Anti-racism girl: high school-produced superhero PSA

Vincent Pearase of Oak Park High School in Winnipeg, Canada, writes:

I am a computer/social studies teacher. My students and I regularly visit Boing Boing. This video was made by a group of kids to Celebrate March 21, the UN designated International Day for the Elimination of Discrimination. We shot the video in about six hours, and edited it in about three hours. Our school, Oak Park, is known for its advanced Digital Film Program. Every year our students make a couple of hundred shorts (animated, live action, documentary) as well as an original student-made feature length movie.

Link to video.

Boing Boing editor/partner and tech culture journalist Xeni Jardin hosts and produces Boing Boing's in-flight TV channel on Virgin America airlines (#10 on the dial), and writes about living with breast cancer. Diagnosed in 2011. @xeni on Twitter. email: xeni@boingboing.net.

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rAMPANTiDIOCY

oh some!
velocity girl

Yeah, in line with #35 and #36, it seems that given the super-problematic assumptions about racism and racist people apparent in these comments, a video that not only identifies racism as a problem, but ALSO explains what it is and how it is practiced is necessary.

This video would be a cute introduction to a longer video that delves deeper into the issue. Perhaps the Oak Park film students could come back to Boing Boing with a sequel?
carfuffle

Sexism is more powerful than Racism?
wrybread

I think the disemvoweler went overboard on #27, that was my favorite comment…
Arkmay

Hey Mr.P! I cant belive that you got this onto boing boing!
Chris

‘m sr mny f ths prnts r smply <>thrlld thr mllbl kds r gttng stdy dt f bng bng’s hypr-mltnt, lbrl phlsphy!
Takuan

“boing boing’s hyper-militant, liberal philosphy!”

I do not follow,I am here for the fascist rhetoric.
gHurley

@ #20

Oak Park is a suburban school located right on the perimeter of the city. What kind of “racial diversity” are you looking for?
anthropomorphictoast

“This is just symbolic!” *giggle*…I thought that was cute.

And JEEZ PEOPLE, LIGHTEN UP. :/
grey

Poor Chris. Ever since those hyper-militant liberals stole all his vowel keys, he’s just come across as a mumbling weakling. This is obviously the effect the hyper-militant liberals wanted, so we should try very hard to imagine Chris as something besides a mumbling weakling.
grey

I really, really enjoyed the video. Anti-racism girl’s costume was beyond awesome.
airshowfan

I LOLed at “I don’t approve of violence. This is just symbolic”.
ill lich

Wait. . . both “racism” and “anti-racism” are portrayed by white kids!

And what’s with “racism” wearing all black– that’s kinda racist! “Black is Beautiful!”

And why does she have to be called “anti-racism”? That’s kind of reactionary (in other words, she isn’t her own being, just a reaction to someone else)– shouldn’t she be called “Diversity Girl” or “Acceptance” or something? Nice outfit though, makes “racism”‘s outfit look like a pile of puke.

(relax, I’m just being snarky).
cr0m

Awesome! Clever! Great job!
Benjamin

GREAT job. I call bs on the 3 hour edit, though.
Tamu

Very cute. These kids seem to have their heart in the right place.
MRCarter

Adorable! Great Job kids!
findlayboy

Hey! Somebody stole my vowels, too! (#27) WHAT THE HELL PEOPLE
chouston

I can’t believe that so many people have enjoyed the video! lol. Also with how many people liked the “this is just symbolic” line… I had such a great time writing/shooting it.
Ps. Did anyone notice how majestically ARG’s cape moved as she flew? That was definitely me. I know. It’s awesome.
CristÃ³bal Palmer

That is absolutely adorable, and those kids are incredibly lucky.
gepinniw

Hi!
I’m the teacher who sent in this little video…
All the comments are very interesting. I’m not sure what the relevance of the kids’ racial backgrounds is, but I can say that they represented many different “non-white” ethnicities. Where I live, our community is incredibly diverse, and there are many, many people of mixed ancestry, myself included.
I would agree with Takuan (#36) who said racism isn’t only pink. All people are capable of bigotry.
We just wanted to use humor to convey that racism is icky and we ought to stand up to it when we see it.
As for the symbolism of the black costume, we did discuss this, and our thinking was that the blackness had to do with the absence of light, etc, rather than anything to do with melanin. And the cape was purple, but we weren’t implying anything about eggplants.
My students have done other videos on racism, if you’re interested. Check out the Youtube page for those.
Thanks for all your comments, even the vowel-free ones!
Cheers!
spectre

