Race Floating Signifier - 1549 Words

Analysis Response: Biology, Race, and Floating Signifiers In the video, Race: The Floating Signifier, Stuart Hall counters the thought that race is connected with the biological aspect. Rather than considering race as due to the biological make up of an individual, it is a collection of characteristics brought together that forms one s race. That is how Stuart Hall views race, as a floating signifier, something that is ever changing and not static. This paper will discuss the troubles of using biology/science to categorize a person, talk about a different way of thinking of race, and provide the confused case of race of Alexis Morrision, a physically white woman with the possibility of being considered black. Situational cases will also†¦show more content†¦Hall explains the ties of physical appearance from the biological idea to the classification of a person. Similarly, the Bucks family s illegitimacy and feeble-mindedness was thought of as biological and assumed that any offspring would be classified as illegitimate and feeble minded as well. There was later proof that neither Emma, Carrie, nor Vivian were feeble-minded, which tarnished the idea that their feeble-mindedness was the fault of genetics. It is just what is coupled with their category as being illegitimate children and thought to have passed down the line. In the film, Stuart Hall talks about how race is not a stagnant thing, meaning not the same thing where ever, whenever. It actually changes, depending on the time, the place, the people, and the situation. With the case of Alexis Morrision, she was considered black to some people and white to other people for different reasons. If she were in a different state, there might be a consensus on what race she was depending on the people in that state and their view of looking at race at that time. If she were in a different time period where the stereotypical attitudes of a white woman and black woman were switched from those stereotypes i n her time, would she be black or would she be judged by a different criteria? Her identification of race in the eyes of others will never be consistent and will continue to change depending on her location,Show MoreRelatedComparing Asian Americans During The 19th Century And The Turn Of The 20th Century1291 Words   |  6 Pageswhite society.†(79) Officials were agreeing and writing that Asian Americans were infecting the white race with syphilis. This was out of control that white government officials were writing that Asians were handing this disease to young white boys, babies, and to bachelors through prostitution. Los Angeles was not the city we think today, Los Angeles was originally being made to promote the white race. Not only that, they weren’t even considered â€Å"real Americans†. In the chapter it states, â€Å"In CaliforniaRead MoreRace: The Start of It All779 Words   |  4 PagesRace â€Å"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.† ― Martin Luther King Jr. The world has implemented segregations amongst our societies for millennia. Simply by observing society it is evident that it is drawn to isolate and divide itself into subgroups depending on distinct factors. Some of these are more crucial than others, and some have even become taboo inRead MoreThe Cross Pollination Religious Customs And Material Culture921 Words   |  4 Pagescontemporary society and governance, with many of his artworks signifying specific psychological and spiritual states of the evolution of life (Gordon, 2014: 53). Ochà ºn or La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre (Our Lady of Charity) is one of the great signifiers of Cuban identity (De La Torre 2001: 848-49), and much of Mendive’s artworks, principally his paintings, incorporate the Santerà ­a saint into rich symbolic tapestries of artistic universes that bear testament to development of his artwork acrossRead MoreJudith Butler in Media Studies3516 Words   |  15 Pageswork, Gender Trouble, deals with themes of the semiotics of the human body in juxtaposition to the â€Å"performative subversions† of gender identity (Butler, â€Å"Gender† 372). There is a pervading discussion of internal versus external signifiers of the body. The external signifiers are â€Å"shaped by political forces with strategic interests† as well as social and cultural hegemony (374). She also makes clear distinctions in defining what is gender as opposed to sex or sexuality and the common misunderstandingsRead More Discrimination and Misrepr esentation of Minority Races in Film2457 Words   |  10 PagesDiscrimination and Misrepresentation of Minority Races in Film Racists often believe that alternative races are inferior. Stuart Hall, an expert in the field of cultural studies who is also interested in media studies, believes that it is difficult to completely eliminate race as a floating signifier because it is impossible to remove the obvious physical differences of distinct races. These distinctions are made increasingly aware by filmmakers to their audiences in such films as WestRead MoreA Wonderful Place Essay1859 Words   |  8 Pagesbasically flush with the water, it is obviously intended for visitors to walk on this dock and get a closer look at the pond. The minute I step off land I regret my decision. The dock is completely unstable and wobbles underfoot. An image races through my head of me floating adrift on the dock as it dislodges and quickly floats to the middle of the pond. With no one around to rescue me I must either face the pond goo, jump in, and slowly trudge my way to land, or stay on the dock until someone finds me- -whichRead MoreCan the Subaltern Speak9113 Words   |  37 Pagesat the level of desire-and also at the level of knowledge (PK, 59). This parasubjective matrix, cross-hatched with heterogeneity, ushers in the unnamed Subject, at least for those intellectual workers influenced by the new hegemony of desire. The race for the last instance is now between economics and power. Because desire is tacitly defined on an orthodox model, it is unitarily opposed to being deceived. Ideology as false consciousness (being deceived) has been called into question by AlthusserRead MoreForrest Gump as the Modern Day Fairytale Essay4165 Words   |  17 Pagesfairytales is reflected in his being. The tinkling keys of the piano sets the atmosphere for the rest of the film; magical. We see a feather floating on a breeze. A signifier is a symbol, it can be verbal (seen) or aural (heard). It is a symbol that the audience can place a significant meaning onto. In Forrest Gump the signifier is this feather. To me the feather has no complex underhand meaning. Like Forrest the feather is simple. I believe that it represents his life; Read MoreHow The Environment Impacted The Political Structure Of One Pre Columbian Society2426 Words   |  10 Pagesthe environment impacted the economy of ONE pre-Columbian Society not mentioned before: The Aztecs as a method of agriculture created Chinampas, which were small-scattered islands of fertile land used to grow crops. Chinampas were referred to as â€Å"floating gardens†. It was this unique method of agriculture that the Aztecs adapted, which helped, shape their economy. As the population grew a large surplus of crops allowed for further class distinction (example would be calpulli in Tenochtitlan). As theRead MoreA Dialogue Of Searching : Levinas And The Sexual Encounter2945 Words   |  12 Pagesdwelling† (1969, p. 153). One’s dwelling situates the perspective on an objective world and holds no sense of the self’s limits, as the elemental can become a consumable object of consciousness. It is as if the self holds the perspective of a free-floating consciousness. Levinas likened this to the Greek myth of Gyges, the one who sees and remains unseen. Levinas (1969) stated that this self-referential, unbounded existence does not cease until the encounter with the face of the Other, the subjectivity