On PBS - A ReminderThis
On PBS - A Reminder
This was brought to my attention on a mailing list I frequent. I'm particularly interested in the episode to be aired on 5/1, "The Story We Tell," the other two episodes presnting stuff that strikes me as obvious to an honest mind.
RACE: The Power of an Illusion
What if people suddenly discovered that their most basic assumption about race 1 that the world's people can be divided biologically along racial lines - was false? And if race is a biological "myth," where did the idea come from? How do established institutions give race social meaning and power?
These are among the questions raised by Race: The Power of an Illusion, a provocative new series airing on PBS Thursdays, April 24-May 8, 2003, (check local listings). The first television series to scrutinize the very idea of race through the distinct lenses of science, history and social institutions, Race:The Power of an Illusion asks, "What is this thing called 'race'?" - a question so basic it is rarely raised. The series' three one-hour programs challenge some of people's most deeply held beliefs. C.C.H. Pounder ("The Shield") narrates.
Ethnic cleansing, affirmative action battles, immigration restrictions - all place race at center stage in contemporary life. Race is so fundamental to discussions of poverty, education, crime, music and sports that, whether people are racist or anti-racist, they rarely question its reality.
Yet recent scientific evidence suggests that the idea of race is a biological myth, as outdated as the widely held medieval belief that the sun revolved around the earth. Anthropologists, biologists and geneticists have increasingly found that, biologically speaking, there is no such thing as "race." Modern science is decoding the genetic puzzle of DNA and human variation - and finding that skin color really is only skin deep.
However invalid race is biologically, it has been deeply woven into the fabric of American life. Race: The Power of an Illusion examines why and how in three installments. "The Difference Between Us" (4/24) surveys the scientific findings - including genetics - that suggest that the concept of race has no biological basis. "The Story We Tell" (5/1) provides the historical context for race in North America, including when and how the idea got started and why it took such a hold in people's minds. "The House We Live In" (5/8) spotlights the ways social institutions "make" race by providing different groups with vastly different life chances even today, 40 years after the Civil Rights Act.
