Attitude And Cultural Transmission Theory Of Racism In The Film Skin Deep

Since the event was based on privilege and oppression, the event lined up with the lectures and readings towards the beginning of the semester. When the event took place, we had just finished up the chapter on Native American’s. This tied into the event well as the attention getter of the event referenced that the UW La Crosse’s campus was built on stolen land from the Ho Chunk nation. Normally, I would have labeled this as a fun fact of La Crosse, but after taking this course it made me think more in depth into how appalling it was for the white man to not only take the indigenous populations land, but turn it into everything that goes against their beliefs about land ownership. Another topic of the event that fit in well with our early class material dealt with racism being passed from generation to
generation.
I do not remember what scene in particular it was, but they explained how racism in previous generation should be left in that generation, and how it was no excuse for racism to continue. This ideology explained in the event, is almost the exact definition of the Attitude and Cultural Transmission Theory that we covered in the second week of the semester. It was helpful to see this theory being displayed right in front of me, and definitely helped in the comprehension of the theory. The scene also made me think of the young man in the film Skin Deep whose grandparent fought for the confederacy, and because of that his parents would not let him hang out with friends of different races. Although the idea presented by the ATP performance did not contradict with the information regarding the Attitude and Cultural Transmission Theory from class, it definitely provided some new insight into why it is so common among the new generation and why it needs to be stopped in order to prevent racism and stereotypes from
spreading. There was one scene in particular where an actor discussed the importance of identity to the event and to himself. The scene titled “Perfect…To Me” dealt with identity in terms of both race and sexuality. The actor emphasized that identity has nothing to do with the opinion of others, and that you should base your identity on what feels right for you even if that means dressing in high heels as a man. This ideology is expresses in a majority of the ATP performances, and was a reoccurring theme throughout the two shows that I have attended. Awareness Through Performance speaks volumes about being your own person and thinking critically, and I believe this is one of the primary reasons these events are held around campus, to not only promote awareness of societal issues but to be yourself, no matter what that means to you.