ImmigrationProf Blog

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

At the Movies: "White People," a documentary by Jose Antonio Vargas

“White People,” a groundbreaking documentary on race that aims to answer the question, “What does it mean to be white?” from the viewpoint of young white people living in America today. “White People” will premiere on MTV on July 22nd at 8/7c.“White People” follows Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and filmmaker Jose Antonio Vargas as he travels across the country to get this complicated conversation started. The documentary asks what’s fair when it comes to affirmative action, if colorblindness is a good thing, what privilege really means, and what it’s like to become the “white minority” in your neighborhood. That moment that you discover that you have certain unearned advantages just because of the color of your skin can be jarring – and can sometimes lead to feelings of guilt. But once you learn about your privilege, there’s actually a lot you can do that’s empowering and constructive. While white people can’t help having been born white into a system where whiteness affords them privilege, they can help to create meaningful change.

MTV has announced that “White People,” a documentary on race that aims to answer the question, “What does it mean to be white?” from the viewpoint of young white people living in the United States. “White People” will premiere on MTV on July 22nd at 8/7c.

“White People” follows Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and filmmaker Jose Antonio Vargas, who has been engaged in immigration activism (including the film Documented, over the last few years) as he travels across the country to get this conversation started. The documentary asks what’s fair when it comes to affirmative action, if colorblindness is a good thing, what privilege really means, and what it’s like to become the “white minority” in your neighborhood. That moment that you discover that you have certain unearned advantages just because of the color of your skin can be jarring – and can sometimes lead to feelings of guilt. But once you learn about your privilege, there’s actually a lot you can do that’s empowering and constructive. While white people can’t help having been born white into a system where whiteness affords them privilege, they can help to create meaningful change.

“White People” was produced by MTV, as part of its ongoing “Look Different” anti-bias campaign, in collaboration with Define American, a nonprofit co-founded by Vargas that uses the power of stories to transcend politics and shift the conversation around immigrants, identity and citizenship. Race, immigration, identity and multiculturalism are issues with implications all over the world.