Rush Hour: A Racist Movie?

Throughout American history, African Americans have been oppressed and stereotyped as inferior, uncivilized human beings. The fight for racial equality has aided in suppressing these stereotypes; however, it has not eliminated the problem. Modern day media has contributed to the lingering of racist stereotypes. The movie Rush Hour presents many of these serotypes to the public. These stereotypes are then interpreted differently by a wide variety of audiences.

Rush Hour takes place in modern day Las Angeles where FBI agents are attempting to track down an alleged criminal for kidnapping a Chinese consul member’s daughter. In the processes detective Carter, an African American LAPD officer, and Chief Inspector Lee, a Chinese police officer, are coincidentally teamed up. This clash of cultures leads to a series of comical yet somewhat racially offensive incidents. After Carter and Lee settle their cultural differences, they develop a closer relationship and begin to work together. Carter and Lee go through a series of ordeals when trying to find the consul’s daughter, but eventually discover that she was kidnapped by a Chinese criminal organization that is ironically led by a white FBI agent. Carter and Lee eventually catch these criminals and safely retrieve the consul member’s daughter.

During their investigation, Carter and Lee walk into an all African American bar. Upon entering the bar, Carter greets several of the people by asking, “What’s up my n****?” Lee observes Carter doing so and assumes that this saying is a customary American greeting; however, Lee did not receive the kind handshake that Carter did. Instead Lee was greeted with an arm wrapped tightly around his neck and a mob of angry African American men. This scene clearly reflects the concept that reality is based on every individual’s perception. The scene also strongly parallels with the Darkie Toothpaste incident discussed in class. Darkie Toothpaste was one of Hong Kong’s top selling toothpastes. It featured a picture of an African American man with an exceptionally bright smile. If this brand was sold in the United States, it would have been perceived as racist and would have been immediately removed from shelves. The Chinese population however, did not view this product as remotely racist. They saw the pearly white teeth of the African American man on the box. The skin color of the man on the box was only used to create a high contrast to emphasize his white teeth. This is how the Chinese community perceived Darkie Toothpaste. This concept was also reflected when I was watching Rush Hour with my parents. Being born in Taiwan, my parents have never heard of the n-word. During the previously described scene my parents failed to see the controversial nature of the question. They seemed more confused as to why Lee was being attacked. This shows that an individual’s perception is also heavily based on their cultural background and that racial insensitivity is only based off of a specific culture.

When regarding American view points, Rush Hour portrays many African American stereotypes such as drug abuse. As Carter and Lee are running their investigation, Carter converses of his fellow African American officers. During the conversation, Carter accuses the man of purchasing a bag of marijuana. Ironically, the officer had purchased the marijuana in order to share it with Carter. This reinforces the stereotype even more so than other movies because it is the protagonist that is partaking in drug usage. The stereotype of African Americans as being gangsters and thugs is also expressed in this movie. In one scene, Carter is talking with his cousin who says that he has to tell his mother that Carter is a drug dealer rather than a detective because their family detests the police. This relates to the issue of African Americans being portrayed more heavily in news media. A study conducted by Robert Entman revealed that “a mug shot of a black defendant is four times more likely to appear in local television news report than a white defendant.” Rush Hour also reinforces the stereotype that African Americans only appreciate music written by black artist. As Carter and Lee are driving around, Lee turns on the radio and the Beach Boys comes on. Immediately, Carter says, “don’t you ever touch a black man’s radio boy! You can do that in China, but you can get your ass killed out here man.” Carter then proceeds to turn on a rap song. I do not believe this stereotype to be an offensive one; however, some people have begun to directly associate the gangster stereotype with this one. This is most likely due to the fact that these two stereotypes are often presented together. Lastly, Rush Hour supports the melting pot myth. America is supposedly a nation of tolerance where opposing cultures may coexist with each other. However, these cultures must conform and adjust to white culture. The basis for the majority of the humor in Rush Hour is based off of two characters with conflicting cultural backgrounds trying to function in a white nation. Every single authoritative figure except the Chinese consul member was a white male. The police chief, FBI leader, and even the leader of the Chinese criminal organization were white males.

