美国学生制片人对抗种族歧视

US Student Filmmakers Fight Racial Stereotypes³ 美国学生制片人对抗种族歧视

Over the last few months, a group of American high school students produced a film that explores racial stereotypes. The students wanted to show how problems can result from having ideas about a person based only on his or her race. They also wanted the film to provide possible solutions.

Racial stereotypes are painful

The students all attend Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School in Maryland. It is known locally as BCC. The film is called “I, Too, Am BCC.” It looks at the school's African-American and Hispanic students. They share their thoughts and experiences throughout the documentary. They talk about comments they heard that represent racial stereotypes -- like that blacks are not as smart as whites.

Some students say they feel that they have had to take extra steps to prove their intelligence. Others say that being the only black or Hispanic student in a competitive, high-level class makes them feel as if they do not belong. They say other students are surprised to learn when a minority student has a strong, academic record.

Abigail Braithwaite is one of the three producers of “I, Too, Am BCC.” She said the students filmed for the documentary really tell the story. She said she found that they often shared the same experiences in different situations.

“In the video, a student, Yannik Alexis, tells a story about how his friend, who was like, 'Oh, you don’t look like you get straight As!'

Abigail Braithwaite said she also had a friend express surprise that Braithwaite was taking honors classes. Abigail said she felt sure that that perception was based on the fact that she is African-American.

Filmmaker Makdes Hailu said the documentary helps students who make such comments understand how much pain and damage they cause.

"It’s nothing like, you know, 'I hate you because you're black.' It's none of that. It's really small, micro-aggressions that you hear. It's not necessarily like the person being racist⁴, but the person is buying into all these ill-perceptions that the media portrays⁶.”

Talking about it

The student filmmakers visited about 50 classes where they showed the documentary. Afterward⁷, they would hold discussions about race.

“Watching the video is nice, but it’s not really put to effect unless you have discussions afterwards.”

Makdes Hailu says the message they tried to express was that stereotypes are wrong.

Sharif Robinson is an assistant principal at BCC. He says producing films on racial stereotypes is part of the school’s Minority Scholars Program.

“Our goal for the Minority Scholars Program is to empower students to identify issues at their school, but not just identify the issues, but come up with resolutions.”

Mr. Robinson said the makers¹ of “I, Too, Am BCC” did exactly that.

Looking for solutions

Another of the student filmmakers, Orlando Pinder, said one of the solutions is to meet people who are different from you.

“What we say is just try to meet someone of another race. Try to meet someone who is different than you. If you live in a very segregated⁹ area, and you only know black people or you only know white people, you’re not going to get a sense of the other side.”

The young filmmakers are now working on their next project. They are interviewing students from other high schools in the area and creating a second film on racial stereotypes.

Words in This Story

stereotype² – n. a belief that many people have about all people or things with a similar characteristic or quality

perception – n. the way you think about or understand someone or something

portray⁵ – v. to describe (someone or something) in a given way

segregate⁸ – v. to separate groups of people because of their race or religion

interview – v. to question or talk with someone in order to get information

1 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 stereotype   

n.固定的形象，陈规，老套，旧框框

参考例句：

• He's my stereotype of a schoolteacher.他是我心目中的典型教师。
• There's always been a stereotype about successful businessmen.人们对于成功商人一直都有一种固定印象。

3 stereotypes   

n.老套，模式化的见解，有老一套固定想法的人( stereotype的名词复数 )v.把…模式化，使成陈规( stereotype的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Such jokes tend to reinforce racial stereotypes. 这样的笑话容易渲染种族偏见。
• It makes me sick to read over such stereotypes devoid of content. 这种空洞无物的八股调，我看了就讨厌。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

5 portray   

v.描写，描述；画(人物、景象等)

参考例句：

• It is difficult to portray feelings in words.感情很难用言语来描写。
• Can you portray the best and worst aspects of this job?您能描述一下这份工作最好与最坏的方面吗？

6 portrays   

v.画像( portray的第三人称单数 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• The museum collection vividly portrays the heritage of 200 years of canals. 博物馆的藏品让运河200 年的历史再现眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The film portrays Gandhi as a kind of superman. 这部电影把甘地描绘成一个超人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

8 segregate   

adj.分离的，被隔离的；vt.使分离，使隔离

参考例句：

• We have to segregate for a few day.我们得分离一段日子。
• Some societies still segregate men and women.有的社会仍然将男女隔离。

9 segregated   

分开的； 被隔离的

参考例句：

• a culture in which women are segregated from men 妇女受到隔离歧视的文化
• The doctor segregated the child sick with scarlet fever. 大夫把患猩红热的孩子隔离起来。