Free Custom «Expendables» Essay Paper

Introduction

The Expendables choose your weapon. I thought that this movie is entertaining to watch. However, it has a lot of violence.

Thesis Statement

The "expendable 2010," highlights an outstanding deal of racial and cultural tolerance. This is done by bringing out an elite team of mercenaries from different cultural and racial origins to work for a common goal.  The movie highlights how these mercenaries combine well when deployed on the Gulf of Aden, which is off the coast of Somalia in order to halt local pirates from executing hostages. However, there are some racist undertones in this movie. An example of a racial undertone in the movie is seen when the mercenaries are said to be five and half men. The Asian Jet Li is referred to as half a man. A man does not create humor but highlights his physical disadvantage. This is done by focusing on height and labeling him as half.  It serves to insult the virility of Asians. The racial undertone in such a comment arises because Stallone and Stattum are not that tall and yet such a joke is not used in their reference.

 

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Michael Omi states that variations in human nature derived from the obvious differences in the physical characteristics provide visible clues as to substantive differences lying underneath (Pg 627).  Yin Yang (Jet Li) is a short Asian man who is referred to as half a man despite the fact that there are six men in the movie. Stallone insists that the expendable consists of five and half men.

He (Omi) also argues that in "contemporary television and films," there is a tendency to equate minority races with roles that are often one dimension. They are also imbued with certain stereotypic assumptions (Pg 632/633). In this movie, Yin looks out of place as the dialogue about his size gets old quickly. In addition to bringing three members of his stunt team to choreograph his fight scenes, it looks like a waste of time and talent as his fights are shot defectively as the other person fights in the film.

Racial undertones are portrayed by the imperial characteristics exhibited by the expendables. This is highlighted by the fact that mercenaries of non-native origin are used to free hostages. On the other scene, mercenaries are also used to liberate a fictional island in the Gulf of Mexico from an exceptionally brutal dictator. Mitu Sengupta highlights this patronizing nature of the powerful nations while analyzing the movie Avatar (Pg 413). In this movie, the mercenary takes control of the affairs of foreign countries without having to give the natives a role to play in their liberation. He says that many films have shown” various people of color (minorities, colonial subjects and third world poor) struggle against many social ills (poverty, imperialism, and authoritarianism) only to be promptly arrogated by the white men (from time to time white women)” (Pg 413).

In the movie the expendables, a fantastic deal of cultural and racial tolerance is exhibited. However, one cannot fail to note that beneath there exists some racial undertones amongst the main characters. It is also portrayed through themes such as neo colonialism and imperialism. This is displayed when a character of Asian origin is referred to as half a man. On the other side, racialism is shown through imperialism. It is also seen when the expendables fail to recognize the locals in their quest to achieve their aims.

The issue of racism has been predominant in the film industry. This has been exemplified in the Oscars awards where most of the winners have been the whites. This is despite the fact that most participants in the industry are people of color. The awards in order to improve their sagging rates and include the people of color increased the spots for best pictures. It was from five to ten in the year 2009. This indicates that they cannot compete fairly with their white colleagues. In the same year, The King’s Speech a 1930’s drama about Great Britain’s royalty (white, privileged and beyond wealthy) won over more contemporary and youth-driven Inception and The Social Network (Cinema Nero). The other situation that is more predominant in the film industry is casting of white characters as colored. This displays white people as more superior to hold characters of colors more than the colors themselves. This is a phenomenal known as reverse racism. In the “last air bender,” most of the lead casters are white.

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According to Omi, the importance of race is not only restricted to the visual media. It has also been popular in music. Race has continued to define musical tastes, formats, and musical communities. The major films in Hollywood continue to display imperialism and neo colonialism. Therefore, remarkably few films have tried to address this issue. The slum dog millionaire is an example of a film that seeks to address the problem of racialism. It gives the actors their real casts according to race and social status. The other problem in the film industry is where the dominant races have taken the roles of the other minor races. This problem is still dominant, although there has been redress on these issues. This is especially after the emergence of lead actors from the minority races.

Conclusion

Racialism is a worldwide problem. It has not only affected the film industry, but even other sectors of economies. In the film industry, the vice usually occurs in undertones and not openly. Nevertheless, it is easy to note when it happens.