White Privilege: Apparent in
Society and Conveyed Through
Film
Slide Show by Drew Adams
White Privilege: Unpacking the
Invisible Knapsack
• Peggy McIntosh
White Privilege Outline
• Peggy McIntosh: Unpacking the Invisible
Knapsack---Key Concepts (10 min)
• White Privilege in Film (8 min)
• White Privilege as apparent in America
(5 min)
• Review and Questions
(2 min)
McIntosh: White Privilege
• “I have come to see
white privilege as an
invisible package of
unearned assets which
I can count on cashing
in on one day, but
about which I was
meant to remain
oblivious.”
-McIntosh (71)
McIntosh: White Privilege
• Privilege is sometimes inherent and almost always
unrealized
• In most cases oppressiveness is unconscious and
unacknowledged
• Many silences and denials surrounding white
privilege are key political tools
• Great pressure to avoid but in order to face
privilege one must give up the myth of
meritocracy
Advantages Associated With White
Privilege
• One can easily be in the
• Pride that your race created
company of members of the
same race
• When moving into a new house
one can be somewhat sure
neighbors will be pleasant
• Most likely not get hassled by
store security
• See people of same race
positively represented
“national heritage”
• Children will be taught of the
existence of their race at every
grade level
• Easier to perform simple
business aspects from “white to
white”
• Can find culturally traditional
foods
Advantages Associated With White
Privilege (2)
• Skin color does not work
• Can speak in public without
against financially reliable
appearance
• Can protect children most of the
time from people who may not
like them
• Able to see police as allies
• Able to swear or wear second
hand clothes without it being
attributed to bad morals or
poverty
having race play an issue in
audience’s minds
• Can do well in a situation
without being considered a
credit to my race
• Never asked to speak on behalf
of entire race
• Can remain oblivious to other
cultures without being looked
upon harshly
Advantages Associated With White
Privilege (3)
• Can criticize government and
society without being seen as a
cultural outsider
• “Person in charge” is generally
of the same race
• Generally do not get singled out
because of race (traffic tickets
or tax audits)
• Can easily buy objects featuring
own race (posters, greeting
cards, dolls, etc.)
• Generally do not feel isolated in
•
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•
organizations
Can feel free to take a job
without it being suspect that it
was only acquired do to
affirmative action
Easily seek public
accommodation without fear
Race will not work against legal
or medical help
Do not have to worry about
situations containing racial
overtones
McIntosh: White Privilege
• “ I did not recognize
myself as a racist because
I was taught to see racism
only in individual acts of
meanness by members of
my group, never in
invisible systems
conferring unsought racial
dominance on my group
from birth.”
• “Keeping most people
unaware that freedom of
confident action is there
for just a small number of
people props up those in
power and serves to keep
power in the hands of the
same groups that have
most of it already.”
McIntosh: White Privilege
American Freedom
• Some of the power
which whites come
upon in society is
thought of as being a
freedom possessed by
all Americans—
however it is still
laced with unearned
advantage and
conferred dominance
McIntosh: White Privilege
• “Whiteness” is not seen as a racial identity
• Our daily lives are affected more by
unearned power than any other silent
condition.
• More must be done in order to identify
where lives are effected the most so that
changes may slowly begin
McIntosh: White Privilege
“Disapproving of the systems won’t be
enough to change them. I was taught to
think that racism could end if white
individuals changed their attitudes.
[But] a “white” skin in the United States
opens many doors for whites whether or
not we approve of the way dominance
has been conferred on us.”
--Peggy McIntosh (73)
McIntosh: White Privilege
Whites are taught to think of their
lives as morally neutral, normative,
and average, and also ideal, so that
when we work to benefit others this is
seen as work which will allow “them”
to be more like “us.”
White Privilege in America
“White privilege, like any social
phenomenon, is complex. In a white
supremacist culture, all white people
have privilege, whether or not they
are overtly racist themselves. There
are general patterns, but such
privilege plays out differently
depending on context and other
aspects of ones identity.”
White Privilege in America
“When whites seek admission to a
university, apply for a job, or hunt for
an apartment, they don't look
threatening. Almost all of the people
evaluating people for those things are
white. They see a reflection of
themselves, and in a racist world that
is an advantage. Even when whites
voice critical opinions, they are given
slack.”
--Robert Jensen
“Guess Who’s Coming to
Dinner”
Racial Stereotypes and White Privilege
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
Racial Issues and Stereotype
• In the film, it appears generally more
acceptable for a white family to live in a
large home
• In the 1960’s it is uncommon and a basis for
stereotypes when a black man becomes a
prestigious doctor
• Generally judged on skin color not
character
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
Racial Issues and Stereotype (2)
• Inter-racial marriages looked down upon by both
races
• Whites generally say one thing about privilege and
stereotypes, yet often act another way
• Wide spread belief that inter-racial children would
grow up without a race and live a rough life
• All blacks are grouped together, something one
does effects the way another one is viewed
How Hollywood Portrays White
Privilege
• Movies can and do portray
many varied views dealing with
white privilege and stereotypes
• Movies can reflect any and all
stereotypes– not necessarily
that of society
• Hollywood directors are
predominantly white, therefore
white privilege has a large
effect on our views
• Movies are one of the most
commonplace sources for
instilling unrecognized white
privilege into society
White Privilege in Film (2)
• The way race in the movies is dealt with has
changed drastically throughout the years
• The numbers of minorities involved in the
film industry has been on the rise for years
• Filmmakers are now dealing with and
embracing white privilege and stereotypes
in a forward way
For example, in The Battle at Elderbusch
Gulch Indians are portrayed as
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Hostile outsiders
Barbaric savages
Always shot from a distance
Portrayed so that audience feels no
sympathy or compassion towards them
More Recent Films
that take a forward approach to stereotyping and
privilege
White Privilege is often viewed
as a/an _______ oppressiveness
unconscious /straightforward/ conscious
The comparison of white privilege to
unpacking a knapsack simply means
whites are equipped with ________
hate/ assets/ fear/ disadvantage
White Privilege Is Greater
Depending on Other Factors
Such As Sex and Social Status:
True or False?
White Privilege in Society is _______
a. Earned through years of struggle
b. Inherited at birth and dependent upon
parents
c. Granted by society for social status
Whites purposefully use their
status to discriminate upon
minorities and place them lower
in society.
T/F?
Will All Members of Society
Ever Truly Be on an Equal
Playing Field and If So Is It a
Question of Time?