Privilege and Oppression
I saw this article on Brian McLaren’s website that notes the “Invisible Knapsack of White Privilege”. If you have a few moments it is worth reviewing, and putting the 2012 event on your calendar.
Privilege and Oppression
Such As These | davecsinos.com | Feb. 19, 2011A few nights ago, in celebration of the beginning of reading week (like spring break in the US), my dad and I plopped down on the couch in his apartment to watch a movie. We put in Shallow Hal, a Jack Black comedy about a man whose perception is altered so that he can only see people for who they are on the inside. For example, if a beautiful woman wasn’t a very nice person, he saw her as physically unattractive. The whole plot revolves around his relationship with a voluptuous blonde woman (played by Gwyneth Paltrow) who is actually an obese woman. Yet Hal (Jack Black’s character) was only able to see her inner beauty—hence her “appearing” to be a tall, thin, blond woman.
Towards the end of the movie, my mother came home from class at the University of Toronto and asked to be filled in about the movie so she could join in for the last 10 minutes or so. We conceded and told her what had happened over the past 90 minutes. After the movie was over, she said, “You know, I can see why people think this movie has a good message about inner beauty, but I don’t like the fact that it perpetuates traditional messages about what is considered beautiful.”