Entertainment

MTV Causes Stir with Film on White People

Published

10 years ago

July 18, 2015

In this image released by MTV, filmmaker Jose Antonio Vargas, right, listens to a group of young people during the filming of his documentary “White People.” The full film debuts Wednesday, July 22, at 8 p.m. ET/PT, offered simultaneously online. (MTV via AP)

David Bauder, ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK (AP) — One of the challenges for makers of the MTV documentary “White People” was getting folks to talk about race when they didn’t feel the issue concerned them — like those quoted as saying they consider white the “default race” or “normal.”

So filmmaker Jose Antonio Vargas recorded white Americans in situations where they were forced to confront racial identity issues. He found to a white man who attends a traditionally black college, teachers on a South Dakota reservation where resentment toward whites is palpable, a young Brooklyn man bewildered by the Asian immigrants on his block, a white man who teaches a college course on white privilege.

The documentary’s trailer alone created a stir. The full film debuts Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET/PT, offered simultaneously online.

“The only thing I fear is not having these conversations,” Vargas said. “What I fear is the silence, the indifference, the ignorance. We can no longer have a conversation about race and diversity without having white people in it.”

Racial issues are timely, topping the news during the past several months with the “black lives matter” campaign in response to police shootings and the debate over the Confederate flag. MTV President Stephen Friedman said he’s wanted to look at how whites perceive themselves for several years, but it wasn’t until he met Vargas that he felt he’d found the right person to do it.

Vargas is best known for “Documented,” a film where the Philippines-born journalist talks about his status as an undocumented U.S. resident. (His status hasn’t changed since then).

Race was a difficult topic, not simply because it’s uncomfortable to talk about. Shuns, slights and stereotypes aren’t a regular part of life for most whites. More than four-fifths of MTV viewers polled said their families had taught them that everyone should be treated the same, regardless of differences.

A colorblind upbringing is admirable, an attitude that no doubt leads to young people being more accepting of gay marriage, for example, than older Americans, Friedman said. But many also look past the lessons of history to question the need for affirmative action. Vargas talks to a white student with a 3.8 grade point average in high school who now goes to a community college; she and her mother are convinced that racial minorities get the edge in college scholarships and admissions. “I feel like I’m being discriminated against,” she said.

Attitudes hidden beneath the surface are revealed when Vargas talks to the white student who goes to a black college and some of his friends. A white Italian-American from Brooklyn’s Bensonhurst neighborhood is angered by many of the Asians who moved into his neighborhood not wanting to help with a block party until it was pointed out that how his ancestors were looked down upon generations earlier.

Vargas is a facilitator who poses questions throughout the film. His eyebrow is a character of its own, each exaggerated lift conveying skepticism or surprise.

“Part of our job with this special is to really create the space to have an honest dialogue,” he said, “and I think we achieved that.”

Some critics have pounced on MTV before seeing the documentary. Rush Limbaugh’s website proclaims, “MTV Documentary Shames White Youth.” The conservative Breitbart news service headlined a story, “Dear Morons: You are Paying for an Illegal Alien’s MTV White-Shaming Film.” The “paying for” reference alludes to cable subscribers being required to pay for MTV as part of their service even if they don’t necessarily want the network.

“So this is a documentary produced by an illegal immigrant that’s going to run starting July 22nd on MTV on the problems white people have caused in America,” Limbaugh said on his show last week. “Everybody’s shaking their head in there, ‘Oh, this is horrible, this is terrible.’ Yeah, it is, but nobody is going to do anything about it.”

Friedman said he believed the film doesn’t shame white people. Quite the opposite, he said.

“If you see the young people in that film, I think every one of them, because it was done in a respectful way, feels like they came away with a deeper understanding of their community and different people,” he said. “It enabled them to walk in their shoes.”

Given the attention on racial issues now, it’s not surprising that the idea of the film itself will grate on some nerves, he said.

“What I would hope is that people would watch the documentary, because there is nothing about it that is provocative when you sit through it,” he said.

___

Follow David Bauder at twitter.com/dbauder. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/david-bauder.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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BOOK REVIEW: The Afterlife of Malcolm X

Betty Shabazz didn’t like to go to her husband’s speeches, but on that February night in 1965, he asked her to come with their daughters to the Audubon Ballroom in New York. Did Malcolm X sense that something bad would happen on that night? Surely. He was fully aware of the possibility, knowing that he’d been “a marked man” for months because of his very public break with the Nation of Islam.

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Book Cover of the Afterlife of Malcolm X. Courtesy of Simon & Schuster.

By Terri Schlichenmeyer

Author: by Mark Whitaker, c.2025, Simon & Schuster, $30.99, 448 pages

Who will remember you in fifty years’ time?

A handful of friends – at least those who are still around – might recall you. Your offspring, grandkids, and greats, maybe people who stumble upon your tombstone. Think about it: who will remember you in 2075? And then read “The Afterlife of Malcolm X” by Mark Whitaker and learn about a legacy that still resonates a half-century later.

As the news of his murder spread around New York and around the world, his followers and admirers reacted in many ways. His friend, journalist Peter Goldman, was “hardly shocked” because he also knew that Malcolm’s life was in danger, but the arrest of three men accused of the crime didn’t add up. It ultimately became Goldman’s “obsession.”

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Malcolm left his mark on music. He influenced at least three major athletes.

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While it’s true that “The Afterlife of Malcolm X” is an eye-opening book, one that works as a great companion to the autobiography, it’s also a fact that it’s somewhat scattered. Is it a look at Malcolm’s life, his legacy, or is it a “murder mystery”?

Turns out, it’s all three, but the storylines are not smooth. There are twists and tangents and that may take some getting used-to. Just when you’re immersed, even absorbed in this book, to the point where you forget about your surroundings, author Mark Whitaker abruptly moves to a different part of the story. It may be jarring.

And yet, it’s a big part of this book, and it’s essential for readers to know the investigation’s outcome and what we know today. It doesn’t change Malcolm X’s legacy, but it adds another frame around it.

If you’ve read the autobiography, if you haven’t thought about Malcolm X in a while, or if you think you know all there is to know, then you owe it to yourself to find “The Afterlife of Malcolm X.”

For you, this is a book you won’t easily forget.

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The Golden State Valkyries, the WNBA affiliate of the seven-time NBA Champion Golden State Warriors, were announced as the 13th WNBA franchise on Oct. 5, 2023. According to Norse mythology, Valkyries are a host of warrior women who are fearless and unwavering – flying through air and sea alike.

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