The movie titled "Green Book" is a real black travel guide in history. In 1962, the white supremacy movement set off another climax in the United States. The black postman Victor Hugo Green wrote a pamphlet indicating which hotels and restaurants allow blacks to stay and eat. The name "Green Book" in the booklet is taken from Green, and it seems to adopt the meaning of green symbolizing unobstructedness. The two male protagonists of the movie drove this green paper to tour around the United States. A male protagonist is Tang, a famous black musician, and Tony, a white veteran who is in a nightclub, was called to be Tang’s driver. The contrast between skin color and cultural accomplishment naturally produces some wonderful chemical reactions during the journey. In addition, the film also shows many levels of entanglement: racial discrimination, inequality of the same race, master and servant, the social status of musicians, family relations, and so on.
Many movies that reflect racism have some politically correct meanings in them. In this movie, it should be the plot of the musician Don in the bar getting drunk and being beaten by a group of white people. In the end, Tony (the white driver) used violence to fight violence and rescued Tang from a bunch of fists and the muzzle of a shotgun. However, the greater part of this movie is that it unexpectedly avoided direct conflicts between races and instead used some inverted ways to reflect the discrimination itself. White people who seem to be friendly have turned a hundred and eighty degrees when they encounter practical problems. For example, the two went south to a luxurious manor. The owner of the manor welcomed the musicians politely. After the performance, Tang wanted to use the bathroom. The owner of the manor refused to let him use the bathroom for the guests, and only allowed him to use a hut built by a simple shed in the yard. Because at that time in the South and before the liberation of serfs, blacks could not use the same toilet as whites. Even if Tang is a noble musician and has performed twice in the White House, it is no exception. When the two were put in jail because Tony hit a traffic policeman, Tang called the president's brother and got an "amnesty" from the upper echelon before he was released. Even such a Tang cannot avoid being discriminated against. Another example of the contrast comes from a high-end restaurant in Birmingham. The restaurant invited Tang to perform. When the restaurant manager saw Tang, his mouth was full of beautiful words, but the lounge arranged for Tang was a small storage room, and Tang was not allowed to dine in the restaurant, because the restaurant’s The rule is not to accept blacks.
In my opinion, this movie has one more greatness. Guess boldly, this movie is also a bit of "righteousness" for white people. In the middle of the journey, a dialogue between the two sublimated the theme of the movie. Tony said, I grew up in a small society, surrounded by my relatives and acquaintances. I haven't read any books or seen anything in the world. It's not like you have received so much education, that's why I think I am like this. This passage was originally to refute Don's view that Tony behaved too vulgarly and judged people by appearance. On the other hand, I saw some sympathy for discriminators on the issue of discrimination.
Contemporary America can be said to have studied discrimination to the extreme. When I first came to study in the United States, I met Asian classmates in the school who had English names and Chinese surnames. We sometimes get used to asking, do you speak Chinese (either we speak Chinese for communication) or are you Chinese. The other party was silent for a few seconds and said:
"I'm from Michigan!".
Then he rolled his eyes and left.
Once chatting with a roommate who is also a Chinese student, I feel that most ABCs are very difficult to communicate. You step up to say hello, and she just responded casually and turned away. Roommates said that because they are afraid of being mistaken for Chinese students, they are far away from the Chinese circle.
My roommate said that there was a post on the Internet saying that those cold ABCs were all from immigrant families at the bottom. In the early years, it was not easy for parents to work illegally. They finally settled down for fear that they would be regarded as babysitters and Chinese restaurants. Waiter, so you have to lean on the mainstream society desperately. And those ABCs who immigrated with their parents with a high degree of education do not matter. When they come into contact with international students, they take the initiative to report out of their homes, and some insist on speaking a few words in Chinese to win everyone's favor.
Think about it basically the same rule around. In the past, when we were in China, there were often regional discrimination, clothing discrimination, and school discrimination. "High climb" is probably everyone's mentality more or less. The smaller the city, the more serious the mentality of judging people by appearance. They haven't seen much in the world, so they put labels on people according to their accent and appearance.
A few days ago, I heard from a white colleague that she went to a party to meet a black man. The apartment in that house is full of carpets, so everyone took off their shoes. She praised that the pattern on the other party's socks was pretty. The black man said, thank you, it's basketball socks. Then she followed along and asked:
"You play basketball?"
"Hey, you are discriminating against me." The black man said angrily.
What? I just ask if you can play basketball. I discriminated against you? Yes, the basketball world is indeed dominated by blacks. But is this buddy too glass-hearted, or does he naturally think that as long as you are white, you will discriminate against blacks. Is this also a kind of discrimination against white skin color?
