There has been a marked increase in the rate of interracial marriages involving Blacks. In fact, from the 1960 to the 1990 Census, black intermarriages have grown four-fold. It has been surmised that this is brought about by the stronger synthesis between races and the gradual decline in racial discrimination. These suggest that social values have also turned to the more important matters of love over what is perceived by society as "proper." Despite this seemingly encouraging results, the question remains on whether there really has been an improvement in racism against interracial relations from the 1990s to this decade? The research question that has been addressed by this study is as follows: Based on thematic analysis, what are the views on the racial, social or political issues presented in the film Jungle Fever in the 90s decade? Views on interracial marriage and drug addiction have been presented based on the content analysis of the film Jungle Fever.
[...] There has been a rising pattern of Americans who are engaged in interracial marriages and this has attained a 10% rate in the latter part of the 90s (Suro 1999 in Ford, 2003).However, it has also been noted from the study that cohabitation had a higher percentage than those who married interracially. The article has also discussed researches that state that the community from which the partners are from does have an influence on their likelihood to engage in interracial relationships. [...]
[...] This is probably the reason why Simon (1991) depicts Jungle Fever as unrealistic, even as Flipper was portrayed as urban and affluent. In fact, not even affluence could change the effects that race has. A University of Delaware researcher asserts that racism is still very much predominant to this day in the United States because it is intrinsic among humans to “find psychological solace in elevating themselves at the expense of others.” (University of Delaware, 1997). It has also been observed that many African Americans have managed to raise themselves up in terms of financial status. [...]
[...] Analysis and Conclusion The film tackles the issue of interracial sexual relations, through the relationship of Flipper Purify portrayed by Wesley Snipes and Angie Tucci played by Annabella Sciorra (Freedman, 1991). This portrayal is not too popular, as this decade still held very strong stereotypes of interracial marriages. This theme has also been explained by director Spike Lee, saying that in entering into such relation, the couple has been treated as outcasts. And this is exactly what happens in reality. [...]
[...] Quantitative data on Blacks and their interracial relations may further be supported by qualitative data in the form of interviews or focus groups. The results of valid and more generalizable studies will allow meaningful implications for drafting policy on the issues that currently plague them, encompassing interracial relations and drug addiction among others. References Drug Policy Alliance. (2001). The racial history of US drug prohibition. Retrieved on August from http://www.drugpolicy.org/about/position/race_paper_history.cfm Ford, K., Sohn, W. & Lepkowski, J. (2003). Ethnicity or race, area characteristics, and sexual partner choice among American adolescents. [...]
[...] One other limitation of the study is the fact that the content analysis has relied solely on the interpretation of the researcher. It may be useful to use interjudge validation to ensure that the predominant themes of a film or article is identified objectively. Still another constraint has been the short sampling frame within which the articles were culled, had the whole 1990-1999 period been used, then the conclusions would be applicable to a whole decade. However, more articles would be necessary for such analysis. [...]
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