Not to get off subject here, but did that high school have a damn ATM machine next to the lockers? I must be getting old for that to weird me out…
Cowicide

Bravo! Very well done. I love the part where the villain is laughing… that stance he has is hilarious…
Chris Tucker

The Disemvowler strikes again!
friedmandesigns

the goo that Racism slimes out looks like it would make a good lube or floor wax. Love (and lube) don’t see no color, donchaknow.
mybaboonheart

Wht s s cmmndbl bt ths? mn rlly, t s 2008, th prsnfctn f rcsm lds mr t t’s prpttn thn nythng ls. Myhps n th nxt nstllmnt ths sprhr cld bttl wth thr wn nhrnt nstttnl rcsm.

m nt skng fr trts wth th scp nd nsght f bll hks, bt fr fll 60 scnds thr s nry mmnt ‘d chrctrz s dctnl r wrthwhl.
lukobe

One word: dorky (though the girl sort of looks like my girlfriend would have at that age, so that gets her some points)
wrybread

I think I have a crush on Anti Racism Girl…
mdhatter

So campy, so good.
janis123

hlrs. Lv t. t’s pppng p bt n thr sts t…
http://www.mngdq.cm/srch.php?q=nt-rcsm+grl&blnk=00000
insomma

31-

just being snarky, but those were my thoughts exactly- shouldn’t racism have been portayed by a student with, er, lighter complexion? perhaps a skinhead? there are plenty of those running around highschools these days…
Teresa Nielsen Hayden / Moderator

I went and looked at everything I could find on Oak Park High School, Winnipeg, Manitoba, especially photos of the student body. What I found: Some Metis and possibly First Nations. Some Hispanic and Middle Eastern surnames. A few students who might have been Oriental. Mostly, though, they’re white. (The midwinter photos of the water polo team were very white.)

Maybe we could ask the students about it? They are reading this thread.
Takuan

Is there some general consensus that racism is a uniquely pink trait? You people need to get out more.
Hamish MacDonald

It’s cute. Although A-R-G’s costume is uncomfortably similar to the Heinz tomato ketchup bottle.
schmod

I suppose we’re still a few decades away from Anti-Homophobia boy…..
mybaboonheart

What happened to my vowels? Also #34 your post is incredibly problematic, though it is not my responsibility nor is this the venue to address why I strongly urge you to read Edward Said’s Orientalism.
MoogleLally

Awww, that’s so cute. And a bang up editing job! I’ve seen TV/movies with worse production value.
adent1066

There were not too many races represented in that PSA.
Nico Richard

Why is Winnipeg on boingboing? Why’s Cole Woods in that other video? Greetings Oak Park from Churchill High.
RunaasResources

That line is great “I don’t approve of violence. This is just symbolic.” and I love the slime that comes from racism… more symbolism. Good job.
jjasper

A+ for effort.

I hate to be curmudgeonly, but the video doesn’t exactly show what racism looks like, or how to really stand up to it.

Perhaps future installments will have that.
Miss Cellania

Excellent production! Y’all should be proud.
Moon

I’m with Lukobe. Seriously dorky.
Jardine

The midwinter photos of the water polo team were very white.

Of course they were. Trying to play water polo in the middle of winter in Winnipeg will do that to you. It’s quite cold.

I’m not in Winnipeg but this school sounds similar to the semi-rural high school I went to in south-western Ontario. As I recall, there were about 1000 students. 3 or 4 were black, maybe 2 were Indian (from India), around a half dozen were Oriental (if that’s a bad word, what’s a good word for referring to the people from that area of the world?), and there were probably about 10 Aboriginal Canadians. There were a few Muslims at one point because there was a room set aside for their daily prayers one year.
hellhead

So to combat racism I beat people? Symbolically of course…
findlayboy

Th hdln ds nt cnfrm t stndrd Bng Bng styl. Pls chng t “nt-rcsm grl: hgh schl-prdcd ndrwr prvrt PS.”
Sarah Neptune

“My [high school] students and I regularly visit BB” — really? That would get you put in jail in The States. *Sigh* Oh, Canada.
Tim

And then Albi cried a single tear that turned into a jellybean, all the colors of the rainbow. And suddenly, Albi wasn’t racist anymore.