Introduction
Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, states that when we talk about racism today, we are not only referring to the explicit racism of yesterday, we are referring to colorblind racism, the new form of racism. In Racism Without Racists, Bonilla-Silva points out distinguishable frames of colorblind racism to include abstract liberalism, naturalization, cultural racism, and minimization of racism. Bonilla-Silva categorically explains how these frames are widely used, and asserts that to be a white person who claims to not see color, is to perpetuate widespread racial categorization that awards white privilege
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an American movie classic adaptation of Mark Twain’s novel, directed by Peter H. Hunt. In the movie, Twain illustrates the social climate in America mainly through the issue of slavery. The movie was released in the year 1986, with Patrick Day staring as the lead protagonist of the story, Huckleberry Finn. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn follow the journey of Huck, a poor white boy, and Jim, a black runaway slave in their quest for freedom. Ultimately, Huck is running from an abusive father while Jim is running away from the institution of slavery. The movie explicitly identifies cultural themes about race in American society.
The main purpose of this essay is to analyze how three important quotes and how the use of the N-word illustrates the social climate of racism in American society influenced by Twain’s film adaptation in the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Further, it illustrates Bonilla-Silva's four frames of colorblind racism.
Like, Bonilla-Silva, Twain, aims to decode the various elements of racial prejudice, discrimination, inequality, and blatant racial hypocrisy not apparent in American Society during their time. Although, Bonilla-Silva and Twain approach racism in different times, if we take their line of reasoning seriously, the consequent is equality and progression amongst all races in American society. In the movie, the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, one can see the effect of inequality and race relations among blacks and whites in American society
The framework of Abstract liberalism
Abstract liberalism encompasses beliefs connected with civic liberty such as, an equal opportunity which holds that coercion should not be harnessed to fulfill social legislation and economic freedom (e.g, choice individualism) abstractly to explain racial matters (Bonilla-Silva). In the movie, the social climate of America during the 19th century created chaos. Realism emerged in America during the time of industrialization and urbanization, and shortly after the Civil War, a time of great tensions between the northern and southern states on issues of slavery, federal authority versus states' rights, along with the westward expansion.
Twain shows white society’s dehumanization of blacks in postbellum America. In the movie, Twain uses Huck’s father Pap to illustrate southern white society’s pro-slavery stance. For instance, Pap says, “It was 'lection day, and I was just about to go and vote myself if I wasn't too drunk to get there; but when they told me there was a State in this country where they'd let that nigger vote, I drawed out.” In short, Pap will sacrifice his civil liberty to participate in free elections simply because a black man might be eligible to vote elsewhere in the country.
This, therefore, relates to Bonilla Silva's examples of how the framework of Abstract liberalism can favor racism. For example, slaves can vote based on a state's choice, this alternative justifies segregation. According to Bonilla Silva, if we take this line of reasoning seriously, the implications are that it allows some states to deny blacks their right to vote and remain segregated. However, the movie's representation of Pap as the ignorant town drunk serves as a metaphor to show the social climate of ignorance in the south and prevalent racism at the time.
The framework of Cultural Racism
Today, cultural racism targets minorities of color for the justification of ongoing disparities, a criticize the-victim approach. With cultural racism people of color experience a wide gap in measurements required for advancement. For example, cultural racism consists of family structures that maintain disequilibrium and do not value education (Bonilla-Silva). As an illustration, the movie underpins determinants traditionally associated with cultural racism such as the use of the N-word.
While the movie uses the dialect to address blacks in that time, the use of the N-word now sparks controversy. The N-word in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a racial slur that denotes blacks as inhuman, inferior and ignorant. Likewise, the use of the N-word in American society today can be seen as cultural racism because although some argue that the term is non-racial because it no longer holds the same meaning, rather it can be used to imply a form of empowerment. However, if we take this line of reasoning seriously, the implications are that continued use of such a term once used to demoralize blacks will only help to perpetuate racism towards blacks and create further stereotypes.
The rooted definition of the term does not represent what it means to be black, also today’s social acceptability of the N-word is not an absolute form of empowerment., and creates stereotypes that are not always an accurate representation of people of color. Hence, continued use of this term will, in turn, create the inability to control how a group is viewed. The manifestations of racism in the United States, as Bonilla-Silva himself acknowledges, has transformed under the guise of being 'subtle, institutional and apparently non-racial' (Bonilla-Silva). Therefore, today’s social acquiescence of the N-word is a form of cultural racism that can lead to the stereotypes of racial inequality, socio-political, socio-demographic, and socioeconomic disparities among blacks and whites.
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Like Bonilla-Silva, Mark Twain’s film adaptation of the Adventures of Huck Fin equips both whites and people of color with the tools to recognize, understand and disassemble this softer, kinder and deflective form of racism. () In the movie, the N-word came with certain stereotypes, likewise today. The N-word was culturally acceptable then, and still culturally acceptable today, but negative stereotyping with the N-word has not disappeared regardless of redefining or cultural acceptability.
