D.S.R

Discrimination, Stereotyping and Racism

What Is Discrimination?

The unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people, especially on the grounds of race, age, and sex.

 What is Stereotyping?

View or represent as stereotype.

What is Racism?

The belief that all members of each race possess characteristics, abilities or qualities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races.

Examples of Discrimination:

Discrimination of Women: women were only counted as tools or servants, or only useful for giving birth, cooking and cleaning. It wasn't until the 20th century that women were equalised in most, but not all, countries.
The Suffragettes: Were members of women's organisations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries which advocated the extension of the "franchise", or right to vote in public elections, to women. It particularly refers to militants in the United Kingdom such as members of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU)

Slavery: Early civilisation were based on the works of slaves, like Babylon, Egypt, Ancient Greece, and Ancient Rome. In 1853, The USA declared freedom of all slaves, who were predominantly Afro American. 

India's Caste System: India's society is based upon a system divided into castes into which you can only be born. 'The Untouchables' fall at the bottom of the pyramid, and are almost slaves.

Nazism: The discrimination of Jews- An ideology in Germany between 1933 and 1945 that rose in favour with Adolf Hitler. Nazism fought against the communism by drawing away works from it. A main element was superiority, or the inferiority of undesirable races, religions, and livelihoods.

The Rohingya: The Rohingya people are Muslim-Indo-Aryan's from the Rakhine state in Myanmar, also known as Burma. According to the Rohingya's and some scholars, they are indigenous to Rakhine, while other historians claim that they migrated from Bengal during the period of British rule  in Burma, and to lesser extent, following Burmese Independence in 1948, and the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. The Rohingya's people are often considered one of the most persecuted minorities in the world.

Chittagong Hill Tracts: The monogoliods of the Chittagong Hill Tracts have been pressed by the Dravidians, Mughals, British, Pakistanis, and most recently, the Bangladeshi. They have been pressed by the people of the plains, and have never had self-governance.

Discrimination against LGBTQ community: The LGBTQ community has fought against discrimination throughout history, and is only in recent years that action is being taken to protect the community. Laws in some (not all) countries have been put in place to protect and equalise the LGBTQ community, while in others it persecutes them.  The community is fighting against discrimination in employment, housing and elsewhere.

Stonewall Riots: The Stonewall Riots were a series of spontaneous and violent attacks carries out by members of the LGBTQ community against a police raid in 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, New York. It is widely considered to be the single most important event that led up to the Gay Rights Liberation Movement, and the modern fight for LGBT rights in the U.S.  

75 countries still criminalise same-sex sexual acts between consenting adults – down from 92 countries in 2006.

Examples of Racism:

The Klu Klux Klan: The name of three distinct past and present movements in the U.S that have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as White Supremacy, White Nationalism, anti-immigration, and later, iterations, Nordicism, anti-Catholicism, and anti-Semitism. They are historically expressed through terrorism aimed at groups or individuals whom they oppose.

Nordicism: An ideology of racial separatism which viewed the Nordics as an endangered racial group, most notably Madison Grant's book, The Passing Of The Great Race.
Nordics: The Nordic countries or Nordics are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic, where they are most commonly known as Norden.

Anti-Japanese Sentiment: Anti-Japanese Sentiment exists in the U.S, and has existed since the 19th century, during the yellow peril. It peaked during the second World War, and again in the 1970's to 1980's, with the rise of Japan as a major economical power. 

Anti-Chinese Sentiment: The anti-Chinese Sentiment exists in the U.S, and has existed since the early 18th century. Origins have been traced to merchants, missionaries and diplomats who sent home  from China "Relentlessly negative" reports of people that they had met there. These attitudes were transmitted to Americans who never left north America, triggering talks of the Yellow Peril, which continued through the Cold War and McCarthyism. Modern anti-Chinese Sentiment comes from their rise as a major world power.

The Yellow Peril: Also known as the Yellow Terror or the Yellow Spectre. It was a racist colour-xenophobic theory of colonialism; that the peoples of East Asia are a danger to the Western World.

Literature and Film:

Literature and films offer us an insight into Discrimination and Racism that we may not experience ourselves. This also offers us an insight into racism and discrimination within history, and how it has changed today. Some examples of Discrimination and Racism in literature of film are:

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

The story is set in the 1930's in Maycomb county (an imaginary place set in Alabama) during the great depression. It follows the life of a young girl, "Scout', and her family. (Jem, her brother, and Atticus, her father) In this book, you learn a little about the discrimination the black population suffered, and the injustice put upon them for the colour of their skin. 

Spirits' Homecoming

Spirits' homecoming follows a young girl who lives in Korea during the Japanese Imperial Rule. We follow the young girl as she is taken from home by Japanese soldiers and put into a comfort station. She makes numerous attempts at escape, but eventually is freed by Korean soldiers.

It could be considered a biased film, however it shows the discrimination showed between the two nations during time of war due to their nationality.

The Dairy of Anne Frank

As this is the actual diary of Anne Frank, it offers a unique insight into the treatment and fear of the Jewish people during Hitler's reign. It is very interesting, as it also changes how you see people who are revered in history.

The Green Mile

This film, much like To Kill A Mockingbird, hows the discrimination black people faced during the 1930's. Set in a prison on the 'Green Mile' or Death's Row, we follow the wrongly accused John Coffey and supervisor Paul Edgecomb. It was imply a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but despite knowing the truth. Edgecomb is unable to do anything to help.

My Idea Proposal:

I have decided to build on the theme of my manifesto. By using the themes of Discrimination and Racism, and things alike, I want to create work that brings to light things that are often ignored because of the sensitive nature of the topics. 

I do, however, want to add my own flair to it.

I aim to play with the boundaries between dark and garish, while stealthily candy-coating the disturbing nature of the theme.

Some of the artists I will be looking at are Craig Fisher, Michael Craig Martin, Hieronymus Bosch, Hannah Hoch, and Tatiana Blass.