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Within Our Gates

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  • Values Resonance: Where to begin, as this film covered topic still important and still relevant when it comes to racism and sexism throughout the 20th Century and even today.
    • The film does a surprisingly well done job discussing gendered discrimination within minority communities, internalized racism, racial bias towards blacks and seeing them as the suspects, the gap of cultural perception between North and South, the political relationship of the church towards minority peoples - specifically Black Americans, the necessity of political education, and even internalized sexism (at one point, a White woman claims she would be against universal suffrage, because it would mean Black Americans voting). There's even anxiety over being mixed-race.
    • The movie also tackles how racists who hate minorities will often fetishize and assault women of color (Armand Gridlestone is highly racist towards black people, yet he was once married to a black woman and had a child by her; there's also a scene where a white racist rapes a black woman, and another where Armand tracks down Sylvia and is about to rape her when he sees a distinctive scar and realizes that she is the long-lost daughter he had with a black woman.)
    • The movie also does a good job depicting "pick me"s such as Efrem tries to be the "white man's friend", to (wrongfully) accuse well-meaning African-American Jasper Landry of murdering Philip Gridlestone, and babbling about the accusation to every white shop in town, leading to a mob forming to hunt down the Landry family, forcing them to evacuate but then after a week of failing to catch the family, the mob gets impatient, turns on Efrem and he's completely helpless in defending himself from being lynched. Oscar Micheaux was ahead of his time, calling out those who think aligning with the oppressors will save them. Within Our Gates makes it clear that no amount of saying "you're not like other black people" will protect you from hate. It's a powerful reminder that trying to gain favor with bigots won't shield you from their prejudice—if anything, it makes you a target too.

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