The framework of Naturalization
To Bonilla Silva, naturalism holds that segregation, and racial preferences, are produced through social processes, with naturalism whites can claim segregation is natural because people from all backgrounds gravitate towards likeness. (Bonilla-Silva) As an illustration, the film underpins determinants traditionally associated with naturalization. For example, Huck says to Jim, “I couldn’t help a runaway slave Jim why folks would say I was no better than a low down abolitionist.” () Namely, helping Jim to freedom would be an act against his kind because despite being poor, he is still white. To Huck, he does not want to be a low down white abolitionist, because the abolitionist is going against the grain, against what it means to be white, thus accompanying the characteristic of white inferiority, so long as they chose to help black people gain freedom.
For Huck, it seems natural that Jim is a slave, hence, the racial hierarchy between blacks and whites is also natural. Therefore, relates to Bonilla Silva's examples of how the framework of naturalism can promote racism. To Bonilla Silva, the people who use the naturalization frame are trying to argue that we should not try to fight nature. We should not try to address segregation because mixing people is unnatural. (Bonilla-Silva) In this scene, Huck uses naturalism to justify why he will not lead Jim to freedom nor try to address segregation, for Huck being a white abolitionist is unnatural. The frame of naturalization in Huck’s quote suggests racial hierarchies, segregation, and acceptance of the inhumane act of slavery.
However, as the movie unfolds, Huck grapples with whether to turn Jim in, when they thought they almost reached Cairo, where Jim would gain his freedom. In this scene, the key concept is that Twain allows Huck to approach slavery through his practicality and rationalization, by analyzing his feelings he can act on Huck’s nature instead of society’s unjust, hypocrite nature of holding people as slaves simply because of their race.
The framework of Minimization of Racism
Minimization of racism is a frame that suggests discrimination is no longer a central factor affecting minorities' life chances and that it’s better now than the past mindset (Bonilla-Silva) The movie underpins determinants traditionally associated with the minimization of racism. For example, Huck says to Jim, “it would be a thousand times better to be a slave back where your family is”( ) In this scene, Huck exemplifies Bonilla Silva minimization of racism framework because the frame of minimization of racism uses the acceptance of racism and discrimination as a starting point but immediately attempts to dismiss its extent and effect. (Bonilla-Silva)
Huck plays down the inhumanity of racism, and the savagery of slavery, by saying alternatively it is better to be a slave in one region, rather than the other. In this quote, Huck still struggles to understand that the institution of slavery is inherently wrong, merciless and barbarous, no matter the region. Ultimately, like the minimization of racism suggest Huck unfeelingly disregards the severity and consequence of slavery. Hence, if we take this line of reasoning seriously, the implications are that the institution of slavery in some regions across America is allowable because whites will ignore the severity of racism. Correspondingly, the minimization of racism frame today allows whites to ignore claims of racial discrimination from people who are experiencing it. (Bonilla-Silva)
However, Jim’s response to Huck is I ain't got to be a slave, and ain't gon be a slave, am gonna be free as soon as we get to Caro. ( ) In short, Jim’s response to Huck shows that racial inequality and the institution of slavery are undesirable despite geographic location. Twain allows Huck to understand the severity and undesirability of slavery through Jim's reasoning, as a result, both Huck and Jim establish oneness regardless of racial differences, just as, awareness of minimization of racism today will ensure unity and togetherness in societies and therefore, elimination of colorblindness. (Bonilla-Silva)
Finally, although, Bonilla-Silva and Twain approach racism in different times, the movie demonstrates the typical colorblind pattern that Bonilla-Silva describes in Racism Without Racists. As an illustration, both Bonilla Silva and Mark Twain explicitly decode the various elements of racial prejudice, discrimination, inequality, and racial hypocrisy not blatantly apparent in American society during their time. For example, in the movie, the N-word came with certain stereotypes, likewise today. Although the N-word was culturally acceptable then and still culturally acceptable today, negative stereotyping with the N-word has not vanished despite redefining and cultural acceptability. These negative stereotypes underpin determinants traditionally associated with cultural racism because it targets people of color for the justification of ongoing inequality, a criticize the-victim approach. (Bonilla-Silva)
Twain and Silva call for equality and progression amongst all races in American society. Throughout the movie, the main inference draws attention to the hypocrisy of racism through the moral development of Huck, just as Bonilla-Silva discusses the effect of colorblind racism today through four frameworks.
Like Bonilla Silva, Twain aims to expose slavery and examine race relations. Similarly, Bonilla-Silva sheds light on the reality of colorblind racism in American society today amongst people of color. The key concept we need to understand in the movie is that the relationship between Huck and Jim has the dimension to rise above racism and progress against society's position on slavery. Correspondingly, the frameworks of colorblind racism illustrate the hypocrisy of racial impartiality, and how to identify hidden prejudice, so in turn, we can achieve absolute transracial democracy in American society today.
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