whiteness within Angela and Grace Lee
When we talk about race in regards to both films, one might concluded that Grace Lee Project dealt with race more aggressively compared to Angela Shelton because she focus more on herself with the exception of a few black women. I find this to be problematic because many times within discussions about race “white” or Caucasian goes unmarked as a race and becomes the norm. This is dangerous because one needs to look at whiteness/ white privilege when talking about race dynamics/relations. When I am viewing a film that deals with one specific race and/or gender—I always view it knowing the background on which it sits. Whiteness and masculinity become the background. In the Grace Lee Project she interviews many people who have known a Grace Lee and they all come up with the same attributions: quiet, nice, intelligent, musical, beautiful, etc. And even at one point Grace Lee says something to the effect, “they all started looking the same, I couldn’t tell the difference”. I would have to say that both of those statements are very stereotypical for Asian women, as though a race can be easily be defined across the board. Yet every woman, even Grace Lee herself, tried to fight against these stereotypes and not let her “Asian” skin define her. I believe this goes back to living in a world where whiteness/white privilege goes unmarked, thus not allowing responsibility to fall where it should. I will provide a link to Peggy McIntosh paper on white privilege to give everyone a clear understanding of what it means.