In my opinion, the continual perpetuation of stereotypes in media cannot be and will not be completely avoided. People have been trained by the media to expect certain qualities from people of a different cultural background. Movies such as Rush Hour would seem awkward if the African American actors did not somewhat fall into black stereotypes. The same would apply to any other character such as Lee. If Lee were to not have a thick Chinese accent or not know some form of martial arts, the movie would have seemed as natural. Stereotypes such as these should be avoided in film; however, if it is not possible, film makers should be more culturally sensitive with how they present these stereotypes. The perception of these stereotypes could also be misinterpreted by an audience of a different background. As shown by Darkie Toothpaste and the incident with my parents, what is offensive to one person may seem completely normal to another.

Team Fortress 2

Team Fortress 2 is an online first-person-shooter. As the title implies, the game focuses on team missions. Different maps have different objectives. For example some maps require one team to capture points while the other team defends the points, while other maps have a capture-the-flag theme. When taking on these missions, players can choose a character from 9 different classes. This not only adds variety, but depth to the game as well. Each different character has a variety of different attributes. These characters also have unique personalities and characteristics that make them completely different from each other. Certain characters have advantages over certain characters, but Valve has implemented a good system of checks and balances to make sure that each class is equally useful and equally important.

The Soldier

Weapons: rocket launcher, shotgun, shovel
Health: 200
Description: The Soldier is modeled after a rugged, all-American soldier. He is always in the middle of the action and is ready to blow someone up with his trusty rocket launcher. His shotgun is also a very strong weapon that is mainly used for close combat. The Soldier is also quite maneuverable, which allows him to dodge attacks and to set up advantageous opportunities on the battle field. These versatile qualities allow the Soldier to be ready for any situation.

The Pyro

Weapons: flamethrower, shotgun, axe
Health: 175
Description: The Pyro is a mischievous masked warrior. Despite his mysterious nature, the Pyro packs quite the punch. He wields a short ranged flame thrower that catches enemies on fire. The enemy will continue to lose health until either the fire is extinguished or he dies. To compensate for his short ranged weapons, the Pyro relatively quick. This way players can quickly run up to an enemy, set them on fire, and run away.

The Engineer

Weapons: Shotgun, pistol, wrench
Health: 125
Description: The Engineer is an American handyman. His weapons seem weak in comparison to the other classes, but you should never judge a book by its cover. The Engineer has the ability to collect metals from fallen guns and item boxes. With this metal, he can build a variety of structures. He can build portals that allow team members to transfer instantaneously across the map. Along with portals, he can also construct dispensers that slowly heal team members, replenish ammunition, and refill the Engineer’s metal supply. Last but not least, the Engineer can construct a century gun that constantly scans for and shoots down enemies. The century gun can also be upgraded by hitting them with your wrench. The century gun eventually evolves from a small tripod with a gun to a fully mounted turret with missiles. The upgrading process however, is slow and costs a large amount of metal.

The Spy

Weapons: revolver, butterfly knife, electro-sapper
Health: 175
Description: This cunning character is by far the most complex character to use in Team Fortress 2; however, a well trained spy can be the difference between victory and defeat. The Spy is a very lightly armored character that is meant to avoid combat and utilize stealth. By right clicking, the Spy can turn invisible for a short amount of time. During this period of time, the spy cannot attack or else his camouflage will disappear. When invisible, the Spy is supposed to run behind a target and stab them in the back. When using the spy, stabbing an enemy in the side or the back will result in an instant kill. Along with his cloaking powers, the Spy also has the ability to disguise himself as any member of the opposite team so that he may sneak by unnoticed. In addition to his stealth abilities, the Spy also can use his electro-sapper on any structure made by enemy engineers.

The Heavy

Weapons: chaingun, shotgun, fists
Health: 300
Description: This heavily armored behemoth can give and receive quite the beating. The Heavy possesses a ridiculously big chaingun that can unload on incoming enemies. Each bullet from his chaingun does a considerable amount of damage. This combined with its fast rate of fire, makes the Heavy an ideal character for taking down large groups of enemies. On the downside however, the Heavy is incredibly slow and bulky. This makes him very vulnerable when walking through open areas.

