Herbert Ross. Videocassette. CorVision, 1991.
True Colors. Dir. Herbert Ross. Videocassette. CorVision, 1991.
The video jacket includes discussion questions that inspired some of the questions listed in this assignment.
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