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"Le coeur a ses raisons que la raison ne connait point. French. Pascal. The heart has its reasons, whereof reason knows nothing."— Madeleine L'Engle

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Thinking about making a list of films

Films that confront race either explicitly or implicitly, and films that represent race and ethnicity in ways that are culturally and/or politically significant come in many different genres. Some may not seem to be about race at all. Nonetheless these films made us reconsider our assumptions about what race means in our lives and how we relate to each other.
So far I can think of at least 5 in the past decade that made a big impression:





  • Crash (definitely NOT my favorite film, but it's important)
  • Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story -- an important documentary, which too few people saw, and which says a lot about the role of race in politics.
  • Monster's Ball
  • Something New
  • Harold and Kumar go to White Castle (Sepia Mutiny did A LOT on this film. Light but innovative and significant I think to South Asian community. Here's an interesting post on it http://www.sepiamutiny.com/sepia/archives/000200.html)
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3 comments:

  1. Amardeep Singh12/21/2009 4:08 PM

    Hi Carole,

    Yes, many of the bloggers at Sepia Mutiny did really dig "Harold and Kumar." I would argue that it might make sense to watch it alongside "The Namesake," a more serious film that covers, in some ways, the same ground.

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  2. caribbelle12/22/2009 3:57 PM

    Great point, Amardeep. I appreciate the suggestion. I really enjoyed The Namesake and will definitely include both on the real list. This was more of a teaser so I thought it was good to have something lighter, less expected and with wide appeal on there. I also like your idea of companion films that should be seen together. I know your blog offers much more in depth thought pieces, but if you'd be interested in providing your reflections on The Namesake on your blog or here as part of the list I'd be truly honored.

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  3. Tunecrew3/03/2010 1:19 PM

    A few that did it for me:

    Mississippi Masala

    The Brother From Another Planet (a BRILLIANT film from the 80s)

    I also thought Haven had elements of this as well

    Even District 9

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