Shadow of Hate Essay Example

due to uncertainty that may arise whereby claiming that they should be rendered as “them” since they are different. Furthermore, the biggest knowledge derived from the documentary was that concept related to race was an ideology that was instigated by the society in order to establish certain boundaries on some people (Guggenheim et al, 1995). The differences between certain people and communities were imposed based on social, political and economic aspects, which people might have especially in regards to point of view.

Therefore, it is important to note that the documentary The Shadow of Hate gives an account of the disturbing relic that has been established in the United States and has been seen to create an overwhelming prejudice within the American society for centuries. At the same time, the battle for dominance has always been based on the superior race whereby the white society has dominated the other races such as Quakers, Japanese –Americans and the Native Americans (Guggenheim et al, 1995).

The difference in race has always been on the basis of preoccupation and obsession whereby the terms such as “us” and “them” are dominant on some of their conversations. Moreover, the documentary establishes the tensions that are being witnessed currently whereby it has caused the rift between different communities and cities. The documentary also indicates that for the past 300 years the American society had been grooming the concept of race and hatred towards others, which later initiated the ideology of dominant society.

For instance, the colonial period was dominated with cases of persecution of the Quakers, which created an ethnic tension among the English community. Now, people might think that the division of people

into different states and communities was an easy and joyous thing but, the documentary implies that the division of ethnic societies and towns was as a result to avoid some of the tensions between different communities and societies (Guggenheim et al, 1995).

The lesson learnt from the movie is to make the American society living in the current society to practice tolerance towards other people and community as it has initiated various examples to ensure that the message is passed across. For instance, the documentary uses different images to indicate the effects of ethnic tension through the persecution of the Quakers. On the other hand, the documentary uses the concept of the founding fathers such as the case of Thomas Jefferson to show the manner in which the declaration of independence brought about the concept of dominance by the superior races.

For instance, Jefferson indicated on the document that the blacks were the inferior race compared to the white society though it is understood that he is the same person who indicated, “All men are created equally” (Guggenheim et al, 1995). The two statements by Jefferson contradict each other since individuals cannot be equal while at the same time there is a society that is superior to the other because of their skin color.

In conclusion, the documentary talks of the things that happened more than 300 years ago within the American society and not forgetting to mention the slave trade. It is also important to note that the perceptions of the black in the beginning were that they were supposed to be slaves, which was a trade that was very popular with different communities. Now, the Europeans

were settling down, majority of them wanted to be part of the American society, and they relocated there together with their families.

Furthermore, the European settlers and farmers realized that they did not have enough laborers to work on their farms, which forced them to seek assistance from the Atlantic trade that offered slaves for cheap labor at an affordable price. The concept of buying slaves indicated that they viewed them as materials and properties they required on their farms since majority of them were from a different race, it was clear that they the white society was the superior race and could not be accepted in the society as people who were vied as possessions and materials.