Bell Hooks "vs." Melissa Harris

The conversation between Bell Hooks and Melissa Harris was great to watch as a student learning about race because they both brought up very important topics/issues. They did not completely agree with each other on all the topics, but the arguments that were actually brought up made the conversation stronger. For me, the disagreement between Hooks and Harris on how films about racial histories could actually either be crippling or encouraging for changes in today's racial issues. Hooks believes that films such as The Help and 12 Years a Slave actually cripples America in the sense that watching these films makes us think that this was the past and that we have come so far from this sad past. She believes people start to buy into these films allowing people to feel free from having to pay attention to the real issues with race today. Harris takes the other side of this argument and believes we actually need these films in order for people to engage in fixing todays racial issues. People will watch these films and become more aware. It is hard for me to take either side of the argument, but I do agree with Harris's point. We need these "informative" films (even if they aren't the truest form) to exist because without them people will really become clueless and feel as though these issues aren't brought up because its over with and really in the past. When A film like The Help comes out and receives a high volume of attention it drives most of us to watch it. The film has its negatives and that is important to notice but even if you don't you can in a way learn about the histories of racial issues in America. For example, if I hadn't taken a class about African Americans specifically on the history of racial struggles I would have not known what black face was. If I were to pick up the film  Bamboozled, I would have learned about black face and the affects it had on the African Americans during that time (even still today). Films are educational and sometimes that can be a problem but being able to pick up even bits of information that are true and make people think and become more knowledgeable on a topic can be beneficial in the long run. Do you think films such as the ones I mentioned shape a positive or negative image for viewers? In the sense that it either frees us from having to feel guilty or worried or become more knowledgeable and maybe slowly engage in fixing todays issues.