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Dear Ashley, Katelyn, Jagroop, and Mariah,

Hearing each one of your individual stories and how they have affected you personally was pivotal, and it helped me understand more about who you each are.  The most powerful statement to me was when Ashley talked about how it is wrong that she is labeled as a “minority trying to get out of her neighborhood for a better future” instead of an individual trying to achieve their goals.  It made me realize that society has often made us think that minorities are not meant to succeed.  When they do achieve a goal, it is almost seen as a rare phenomenon and it should not be that way.  This quote made me realize thing about not only the way I view things, but also the messages that have been conveyed to me since I was a child.

The other part that was powerful to me was each of you discuss your individual life experiences with the standard that people have for “whiteness”.  In the ending where you decide to leave society because of the standards it has was monumental to me.  Rather than dealing with these unfair and ludicrous standards that other people are putting on you all, you decide to run away to a place where you will be happy with yourselves and each other.  One piece of course material that related to this in my class was a Toni Morrison’s text, “The Bluest Eye”.  Throughout the Bluest Eye, Pecola was unable to love herself and her skin tone.  She dealt with the similar pressures of not feeling confident because of having darker skin, and she wanted to be White with blue eyes as a result (Morrison, 180).  She drove herself crazy over this and failed to realize that it would not solve her problems.  She thought she was the one who had to change, when society really had to change.  I am glad that you are all confident with you are and have friends that embrace you for you are.  Great work and I cannot wait to see the things you all will accomplish in life.

Sincerely,

Sheldon Wong (From Professor G’s Class)

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Your film shed much needed light on the recurring issue of people’s skin color playing a major role in the way in which they are perceived and treated within our society. It was amazing to watch your interviews and listen to all of your perseverance to challenge the current societal norms to show that your skin color is part of who you are and should not be overlooked, but in contrast, your skin color should not hold you back from reaching your goals and pursuing your dreams. In Professor G’s class, we have learned of many occurrences of lighter complexioned BIPOC actors, musicians, and dancers being portrayed more in popular culture because they are seen as “more beautiful” or “more relatable”, and this is still a large problem in media to this day. I also really enjoyed that at the beginning of your dance the dancer in black was the one who flourished from the three dancers in white, and I interpreted this as showing that the darker character can be the main focus point contrary to what our current society may believe. You all are amazing, your interviews were empowering, and I am sure you will all go on to do amazing things with your lives.

-Griff R. (Professor G’s class)

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This film was as phenomenal as it was powerful. You all did an amazing job of showing how one-sided society really is (only caring about whether someone is white or not), as well as exposing the white supremacist ideals embedded in America’s ideologies. I especially enjoyed how these ideas were constantly emphasized throughout the film. For instance, the zooming in on the person’s skin as well as the contrasts between black and white. These techniques helped convey how society as a whole just tends to focus on the color of a person’s skin and nothing else. Apparently, society thinks it’s okay to accept the preconceived notions associated with certain skin colors and not bother with knowing the truth. However, as you beautifully showcased in the film, this is not okay! Every person, regardless of their skin color, has their own story, their own struggles, and their own identity. Therefore it’s completely unfair to group everyone into one category simply because of their skin color. No one should be looked down upon for being themself. No one should have to live in a society, let alone a world, where the whiter you are, the better you are. It’s ridiculous! Nonetheless, it doesn’t mean we can’t fight back. Change has to start somewhere (like you all showed at the end of the film). Once again, fantastic work!
- From Professor G’s class

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This is a very powerful film and I really enjoyed watching it. The messages I interpreted from your film I found to be very thought provoking, especially the way in which you challenge our modern day hierarchical system which has been built on a perception that witness is inextricably linked with virtue or hard work. This subconscious hierarchy plays out in our social practices, which in turn only further solidifies our perception. I really appreciated the visual representation of a literal hierarchy, and how this would look (and how absurd it really is) and how harmful its implications can be. The classification and breakdown of the collective into “white, white passing, mixed race, and dark brown” exemplifies how labels hold meaning, and can serve the powerful by stripping those of darker complexions from the complexities of their culture, their background, and more importantly their unique aspirations and goals. Playing out the present day dynamics of stereotyping, in a dystopian setting is brilliantly done, and really forces the audience (myself included), to reflect on how we judge one another based on our perceptions without understanding the nuance. We would never say these things out-loud, and we often times deny that we make judgements based on one another skin color, so why do we still conduct ourselves in a manner which parallels exactly what was shown in your film? As your film demonstrates, the solution is to break free from this false and poisonous hierarchy, and to understand that the remnants of centuries of white supremacy still exist, and they can be defeated if we choose not to continue this destructive cycle.

