Journal Topic 2-A - Essay Example

National, Ethnic Or Racial Heritage National, ethnic and racial backgrounds are used to define who we are and to identify us to a certain group of people. People of color tend to deny their racial and ethnic backgrounds in order for them to be accepted as being white (Benshoff and Sean 58). This is because the white people in the American culture tend to be accorded more privileges than other people. People belonging to the same racial or ethnic group are bound by a similar way of life and cultural background that govern how their beliefs and way of life. In the case of minority racial or ethnic groups, they are usually flexible and easily assimilate into the mainstream culture. This means that they easily change their cultural beliefs to match that of the majority. Racial or ethnic heritages are socially constructed and lead people of the same heritage to acting and undertaking activities in a certain way, or having a common way of life.
National ethnic or racial identity of people of color is more likely to change than that of the white people. Though ethnic of racial identities are socially constructed, they are more flexible for the people of color than they are for the white. People of color make up the minority ethnic groups in America and therefore for them to attain the American nationality, they usually need to make changes to the group’s specific way of living and beliefs. They also need to adopt the whites’ ways and be assimilated to the white culture (Benshoff and Sean 60). They therefore adopt the white culture therefore losing their ethnic identities though the physical characteristics remain. The physical identities include the skin color and others like surnames.
Work cited
Benshoff, Harry M, and Sean Griffin. America on Film: Representing Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality at the Movies. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2011. Internet resource. Read More