Another time I talked to a colleague about a topic that could trigger a ship capsize. There is a German in the department who is a little dull and cute, and there is an American in the department with the same name as him, so they often joke, adding "that German" to his name every time he is mentioned. Once we sat together, I asked those who often joke, what do you think Germans have stereotypes. This question doesn’t feel too obtrusive in Chinese (please talk to "What are the characteristics of you Hubei people"). When it is placed in the English context, it suddenly becomes an extremely acute question, because Americans dare not be Put on the hat of "comment on others at will."
The colleague who had been joking all the time suddenly said cautiously, eh. . . . . Probably. . . . Um. . . It should be more conventional. . . . . . What do you Chinese think of Americans?
Suddenly I felt that I was hit by the bullet that I had fired back. Talking about the topics that you have caused yourself, even if you cry. I said, maybe it's a party every day, like that in movies.
This doesn't seem to be a harsh comment, but it makes me tremble. Because in American schools, it is taboo to "judge people by their appearance" and to criticize people casually. If you really use the habit of chatting in China to chat with people in the United States, you will probably step on a minefield. So it makes sense for Americans not to make friends with colleagues.
I have always felt that a lot of racial discrimination has been abused. It is often seen that Asian employees work harder than African-American employees in an organization, but their wages and opportunities for promotion are much less. Chinese and ethnic minorities compete for the same position in the academic circle. If the resume of the Chinese is not much higher than that of the other party, it is basically impossible to get it. Once I had a meal with a few ethnic minority friends, they also said that when we apply for school, we will put special emphasis on our race, so the application will be much easier. It is really difficult for you Chinese to go to school.
Last month I met a second generation of Chinese sociology at Columbia University. Because I have met with a blind eye before, now I don’t ask questions about family and language when I meet a Chinese. While chatting, she took the initiative to tell me that her parents are from China. I looked a little surprised. Unexpectedly, she was actually very excited and said, "Wow, do I not look like a Chinese!". It seems that it is also an ABC who wants to get rid of the identity of the Chinese. Later we talked about going to school. I said that it’s not easy for you Asians. You have to be much better than minorities to get into schools of the same level. She said that you are not right, because Americans know that we Chinese can come to the United States, and we are not ordinary people. For example, my dad is a university professor, he can easily find a job, and our family’s economy is guaranteed; but black people are there. Historically, the proletariat was originally oppressed, but the starting point was low, and some compensation must be given to them.
I think what she said makes sense. My parents were once an oppressed class, and thanks to historical arrangements, otherwise the university would not have their children from poor families studying. Finally tied from the behind starting line, looks won't suffer too much. But even if black people get the opportunity to go to university, in many people's minds, they can't get rid of the appearance label of "dangerous"; as depicted in the movie, the "lower class" of black people is a deep-rooted idea in the hearts of the descendants of slave owners. Modern society is also forgiven for giving some compensation to blacks. Asians don't like to resist, and silently endure the discrimination of going to higher education. White people are even less daring to speak up. They were originally the focus of anti-racism.
Not long ago, New York University's supply of fried chicken and watermelon juice during the Black Week was triggered a discussion of racial discrimination. This news indirectly imitated Xie Er's move in "The Big Bang Theory" to give the head of the black department the classic TV series "Roots" about serfs. A little bit angry and a little funny, and more helpless. In the case of racial discrimination, the media usually does not give discriminators the right to speak out. News about discrimination against Asians is also uncommon. Sometimes I think whether everyone is really glass-hearted. Model Gigi Hadid's single eyelid model was accused of racial discrimination. Dolce & Gabbana's model deliberately painted small eye makeup, which is also racial discrimination (but Dolce & Gabbana's advertisements and Twitter messages are indeed excessive). Let me talk about my own experience. One day I was buying lunch at the hospital where I worked. When I swiped my card, the salesperson took my card and asked, would you like to help the old lady behind you swipe it? I was stunned for a while before I realized that she should have regarded me as the caregiver of the old white lady behind. I do seem to be similar to the usual Chinese nurses in the hospital, so I don't blame her anymore. My colleague said that the level of discrimination is enough to make a news story. With the gradual refinement of racial discrimination, people become more and more sensitive. Toni in "Green Book" was originally a Danish with blond hair and deep eyes. His hair was dyed black and his eyes were made up to do an Italian. In the film, he made a joke about the Italian surname more than once. Is it considered that the producer is discriminating against Italians?
This movie can be regarded as a small opportunity for white people to complain. Not every white man has been educated and seen the world, and not every white man has to live a decent life. I grew up in a small environment. I have not seen many people who are different from me. I have only seen black people who eat fried chicken. I think you look like a person who likes to eat fried chicken. You can buy fried chicken. Can't also understand my short-sightedness and outspokenness.
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