When it comes to racism, I think it's important to understand that Europe and USA have very different models, although some european countries like UK have the american model. I don't know how it is in your country, but I will develop the example of France, that I know to be quite the opposite of the american way.Ruth wrote: ↑February 25th, 2019, 8:02 amEurope is just as racist and xenophobic. I know that’s a hard one to swallow. Of course, the history and contexts are different, but too many European people are acting as if racism is this new concept they only heard of yesterday
I’m honestly really curious to go see Green Book and check for myself, as I haven’t yet seen it, and see if as someone who’s also European I’d be able to catch what’s wrong with that lol.
In France, since 1905, and a very important law, the people in France, whether black or white, muslim or catholic are all french and that's it. They're nothing less, nothing more. In the public life, that is to say. In their private life, they are entirely free to be whatever want, and to show or not attachement to their culture. It is for example forbidden in France to ask in a pool or i a registration form if someone is caucasian, black... The notion of affirmative action (though developping under the influence of USA) is still very much frowned upon. It is slowly being developped for people with a handicap or gender issues, but not at all for black or muslim.
The consequences of this are for the positive ones that the society is much less dual, and that the whites don't end up voting for a white power douchebag (in France at least, and for the moment at least), the negative one is that never has a black or muslim person been in a position to be elected president nor is to be in the next 10-20 years, whereas America whilst having a lot of unshamed racists also elected Obama twice, and the new House of representatives is very diversed (at least on one side).
When it comes to film, if you end up on a french forum, you'll see lots of critcs about BP winning production design and less about GB winning best picture, and that's why.
Also Europe doesn't have the same history as the USA; sure there was colonization but it didn't happen in Europe, it was in Asia and in Africa; the big difference is that when African-americans were chained to America, the immigrants in Europe chose for the vast majority to come.
I'm not saying Europe is better or worse, I'm just tryong to explain that Europe has a different history, and therefore the very definition of racism is very different. Not to use the n-word, is something that in France is almost impossible to understand other than as a restriction of freedom of speech. The history of the word is not understood.
