Change Your Image
asmedl
Reviews
America to Me (2018)
9/10 and 6/10.
At the time of writing I have only seen 3/10 of the episodes but I think this is enough to grasp the quality and direction of the documentary. I am British and have never been to the US.
I feel as though I should give the documentary two ratings. One is purely based on my interest and enjoyment of the work, and the second based on how the filmmakers have approached the work.
The actual footage, interviews and interviewees are all very interesting and sympathetic. For example, the self segregation of the students by race is very revealing. Anyone still thinking that race isn't a real point of tension for ordinary americans (as opposed to a media narrative only) will have that illusion evaporate rather quickly.
Many scenes raise real questions about the true motivations of the decision makers involved. For example, when one teacher comes from Scandinavia with ideas for how to improve the performance of minority students, nobody on the board seems interested, even though you'd think they would be desperate for ideas if only for PR purposes (given the racial disparity in test scores). Also of note is the obvious schism within the school board between the black/female members and the others.
The students and teachers are all very likeable and sincere. Some of them are a little too social justice-y for my taste, although this is a personal preference on my part. The documentary does a good job of richly portraying many people efficiently.
I would rate the way the filmmakers have approached the work a little less well. One gets the feeling that they had already decided on the narrative (this being, essentially, the standard left-wing narrative of systemic racism) they were going for before filming began and this hurts the credibiility of the documentary.
To be sure, we do see varying degrees of racism or race-related tension. Examples include a socially awkward physics teacher who in trying to engage a black student actually makes her feel very uncomfortable; the clear tensions between some black staff and their colleagues; and racial slurs being used in a 'Football' game.
Unfortunately the filmmakers seem either too afraid or too close-minded to ask questions that risk upsetting the narrative I alluded to. For example, many students are given a lot of time to praise the importance of the BLM movement or speak about their troubles related to identifying as non-binary. Yet one black student who briefly mentions the high black-on-black homicide rate (and is not happy about it) doesn't appear to be given a chance to elaborate on the issue in an equivalent manner.
It may have been enlightening to ask whether the focus on race and what divides us is itself contributing to these problems, especially given that observation of group differences is a necessary condition for the formation of negative stereotypes (see Jonathan Haidt's research). One gets the impression that this level of self-examination is beyond James et al.
One also has to wonder exactly why certain board members didn't want the documentary to happen. I think it is probably because they have something to hide, but it may be in part because they suspected the filmmakers had an agenda and would not be sympathetic to their (possibly legitimate) points of view. It is a shame they were not braver because their input may have allowed the work to offer a more complete and credible view of the issues it surveys.
This said, the filmmakers do not appear to be looking to blame anyone in particular for the problems they are concerned with, and seem honest enough. Just know this: they are biased toward confirming beliefs they already hold; and this bias will not be highlighted by most reviewers in the mainstream media because they also share these prior beliefs.