White People’s Superiority

majority, but no one accept him as a friend. His teacher introduced him to the students at lunch. She smiled as she was talking to the students, but afterwards, she told Joe to find a seat with scornful eyes. Joe was confused. Nobody seems want to sit with him. There was even a girl who mocked him and called him an afro 19 . When he seems to find a seat, a kid told Joe that the seat has taken that there is no room for him, Although the seat is spacious. Joe took a courage to sit beside the kids, but the kids leave him. Only Sam stayed at the seat, over Joe to trade food, and even make a promise to trade again tomorrow. Below are some pictures which portray the discrimination that Joe’s face. Picture 2 00:09:46 Picture 3 00:09:42 Picture 4 00:09:59 Picture 5 00:10:06 After the school, Sam got tripped by the kid who left the seat besides Joe. Not only he hates to be with an afro, he also hates the people who was friend with 19 Afro is African American which also referred as Black Americans or Afro-American, are citizens or residents of the United States who have total or partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa. an afro. Joe saw Sam being tripped, tried to help her. He declare a fight with the kid who trip Sam. The kid who trip Sam mocked Joe by saying “I’m gonna talk real slow so you can understand me” Dialogue 1 00:11:29 His saying Just prove on how he looked into a black people as brainless and fool so if he talk too fast, the black people won’t understand him. Joe then give a punch to that kid, this scene just showed on how black people was represented as a rude people and like to pick a fight to everyone Macon called Sam in the morning telling her they were out of the hospital and that she was lying to him for not coming. Sam feels sorry for has not coming yet and promise them to come with some snacks. Sam, then comes to Macon and Keisha’s home. Picture 6 00:18:14 From the picture, Sam came to Keisha’s house and brought some food for her and her brother Macon. Keisha wrote her gratitude to Sam on her note book as she was not able to speak. Sam was also happy to help. This occasion showed that Sam felt more superior because she could help some needed Black children and that she would help whoever they are as they need her help, no matter where their color or where they came from. In front of Macon and Keisha’s house, there was an old lady drinking alcohol and smoking as most of black people was described as drunkards. She could not believe her eyes for seeing a white people coming to the slum area. She thanked her for helping the kids. Sam replied by saying anybody would have done it. Maddy says that nobody would have done it because they are black. Maddy’s words means that there will be no one especially white people would help Black kids that needed help which means that her perspective of White people who would help only people from the same class. It can be seen from the dialogue below: Maddy : It’s a good thing what you done for my babies. Sam : Well, anybody would’ve done it. Maddy : Aw, no, they wouldn’t. Dialogue 2 00:18:49 – 00:18:57 Sam came to met detective Miller, the person who proceed Sam’s husband’s death, to tell him about her suspicion to Macon and Keisha’s neighbor, Tee. She thought that Tee was her husband’s killer because he is a mechanic and has a red sweater those things are in the description of Sam husband’s killer. Detective Miller then told her that he already interrogated every mechanic in the neighborhood where her husband found dead, but detective Miller, on the contrary, said that all the bangers wear red and that Sam is only grasping on straws which means that her suspicion is too unclear. Det. Miller : Look, I’m no racist, but I am a realist. This is The Commons. They throw a party if a boy makes his 21 st birthday, because he’s defying the odds. Did you ever play with pit bull pups? They’re so cute, cuddly. Then they grow up. They become what nature intended them to be. They can’t help it. I think about those kids you picked up, and I wonder what they might become. Dialogue 3 00:26:35 – 00:27:10 Those words of Detective Miller proved that he strongly held on to the thought of White people’s point of view about racism value and that Black people are criminals. A racism description is used to brand such groups with the stereotypes that mark them as inferior. 20 It was even very rare for Black people to reach 21 years old because of the rate of criminality happened in Black people’s environment. He also thought that Black people were just a bunch of criminals by comparing them with a pit Bull dog which was very cute when they were little but became a brutal when they grew up as being a brutal is their nature. Just like Black people, which when they grew up, they become criminals as the nature intended to be and that they cannot changed it. Detective miller even used the term “down there” to called the slum area where Sam’s husband found dead to justify Black people’s place. Sam, as the portrayal of White people’s superiority could be seen when Joe was playing with Sam in a woods and told Sam that his dream was to be a Samurai. Unexpectedly, Joe was attacked by a snake while he and Sam was playing. Sam went to find someone to helped Joe. 20 Peter Brooker, Op. Cit, p. 227 Picture 7 00:31:20 The picture showed when Joe was attacking a snake. Unfortunately, Joe got bitten by the snake, so Sam went to go find someone to get Joe to the hospital. She even waited for him to get conscious. Sam also gave Joe a picture of him that she drew to cheer him. This situation portrayed that Sam not only accepted Joe as