Looking the Same Isn't Being the Same

 Image from googleimage "culture"

        In the film "Race: The Power of Illusion, Episode 1," microbiologist Pilar Ossorio states “There’s as much or more diversity and genetic difference within any racial group as there is between people of different racial groups.” This idea is proven throughout the film with various examples. One example is in the beginning of the film where several students attend a DNA workshop to discover similarities and differences where they compared genetics with other people. They did this by comparing their skin color, blood, and bits of DNA that was taken from their saliva. From the beginning the students believed they had the same DNA as people of their own race; African American, White, and Hispanic. However the results proved there were no characteristics of a single trait that separated a race from another and although they may physically look different than other people,  they may have the same DNA composition. This supported Pilar Ossorio’s statement because it proved that the genetic variations matched more with other races than their own.  

          In the film the narrator said “race is a concept that was invented to categorize the perceived biological, social, and cultural differences between human groups.” It is just a form of social structure in which people define someone on who they are based on how they look. My racial identity is Hispanic more specifically I'm Mexican American and from a young age I was taught to embrace my Hispanic roots including culture, food, and customs. From the delicious tamales to the carne asada I grew up with all that. I am very proud to be a latina even if people have different stereotypes just by looking at my physical appearance. Even though we all have similar DNA, physically we look different which is how culture identifies race. Race is very important in society and it can determine how some people treat you. The way a person speaks, behaves, and looks is how society categorizes a “race”.  For example if a person has an afro we assume that person is African American or if we see a “brown” person we automatically assume their Mexican. "In DNA Era, New Worries about Prejudice" by Amy Harmon she discussed how "people of different races have different DNA" and how we still believe a certain race is a better runner then another, better in academics and better in hygiene. We are becoming prejudice just to classify people in groups. In my family all my sisters are light skin and I am the only dark one. People would think I was adopted or not my parent’s child just because of my skin color. I speak 3 languages; French, English, and Spanish but just by my race people would find that weird. Even through all that prejudice and racism in the world I would not change being Hispanic and I am proud to be one.

        After watching this film I feel more informed and educated on this topic of race. I still consider myself Hispanic and I am proud of where I’m from. Even though there’s not one specific DNA that identifies or characterizes a specific race some people are still going to judge others based on their physical characteristics because that’s what society has been doing for hundreds of years. In the article "What Human Race Says about Human Ancestry"   illustrates how we all originated from Africa and we all have different skin colors to protect us from the sun depending on the environment we are living and has nothing to do with biology. The film’s main goal was to show that biology had nothing to do with race and we cannot judge someone on race because race doesn’t define a person or a group. In the film it said “race is not based on biology but race is rather an IDEA that we ascribed to biology.”Race is something society has created to characterize people in this world.

Reflection: 

When thinking about race in my mind all I see is black and white people because this is what textbooks, history, and movies have taught us. When dividing people into racial groups the people benefitting from this are the ones on top which is mostly “white” people. Black people and minorities have always been on the lower social status and have always been judged on their physical characteristics. For century’s people have been putting “white” people on the pedestal because “they are better than us”. Accouple years ago, when President Obama was running for President many people made a big deal because he was African American and there was a lot of racism going on. At a young age we learned from Disney and Barbie movies that the Princesses were always white and minorities are always different colors. Even though scientists are unable to find a genetic basis for social ideas of racial differences the idea of race continues and persists because race is a way to categorize people in a social ladder depending on their physical characteristics, education level, speaking skills, economic status, and so forth. People want to feel superior and find it necessary to put people above others based on race to see which race is “superior.”