Limits of Toleration

[Swatopluk]

The obvious solution is to intermix the anti-non-white stereotypes with enough evil stereotypes about your own culture. Of course some British parents may protest if their little John Bulls get fed Nazi Propganda and Commie cartoons.

Honestly, I can't see a really promising solution there. It may be easy to spot the deliberately biased movies where the injection of stereotypes IS the message but most movies include them more or less unconsciously (including about any 'classic' one could think of). And any comic relief character is more likely than not to run on stereotypes.
What is clearly necessary is to sensitize first the teachers and then the kiddies about this. A rather radical approach was taken by a German school that introduced a regular course on movies but does not show any in the first year. It starts instead with picture analysis through the ages, i.e. how our sense of looking at pictures works and has developed and how artists of the past expressed topics and concepts in their pictures (openly or through symbols). That way students learn how to 'read' images consciously. Once you are aware that almost any image contains deeper layers of meaning, the unconscious/subliminal manipulation of the viewer can be strongly diminished. This has both the effect of at least partial immunization and also a deeper appreciation of the art. When the curriculum then proceeds to the movies the students already possess the tools needed for analysis. I think it is far easier to acquire those with static images, not to forget that the traditions did not die and many of the codes from European art can be found in the movies. As an aside, a thorough understanding of Western art, including movies, without a certain knowledge of the Bible seems impossible to me too.

[Griffin NoName]

a thorough understanding of Western art, including movies, without a certain knowledge of the Bible seems impossible to me too.

Unless the Bonga-Bonga tribe start making films?

[Aggie]

Unless the Bonga-Bonga tribe start making films?

They already do, via their media empire...


_{no wait, that's bunga-bunga...}