a friend, but she also cared for him. Sam helped Joe to get treated from the snake’s poison and get him to the hospital. In the hospital, Joe was with his grandmother and asking whether his father will come to see him or not. Joe also asked his grandma about why his father did not love him. This portrayed Black people’s family life which most of them have no father. In Unconditional film, the relationship between Black people and White people has been potrayed as a harmonious relationship. However, Black people’s inferiority and White people’s superiority is still exists. In example, when Sam invited Joe and his kids to the farm as it coud be seen in the picture 8 below. Picture 8 00:37:48 Picture 9 00:37:06 From the picture 9 above, Sam was trying to give a surprise to Keisha, so she was taking her to the horse’s stable because Keisha wished to see a horse for she cannot see a real one as she lives in a slum area. Sam showed Joe and the children her farm which is very beautiful unlike the slum area that they lived in. In the farm, Joe told Sam and his kids that he was once being in a jail. This jail, were divided between Black and White people. Joe and his friend were moping the floor while people from the white side keep cursing on them with country music 21 as the background. Joe’s friend was complaining about the country music and asking for some respect from the White prisoner because he is a Black man and know nothing about country music, but the White prisoner disgraced him by spitting some dirt on the floor. Joe’s friend then took avenged by stopping the music that played. Unexpectedly, the jail bars with white people in it suddenly opened for the police officer, which all of them were White, felt disgraced on how a black prisoner stopped the country music that played. They told the White prisoner to give some lesson for the Black prisoner saying that it 21 Country music, also called country and western, style of 20th- century American popular music that originated among whites in rural areas of the South and West. The term “country and western music” later shortened to “country music” was adopted by the recording industry in 1949 to replace the derogatory label “hillbilly music.” https:www.britannica.comartcountry-music. Accessed on September 8th, 2016 was a free time. Joe then turned on the music again while singing along with it. The white prisoner and police officer startled about a Black man knowing and singing country music, so they got calmed. As could be seen in the pictures below. Picture 10 00:53:13 Picture 11 00:53:18 Picture 12 00:53:21 The discrimination of White people in jail was clearly seen as they divided the prison’s cell for Black people and White people. They also divided them in many things like their eating space and their gathering place. All the White people in that prison, whether the prisoner or the officer, have this superiority point of view on how they see Black prisoner as a lower class even though they are also prisoner just like the Black one. The discrimination of Black could be seen from the dialogue below. White prisoner : Keep on walking, young buck. Joe : No, sir. I think I’ll be fine just right here. White prisoner : We got rules here. That’s why you gotta move it. Now, scat before I get angry. Dialogue 4 00:49:43 – 00:49:56 We, as a society, particular meanings and ideas to different skin colors and physical characteristics, which make up the bulk of our definition of race. Psychologist, Beverly Daniel Tatum, borrowing from Van de Berghe, defines race as ‘“a group that is socially defined but on the basis of physical criteria,’ including skin color and facial features”. 22 Joe’s appearance in Unconditional film was portrait as a Black man with black skin and a curly dark hair, he also lives in a rural area where most of the residences were from broken family and most of the children are fatherless kids. In contrary, Samantha’s appearance was portrayed as a woman with red hair and bright skin, she also lived in a farm of her own with beautiful view and broad land. From the portrait of the two characters, the differences between Black and White people have clearly shown. It has been a common situation that Black people always describes as the inferior character Sam lived in a beautiful big house in a farm with her husband. When her husband alive, they used to ride horse together and enjoying the beautiful sight of their home. They could also make have a camp and made a campfire near their house. In contrary, Joe’s neighborhood described as a slum area with many unmaintained house with rough graffiti and broken windows. The contrast between the two neighborhood of Black people and White people shows on how 22 Beverly Daniel Tatum, Op. Cit, p. 16. Black people is an inferior as they lived in a slum area unlike White people who lived in a beautiful farm. The contrast between the two neighborhood can be seen from the pictures below. Picture 13 00:15:40 Picture 14 00:16:10 Picture 15 00:20:02 Picture 16 00:20:07 Sam is a children book author and she has a gallery where she used to write her children book and draw some pictures for the book. Her job as an author shows that she, as a White person, is a well educated woman. Below is a picture of Sam’s gallery. Picture 17 00:14:16 The discrimination received by the Black is an evidence at how the White believe themselves as superior. Black as criminal, foolish, poor, lives in slum area, drunkard, helpless, and uncultured are characteristics given by the White, as the superior race. Their ability to define other races shows that the White are still consider themselves superior than the Black.

