Directed by Mike Mascoll • Documentary • 2020 • 54 minutes
An educated citizenry is said to be the backbone of democracy and a crucial bulwark in an increasingly interconnected and hyper-competitive world. Brown v. Board of Education and the Civil Rights Act helped weave equal education for all into our shared social contract, but this promise has yet to be fully realized. Students who shuttle between their inner-city neighborhoods and the white suburban schools, in pursuit of a better education, find themselves swapping elements of culture, language, and behavior to fit in with their suburban counterparts- Acting or speaking differently based on their surroundings, called Code-Switching.
For some students, "code-switching" has brought social and professional mobility. For others, the nature of code-switching has been harder to handle, causing anxiety and depression. The shuttling between Boston's ethnic neighborhoods and predominantly white suburban schools has not been seamless, especially for girls. Too often, girls may face a heightened burden of both ostracization back home and feelings of isolation in their adopted schools. This had led to anxiety and depression and in extreme cases even attempted suicide.
Up Next in African-American Docs
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Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien
Directed by Marlon Riggs • Documentary • 1992 • 38 minutes
Through music, poetry and quiet, at times, chilling self-disclosure, five positive black gay men speak of their individual confrontation with AIDS, illuminating the difficult journey black men throughout America have made in coping with ...
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Ethnic Notions
Directed by Marlon Riggs • Documentary • 1986 • 58 minutes
Unflinching, unsettling, and essential, this Emmy-winning documentary examines the devastating legacy of black stereotypes throughout American history, from the slavery era to the present. Drawing on a wide variety of media—from minstrel...
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Color Adjustment
Directed by Marlon Riggs • Documentary • 1991 • 88 minutes
An essential companion to Ethnic Notions, Color Adjustment explores black representation in the age of primetime television. Deconstructing cultural touchstones from Amos ’n’ Andy to The Jeffersons to The Cosby Show, this cogent and prov...
