The Portrayal of Racism and White Privilege in American Films

White privilege is incredibly in evident in Rush Hour through the roles of the FBI agent in charge of the case. When the Chinese consular calls Lee for backup. The FBI agents feel threatened and annoyed and use the excuse that Lee will simply become a distraction and liability on the case. To the agents, Lee is a foreigner whose crime fighting tactics are subpar when it comes to the almighty FBI of the United States of America. They believe their department is the number one enforcer and that Lee will simply be a pest. As a result, they assign Carter, who is African American, to babysit him. As a result, the entire film is about their desire to find the consul’s daughter despite the commands of the FBI. Pham makes the comment that “Because Lee and Carter are the racial underdogs who successfully challenge two white FBI agents, they represent globally sympathetic figures” (Pham 126). As audience members, we often root for the underdogs and celebrate their victories. At the end of the film, Lee and Carter save the day, while the FBI agents experience embarrassment for not having trusted them. But is that all they get? Embarrassment? In today’s day and age, a public announcement of this racial discrimination would have gotten those FBI agents fired. Hollywood’s omission of the repercussions of exhibiting racism just goes to show that white privilege is incredibly prevalent. The FBI agents belong to the dominant class. Desmond and Emirbayer point out that
Social scientists have amassed a significant amount of evidence that demonstrates how white people, strictly because of their whiteness, reap considerable advantages when buying and selling a house, choosing a neighborhood in which to live, getting a job and moving up the corp...

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...ther by our common human experiences. 12 Years a Slave depicts our country’s history and its roots slavery and how that gave way to the racial disparities that are present today. Although minorities today do not experience the legalized physical abuse slavery once allow, they experience the mental abuse, for they are constantly be stereotyped and profiled where ever they go. This is shown in Frozen River, which depicts the race relations in a poor town and Indian reservation near the US-Canadian border. However, through Frozen River, audiences learn that despite the various cultural backgrounds, members of all race face common experiences that can bond us as a united people. Hollywood’s influence on the American culture is incredibly powerful, and through film, it has the ability to change how generations perceive race and the course of race relations altogether.