The Sniper

Weapons: sniper rifle, machine pistol, kukri (large knife)
Health: 125
Description: The Sniper class is for those who do not wish to jump right into battle, but would rather stay back and pick his enemies off. The Sniper has the ability to shoot enemies from a great distance, but lacks the ability to defend himself when the enemy is too close. Sniper shots are relatively weak, so it is best to hit enemies in the head to do a greater amount of damage.

The Scout

Weapons: scatter gun, pistol, metal bat
Health: 125
Desciption: The Scout is another lightly armored character that depends on things other than firepower. The Scout is an incredibly fast character that has the ability to double jump and access new areas faster and easier than other classes. He also has the ability to take over capture-points twice as fast as any other class. If you enjoy a real speedster, the Scout is a good choice for you.

The Demoman

Weapons: grenade launcher, sticky bombs, bottle
Health: 175
Description: The Demoman possesses a wide range of explosive weapons that not only deal a massive amount of damage, but also have splash damage. He can take more damage than most other classes and is also surprisingly mobile. Grenades from his grenade launcher explode on contact with an enemy or explode over time. Sticky bombs can be laid on almost any surface and are detonated by right clicking. This combination of weapons makes the Demoman good for both offense and defense.

The Medic

Weapons: syringe pistol, medi-gun, bone saw
Health: 150
Description: This class is one of the most important classes in Team Fortress 2. When allies are injured, the Medic can use his medi-gun to heal them. Healing allies allows for the Medics “uber charge” to build up. After the gauge is completely filled, the medic can right click on one ally and both of them will be invincible for a few seconds. This is perfect for taking out large quantities of enemies and century guns.

Some More About Me

ME ME ME
Let's see what's so good about me. How about we start at the basics?

My name is Gary Liu. I am currently a senior at UT and I am majoring in advertising. I just transferred from actuarial science, so I should be graduating a semester or two later than I planned. I changed my major after taking a few core actuarial science courses and hating them, but now I have found a major that I just simply love. Advertising incorporates more of the right side of my brain which has lain dormant in my head since the age of 12. Apparently after childhood, people begin losing their creativity as a drastic rate. Switching to advertising has helped me escape the dominant left hemisphere of my brain and has brought me one step closer to what I really want to do in life.

This year I'm living in a house with four other roommates: Mike, Austin, Sam, and Drew. They are outstanding people and I have a lot of fun with them. Our house is located near the IM fields, so we go there a few days out of the week to play our collectively favorite sport, soccer. Each fall we register a team for IM soccer and each semester we have been greatly disappointed. We have made it to the semifinals every time to lose in upsetting shoot outs that should not have turned out the way they did. Despite these unfortunate events, we still have the time of our lives just playing soccer.

My roommates and I have known each other since middle school. We all went to good ol’ Canyon Vista Middle School and Westwood High School. After 8 years of hanging out with each other we still couldn’t get enough of one another so we decided to room together. During our freshman year, I roomed with Mike in SanJac while Austin roomed with our other friend Adam, who now lives with this girlfriend. SanJac was my first college living experience. I would recommend this dormitory to people who are looking for a clean, quiet, almost hospital-like environment. I did not make many friends that year within my dorm, but this forced me to branch out which turned out to be a good thing. The next year we all moved together in Dobie along with Sam. Dobie was a blur. It was my first experimentation with heavy alcohol usage for a prolong period of time. Dobie was 28 floors of pure drunk out of control college kids. It was great, but insanely tiring. During our stay at Dobie, we reunited with Drew and ultimately decided that we would be a great person to room with. The proceeding year, we all moved into a big apartment called Sterling. Sterling was like a more refined Dobie. I met an extensive amount of people at Sterling which are now my lifelong friends. After all this ruckus and drinking, we decided to move into our house on 45^th. I am currently residing here and enjoy it more than my past living locations. I can finally get things done while still having fun every now and then.