B. Colonialism in Unconditional Film

Racism is an issue that has been marked in America for a long time. The extremely big issue of racism gives a different impact in society. Although slavery has been forbidden, the racism issue still exists in another form. For example, the difference of monthly fee between black people and White people, human trafficking, and symbolization in literature. The unconditional film portrays about discriminative treatment that still occurred to the Black people even years after the civil rights movement. This film displays the superiority of White people through Black people. Study postcolonial tries to focus on relation between government with the colonized countries, while the relation between colonizer and colonized is the hegemonic relationship, which colonizer is the superior group than the colonized is the inferior side. From the hegemonic relation between colonizer and colonized it creates the term domination and subordination, and from this relation it creates the unpleasant portrays about colonized as the barbaric, uncultured, unwished, mystic, irrational, and primitive. 23 Gandhi said that the hegemonic relation between colonizer and colonizes creates the term domination and subordination. The term colonizer in this film referred to White people’s characters such as Samantha Crawford and Detective Miller, while the colonized referred to Black people’s characters such as Joe Bradford, Keisha, Macon, etc. The domination of White people shows on how this film defines Black people. White people in this film have the power and subjectivity to determine Black people in class society. The hegemonic relationship between Black people and White people shows on how White people as the superior group has power through the inferior one which is Black people. The reflection of power and subjectivity of White people in this film prove on how this film still has this colonialism issue. The subjectivity shows is when White people see Black people as uncultured and primitive. They showed that Black people in this film is just a group of fool people and criminals who live in a slum area. 23 Leela Gandhi, Op. Cit, p. vi 29 CHAPTER IV CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

A. Conclusions

Unconditional is a film about the story of Samantha Crawford and Joe Bradford who were the most unlikely childhood friends, growing up in a farm town where Black and White did not mix. In America back then, Black people was extremely unwelcomed. Samantha Crawford was the only kid who welcomed a Black kid, Joe Bradford, as a friend. Over the time, they lost touch. Sam grew up as a success children’s author, while somehow Joe ended in a slum area helping fatherless children. Sam and Joe met again after Sam helped Keisha, Joe’s upbringing child, from a car accident, This film is based on a true story of Joe Bradford. One of the messages in this film is about the freedom and equality between race by showing Sam and Joe whom represent Black people and White people has a harmonious relationship. Unlike a common relationship between Black people and White people in America which Black people was presented as a lower class community, the harmonious relationship between Samantha Crawford and Joe Bradford was a relationship that was still rare to find. Joe Bradford and Samantha Crawford helped each other. Since their first met, Sam and Joe already made a good friendship, despite on how Joe was being bullied by almost everyone in his school. Joe and Sam coincidentally met again several years after, and thus they continued their friendship. They helped each other’s problem and comforted each other too.