Black and/or White: Race Relations on Film

Why can’t we all just get along? It should be easier than easy to vibe with people from other backgrounds than our own; there should be no obstacles or roadblocks segregating us or just plain old keeping us divided. But it’s 2015, and racial harmony is still a distant dream the whole world over. Whether taking a glance at the unrest and rage fomented in Ferguson, Missouri starting this past August or listening to hate rants broadcast on Australian public transportation, denying racism’s continued existence is kind of impossible.

So to help out and “commemorate” the release of Black or White, we selected a handful of films that are all about — or, in some cases, partly about — navigating the terrain of race relations, in the hopes that we can all learn to be more accepting of others. (Think of it as a guide to not being a xenophobe.)

Blazing Saddles

Mel Brook’s Western parody doesn’t really go for subtlety or nuance; pretty much every white person depicted in Blazing Saddles is a big huge racist, whether it’s Harvey Korman’s unscrupulous State Attorney General or Jessamine Milner’s foul-mouthed elderly frontierwoman. But the film is all about shifting perception rather than fighting it. You don’t stamp out bigotry through force of arms, but rather strength of character, and Sheriff Bart manages to turn Rock Ridge into a racial utopia in ninety minutes by doing just that.

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner

Are you as tolerant as you say you are? Even the most progressive and culturally inclusive people might harbor a few prejudices here and there; they may not necessarily be slavering racists, but they’re not as evolved as we’d like to think, either. Such is the case with Stanley Kramer’s 1967 classic, in which Sidney Poitier and Katharine Houghton surprise Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn with their surprise engagement. Uncomfortable hilarity – the kind where laughs stick in your throat – and learning ensue.

Do the Right Thing

Twenty six years after its release, Spike Lee’s awesome masterpiece remains the greatest film about race relations ever made; it’s a fiery, pissed off picture that’s shaped as much by heartbreak and tragedy as it is by outrage. It’s also just as relevant in the myth of a post-racial United States as it was in 1989, perhaps more so. Do the Right Thing dives into the universal virulence of racism, showing viewers in unflinching detail how hatred and discrimination affect everybody living in our society’s diverse landscape.

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Never trust an elf! Until a dark object with the power to enslave all free races in the world emerges from the bowels of the earth. Then go right ahead; trust that elf. The Lord of the Rings trilogy may be many things – an unlikely hero’s journey, an anti-industrialist screed, an examination of mortality – but nestled in between New Zealand’s sweeping vistas and sword and sorcery rumpuses, it presents a simple parable about a pointy-eared pretty boy and a hirsute, grouchy dwarf overcoming their intolerance and finding common bonds of friendship in the process.

Manderlay

What happens when white people, burdened by the crushing weight of liberal guilt, insert themselves into an oppressive system they don’t understand? Lars von Trier’s Manderlay tries to answer this question while also taking on the subject of American racism. (In the process he alienates just about every audience demographic imaginable, but that’s just Lars being Lars.) Call the film racist, call it anti-American, call it a critique of George W. Bush’s war in Iraq or of left wing politics in general; you might be better off just calling it complicated.