Questions On Race: The Power Of An Illusion
1. What most surprised you about the film? Which particular arguments or information stuck out the most to you?
When watching the video, Race: The Power of an Illusion, I found it really interesting when the students in the workshop were testing their DNA. I related to the students and thought the same thing they thought when they were deciding who would be the closest match in DNA and in the skin test. I wish I had had the opportunity to do the same type of project when I was in biology in high school. When the results from the tests were shown I was shocked. It was not that they were closer to other people with different skin colors, but that they were so different from people with similar heritage. The argument about race not existing really …show more content…
How does the film criticize the idea of race as biology? Discuss what these scientific criticisms mean for the common beliefs of individuals about race.
The film made it clear that scientists perspective on what race is and how it is seen in biology is different than what most Americans consider race to be. The film states that race is not a biological difference in people, it is just the amount of melanin your skin produces. There is no basis for what race is, it is simply more of an idea that we only associate with biology because we do not know what else to do with it. The reason race does not exist related to biology is because we cannot measure race. Under our skin color, we all have the same heart, lungs, and bones. Although humans do have different sizes and shapes of the things under our skin, it is not related to our skin color. Essentially, race means absolutely nothing when it comes to the make up of our …show more content…
In fact, we often find that a population of a certain group usually sticks with what is said to be their better sport or academic field based off certain stereotypes society has created. It is not the race that contributes to the variation though. The environment from birth, home life, school, and friends are actually what give people the initial drive to succeed in certain areas. For example, it is “known” that African Americans tend to be great at basketball, but in the 1930’s the Jewish culture dominated basketball. In the early 2000s, the top pick for drafting in basketball were Chinese. You cannot isolate a gene or a race for a complex trait. There is so much more than race that makes up a person, and there is no correlation between skin color and rate of success in academics, sports, or
When watching the video, Race: The Power of an Illusion, I found it really interesting when the students in the workshop were testing their DNA. I related to the students and thought the same thing they thought when they were deciding who would be the closest match in DNA and in the skin test. I wish I had had the opportunity to do the same type of project when I was in biology in high school. When the results from the tests were shown I was shocked. It was not that they were closer to other people with different skin colors, but that they were so different from people with similar heritage. The argument about race not existing really …show more content…
How does the film criticize the idea of race as biology? Discuss what these scientific criticisms mean for the common beliefs of individuals about race.
The film made it clear that scientists perspective on what race is and how it is seen in biology is different than what most Americans consider race to be. The film states that race is not a biological difference in people, it is just the amount of melanin your skin produces. There is no basis for what race is, it is simply more of an idea that we only associate with biology because we do not know what else to do with it. The reason race does not exist related to biology is because we cannot measure race. Under our skin color, we all have the same heart, lungs, and bones. Although humans do have different sizes and shapes of the things under our skin, it is not related to our skin color. Essentially, race means absolutely nothing when it comes to the make up of our …show more content…
In fact, we often find that a population of a certain group usually sticks with what is said to be their better sport or academic field based off certain stereotypes society has created. It is not the race that contributes to the variation though. The environment from birth, home life, school, and friends are actually what give people the initial drive to succeed in certain areas. For example, it is “known” that African Americans tend to be great at basketball, but in the 1930’s the Jewish culture dominated basketball. In the early 2000s, the top pick for drafting in basketball were Chinese. You cannot isolate a gene or a race for a complex trait. There is so much more than race that makes up a person, and there is no correlation between skin color and rate of success in academics, sports, or