20/20: A JOHN STOSSEL SPECIAL: RACE AND SEX: WHAT WE THINK (BUT CAN'T SAY) (TV)
Summary
One in this series of news magazine programs. In this edition, host John Stossel explores stereotypes, social taboos, and the science behind certain biases.
First, Stossel comments on how comedy can play on stereotypes, as seen in the satirical Broadway musical "Avenue Q" (and its song "Everyone's a Little Bit Racist"), while others, including former Harvard University president Lawrence Summers, are penalized for seemingly bigoted comments in the workplace. Noting that the "categorization" of others starts at an early age, Stossel conducts an experiment in which young children examine photos and make more positive assumptions about an East Asian man over an Arab man, and prefer a white man over a black man – even though the white man is in fact terrorist Timothy McVeigh. A Pace University subconscious association test determines that both young and old people are biased against the elderly, and people of all races are quicker to "shoot" an armed black person than an armed white person in a simulation. However, the professors running the tests point out that one can prevent one's real-life actions from being influenced by subconscious beliefs.
In another test, women and black people achieve lower test scores after being reminded that they are stereotypically considered less intellectual than others; educator and activist Jane Elliott comments on her famous 1970s "blue eyes / brown eyes" experiment, in which schoolchildren's behavior and academic performance changed noticeably when told that their eye color made them inferior or superior to others. Even older students aware of the test's meaning grow visibly upset when discriminated against, and the educators stress the importance of staying aware of the dangers of stereotypes in order to dismantle them.
Stossel then discusses athletic ability, namely why African-American athletes seem to excel in nearly every field. Jon Entine, author of "Taboo: Why Black Athletes Dominate Sports and Why We’re Afraid to Talk About It" (2000), makes an argument for genetics, though long-distance runner and college professor Rose Chepyator-Thomson counters that black individuals simply have fewer career options and therefore are drawn to sports, adding that there is also a "culture of running" in her home country of Kenya. Olympic coach Brooks Johnson suggests that black athletes, who face racism in many areas of life, simply "want it more" and work harder to achieve success; others, including comedian Chris Rock, recall the theory of "super-slaves" intentionally bred by their white owners for the physical strength. While many athletes refuse to comment on the awkward topic, famed Olympian runner Carl Lewis notes that he has an especially long femur and therefore a longer stride. Stossel reveals that in the past, the stereotypical American basketball player was in fact white and Jewish, thanks to their "scheming minds," according to reports of the day.
Next, Stossel addresses stereotypes associated with gay people, and "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" stars Carson Kressley and Ted Allen note that they have been trained in their respective fields and are not fashion and food experts simply "because" they are gay. Experts in "certain fields" associated with homosexuality, like ballet and hair styling, comment on their experiences with others' assumptions; a test about whether one's sexuality can be determined through voice and demeanor yields mixed results. Other tests suggest that the stereotype about gay men's promiscuity has more to do with the overall male sex drive than anything else. Kressley declares that he is proud of his honest identity and does not mind being considered stereotypical in some ways.
Finally, Matthew Boger of Los Angeles' Museum of Tolerance describes being ousted from his home at age thirteen upon coming out as gay, explaining that he lived on the street and was once violently attacked by a gang of white supremacists. A fellow museum employee, a Holocaust survivor, tells visitors about the loss of his entire family; former neo-Nazi Tim Zaal explains how he gradually came to rethink his racist and homophobic views, eventually even taking a job at the museum and lecturing alongside Boger – who recognized Zaal as one of his random attackers from that night on the street. The two, now friends, discuss the importance of enacting positive change to erase hate. Includes commercials and promos.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: September 15, 2006 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:57:25
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:89755
- GENRE: News magazine
- SUBJECT HEADING: News magazine; Talk/Interview; Race awareness; Science - Experiments; Sociology; Prejudice; LGBTQ+ Collection; African-American Collection - News/Talk/Docs
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 1978-
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - "All the King's Men" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - "Open Season" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - Cingular wireless networks
- TV - Commercials - Citi credit cards
- TV - Commercials - Claritin allergy medication
- TV - Commercials - Enbrel rheumatoid arthritis medication
- TV - Commercials - Glade scented oil candles
- TV - Commercials - Hoover WindTunnel 2 vacuum cleaners
- TV - Commercials - Kellogg's Nutri-Grain bars
- TV - Commercials - Kmart stores
- TV - Commercials - Learn and Serve America program
- TV - Commercials - Macy's stores
- TV - Commercials - Nasonex allergy medication
- TV - Commercials - Outback Steakhouse restaurants
- TV - Commercials - Papa John's restaurants
- TV - Commercials - Plavix heart medication
- TV - Commercials - Pledge Duster Plus dusting cleaner
- TV - Commercials - Quaker Weight Control oatmeal
- TV - Commercials - Target stores
- TV - Commercials - Toyota automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Verizon Wireless cellular services
- TV - Commercials - Vesicare bladder medication
- TV - Commercials - Windex glass cleaner
- TV - Commercials - Zatarain's rice
- TV - PSA - A Better Community volunteering
- TV - PSA - The Library of Congress website
- TV - Promos - "Dancing With the Stars"
- TV - Promos - "Desperate Housewives"
- TV - Promos - "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition"
- TV - Promos - "Good Morning America"
- TV - Promos - "Saturday Night Football"
- TV - Promos - "Six Degrees"
- TV - Promos - "Ugly Betty"
- TV - Promos - ABC World News Tonight
CREDITS
- Martin Phillips … Executive Producer
- Joan LeFosse … Coordinating Producer
- David Sloan … Senior Executive Producer
- Dan Woo … Senior Producer
- Martin Clancy … Senior Producer, Special Products
- Lisa Soloway … Senior Producer, Story Development
- Carla De Landri … Senior Broadcast Producer
- Terri Lichstein … Senior Editorial Producer
- Frank Mastropolo … Producer
- Ann Varney … Producer
- Kristina Kendall … Producer
- Patrick McMenamin … Producer, Writer
- Glenn Ruppel … Producer, Writer
- Resa Matthews … Producer, Writer
- Gena Binkley … Producer, Writer
- Donna D. Hunter … Associate Producer
- Dori Rosenthal … Associate Producer
- Sarah Namias … Associate Producer
- Susan Welsh … Field Producer
- Scott A. Levy … Show Open Producer
- Patricia Dauer … Editorial Producer, Writer
- George Paul … Director
- Ann Benjamin Ruff … Director
- Kristina Kendall … Writer
- John Stossel … Host, Writer
- Jane Elliott … Interviewee
- Jon Entine … Interviewee
- Rose Chepyator-Thomson … Interviewee
- Brooks Johnson … Interviewee
- Carl Lewis … Interviewee
- Carson Kressley … Interviewee
- Ted Allen … Interviewee
- Matthew Boger … Interviewee
- Tim Zaal … Interviewee
- Timothy McVeigh
- Chris Rock
- Lawrence Summers