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Talking About Video Talking About Race

Published on June 26, 2001

by Lauren Kucera and Milton Reynolds

Positive change in the relations between races generally comes about as the result of honest conversation and the exchange of ideas, feelings and experiences. This type of interchange can help build respect for both our differences and similarities.

Film and video provide us with valuable tools that make it easier to talk about the subject of race in America. People who do not usually discuss this subject find it less difficult to come together to talk to and learn from each other after watching a film as a part of a workshop, under the leadership of a skilled facilitator. This situation provides the structure necessary to begin the often difficult process of exploring the subject of racism and how it affects our daily lives. Film and video also offer two other advantages: Each presentation represents a distillation of ideas and images, and the passive process of viewing encourages focused reflection.

A film extracts the essentials of hundreds of hours of footage into a finished presentation, in effect separating the wheat from the chaff. Films tend to get to the heart of the matter by diving into thorny issues directly. In unscripted films, such as The Color of Fear by Lee Mun Wah, the raw emotion makes the issues more real, thereby creating a greater opportunity for learning and change.

Often, the difference between responding to a situation or just reacting to it is simply a few moments of reflection. Film provides viewers with time to examine their emotions so they don't have to defend their position immediately. When people have the opportunity to contemplate, they are often better able to thoughtfully articulate their feelings and ideas. This helps to ease, although not entirely eliminate, the tension and anxiety that often accompany a discussion of racism.

For those readers interested in using film to deal with racial issues, we provide strategies to help you succeed in this rewarding and important work.

Reasons for Organizing a Film/Video Workshop

Silence and denial about racism in the United States have left communities splintered. Many people would like to talk about the subject, but don't know how to begin. When people join together to examine race relations, they are usually affected deeply by the discussion. They tend to develop a greater knowledge of themselves as well as to discover the facts about racial injustice. As a result of this awareness, they can determine new ways to take action toward ending racism. Creating a workshop that allows citizens to gather in a safe place to discuss these issues is a gift that you can give to your community.

Do You Need a Trained Facilitator?

If you plan to hold an institutional film/video workshop (one that takes place at a corporation, school or nonprofit agency), plan on using a trained facilitator or team of facilitators. An internal, untrained facilitator will find it difficult if not impossible to remain objective in the face of the institutional dynamic and hierarchy. In this situation, a facilitator often makes compromises, with the result that what needs saying might not be said.

A team of two facilitators is ideal when you conduct a workshop about issues of diversity because each person has a different perspective and style. Working as a team allows them to serve the needs of the group better. A two-person team also gives you the opportunity to demonstrate the cross-racial or cross-gender interaction that you are trying to promote. A team also lets the group see shared leadership in action and learn about interpersonal dynamics. For example, if a white man and a Latina are leading the group and the man interrupts the woman, the Latina may point this out to the group, demonstrating that conditioned patterns of inappropriate behavior are always present but that we have the chance to help each other correct them. Although the facilitators must maintain a certain objectivity in order to guide the workshop appropriately, they can provide opportunities for the participants to learn important lessons if they remain active members of the group.

Informal film/video workshops, such as those held in a living room, a recreation center or a library, usually do not demand a trained facilitator, especially if you want to maintain an informal atmosphere. This does not mean that such an informal setting will not be charged with feelings about racism, but as a society, we should hold discussions about racism wherever and whenever possible in order to promote understanding. However, anyone contemplating a forum like this must be willing to do the necessary homework.

In a way, you have already started the process of developing a workshop because you know about your own experience with racism. To learn more, read materials written by people who have been doing similar work and find support in your community for the project. If you hold a forum on race without proper preparation or knowledge of the group with whom you will be working, you run the risk of worsening the situation; a poorly run forum does more harm than good. Sometimes people hold a workshop in a community to "put out a fire" because of a derogatory remark by a city leader, or they develop a forum on campus inspired by a racist incident. If such an event prompted the creation of a forum, then maintaining order and providing a safe environment for participants demands the participation of a trained facilitation team.

Organizing the Workshop

At this point, you're ready to think about the logistics of a forum. The key points to keep in mind: Be clear about your motivation; keep the surroundings simple; keep attendance small; and begin the process with an appropriate flyer or brochure.

Once you clarify why you want to hold a forum, you will be able to select the appropriate film to deal with the issue at hand. Knowing your objective will also help illuminate any blind spots or unspoken agendas of which you may not be aware. If you're able to articulate your objective in a thoughtful manner, you can also avoid taking a defensive stance in the event that you are challenged.

Keep the surroundings simple. Create an environment in which people feel comfortable watching the film or video and sharing their experiences, thoughts and feelings. The physical environment can affect the mood of the group, so minimize distractions such as peripheral noise and extraneous visual stimuli, and keep the room at a comfortable temperature.

An ideal size is a group of about 12 participants. Groups with less than 8 people often do not provide a depth and breadth of perspective and experience. Small groups also may not give participants a chance to take the time to step back and reflect or remain less active if they need to. If a group is larger than 18, it is unlikely that everyone will be heard; efforts to accommodate each member also tend to make others feel slighted or cut off. Further, cultivating a sense of shared purpose and group intimacy becomes increasingly difficult as the size of the group grows. For larger audiences, you'll need a trained facilitation team.

Create a flyer that prompts the audience to reflect on the issues you want to discuss before the screening. You can accomplish this by posing a question on the flyer that links the film or video and the workshop's goals to the interests of the audience — for example, "Is racism affecting your relationships at work (or school, or in your community)?"

Holding the Workshop

Here is a good outline for a three- to four-hour forum that includes a film screening and discussion.

Prefilm briefing. Includes an introduction to the workshop, a question to the participants that start them thinking why they're there and guidelines for the discussion after the film.

Establishing working guidelines is an essential part of the process. They serve as rules of the road and provide a way to resolve a problem if you come to an impasse. Failure to establish and clarify guidelines invariably leads to a potentially unmanageable conflict among participants.

Guidelines include rules such as:

Listen respectfully to others
Speak from your own experience
Keep anything said in this room confidential

Pass if you feel uncomfortable speaking

You should also establish working assumptions about the participants to set the tone of the gathering. Let everyone know that all people are vulnerable, fallible and resilient. Stress the fact that all of us can change our outlook if we want, which is one reason that everyone is attending the workshop.

Film screening.

Postfilm discussion. Provide some time for people to reflect on the film silently. Then ask participants to share their thoughts about what they felt as they watched the film. Give them time to formulate their answers without rushing in. If the facilitator delineated the working guidelines and working assumptions clearly, his or her role may be minimal. The facilitator's goal is to listen to both the voiced and silent statements in order to provide participants with a sense that it's safe to talk about their beliefs without repercussions.

In our experience, people will often talk around issues or fail to talk at all if they do not feel safe sharing their opinions. Often they fear that they will be denigrated or pigeonholed if they speak, or that they will be laughed at if they show their ignorance. At this point in the workshop you should reiterate the working guidelines and assumptions, and the fact that the forum is a safe place to explore thoughts and feelings. If participants deviate, the facilitator should refer back to the pertinent point.

At the end of the workshop, the facilitator should sum up the key points and then stress that this meeting was only the beginning of an understanding of how racism affects our lives. The awareness that surfaced will develop even further and enrich their lives in countless ways. To encourage participants to explore these feelings further, you should have supplementary material and resource lists available for them to take home.

We hope we've encouraged you to pursue the use of video in order to stimulate discussions about race relations. The challenge is to create opportunities for all of us to examine the ways we have been shaped by race and racism in America — and to begin creating a more equitable reality.