Paper 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 7

Paper 2 - Essay Example In the film the director portrays the problem of racism as the byproduct of hatred towards skin color. Mark A. Reid stated that, â€Å"To gain a popular black audience, Micheaux’s action films presented the twenties from a black perspective† (12). To be specific, the director makes use of his film as a tool to expose his attitude on racism in the mainstream society. Sylvia Landry, the female protagonist knows that racism still prevails in the society, but she tries to overcome the same by immersing herself in worldly affairs. Jane Gaines opined that, â€Å"Within Our Gates was thus linked to fear of cataclysmic social change, a linkage obfuscated by the smoke screen of â€Å"race riot†Ã¢â‚¬  (163). The turning point in the film is related to the female protagonist’s unexpected meeting with Rev. Jacobs. Within this scenario, Landry realizes that she cannot alienate herself from the problems faced by the black children. So, she decides to raise fund for th e local school. This change in attitude is important because the same is related to her attitude towards racism. So, one can see that the director makes use of the female protagonist and the sad plight of black children to express his attitude on racism. From a different angle of view, one can see that the director makes use of the main characters as his mouthpiece to share his social message with the viewers. To be specific, the director leads the viewers towards the female protagonist’s past to prove that she is the victim of racism and she is trying her level best to save herself from haunting memories. Stefanie Laufs stated that, â€Å"In his movies, Micheaux addressed racial discrimination and counteracted black stereotypes with images of the New Negro and a new feeling of race pride† (43). The character named as Rev. Jacobs is symbolic of social responsibility towards the downtrodden population. On the other side, an unnamed character (say,