Analysis of Brian Allen

Analysis of Brian Allen

Brian Allen, from the 1986 film, Skin Deep, appears to be at a very interesting place with his racial identity. He doesn’t exemplify strong hate towards the white race, acknowledges that not all white people are racist, and states that he has no problem having friendships with white people. However, at the same, Brian seems to be upset with the system, which he feels has made blacks be viewed as lesser than whites. Brian states, “If it ever came down to a choice between being black or spreading out I’d stick with my own people” (Reid et al, 18:30.). This paired with the statement made that “we all gonna work together or we gonna die” (Reid et al, 48:15), shows that Brian displays signs of being in both an immersion phase and an internalization phase in his racial identity development. Author Beverly Tatum describes the immersion phase in her book Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria: “In many ways, the person at the immersion/emersion phase is unlearning the internalized sterotypes about his or her own group and is redefining a positive sense of self” (Tatum, p.76). Brian shows his positive sense of self by stating he would much rather stick with his people if there were ever separation. Tatum then explains the internalization stage by saying a person “is willing to establish meaningful relationships across group boundaries” (Tatum, p.76). Brian demonstrates this behavior by saying he wants to work together with white people and he has had relationships with some white people at his school (Reid et al, 18:00). All in all, Brian Allen is a fascinating character in a interesting developmental stage with his racial identity.

 

 

Bibliography

Reid, Frances et al. Skin deep. Berkeley, CA: Iris Films, 1995. Film.

Tatum, Beverly Daniel. “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?”: And Other Conversations About Race. New York: BasicBooks, 1999. Print.