And that is very inspiring.

Thank you for such a thoughtful film.

- Jackson G. (Professor G’s class)

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Ashley, Katelyn, Jagroop, and Mariah… thank you. Seriously, I don’t know if I’ve ever resonated with a piece of art in such a personal and authentic way. While I was born in the U.S., both my parents grew up in India, and as a woman, my mom was constantly made to feel ugly for her darker complexion. She considers me blessed to be born with skin that is so drastically lighter than that of the rest of my family, and as a result, has taught me to wear sunscreen every single day. She tells me to only go on runs before the sun rises or after the sun sets, and to always wear a hat if I need to go somewhere when the sun is out. And as much as I try to ignore her persistence, I’ve definitely adopted the fear that if I tan too much I will lose what makes me beautiful. It was so interesting to me that you said “This society converts the word whiteness as a standard for comparison to everyone else who doesn’t possess that complexion. As if being white is the ultimate supernatural power” (3:38). Society has created a desire for assimilation, in which colored people are taught that they can dress, act, and live a certain way to seem “whiter”, and therefore, “better”. You guys packed that punch extra hard by creating the categories “white” and “white-passing.” It reveals the ridiculous idea that even if you aren’t white, you can act white enough and be considered more highly as a result. But at the end of the day, this whole idea is a construct. My favorite line of this whole film was, “Me and whiteness seem to fall on different sides of this linear spectrum called opinion,” (4:46). Because it really is just that. Opinion. And it was incredible that you all decided to take a stand together, because change will only happen if everyone agrees that the system is messed up, not just those who are hurt by it. You are all so intelligent, capable, and beautiful, so never forget it! <3 Rishelle from Prof. G’s class

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This film was very touching. It gave a great visual representation of how discrimination and colorist is still among us and present. The way the body moves and the colors that were incorporated in this film was truly breathtaking. I also admired how it showed the variance of the girls ethnicities and their beauty.

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Absolutely incredible film.

I loved the idea to zoom in on your guys skin, eyes, jewelry, etc. at times when you were talking. I felt that this emphasized the nuisance of only focusing on one aspect of a huge picture, similar to how many wrongfully focus only on one’s skin color when speaking of a person. Further, I appreciated the transitions from color film to black and white. I believe this highlighted much of what is lost when there is a heightened focus on what is white versus non-white(in both a literal/photographical and metaphorical sense), as opposed to integrating all colors into the whole picture as one vibrant and stunning piece. I also loved the idea of displaying people as subjects on a screen, followed by a picture of their skin tone as a palette sample. This underscored the idea that when one is identified only for their skin, their entire identity and personality is stripped. The intricacies of this short film were meticulously thought out and masterfully executed. I want to commend and thank all of you for this amazing piece.

Best,

Greg Sarandi from Professor G’s class

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That film was just fantastic. I loved the cinematic approach to this movie. I'm not sure it was intentional or not but I loved the parallel between Blade Runner and this film. The scene of when you guys were being interviewed to see what "sector" you belonged in was exactly like when Harrison Ford was interviewing a replicant to see if she was actually human or instead just a robot. I think with that metaphor it really emphasized how society classify people based on race and the color of people's skin. In addition, the symbolic dance part in the film was spectacular in how you showed the struggles of those that are colored trying to spread their wings and be themselves face due to society pushing colored people down and back from reaching their true potential. I also loved the next dance after as it showed that even when societies had put a classification on everyone of us and deemed everyone of us as different from each other due to our skin. We really are just the same people in the inside, and we can do the same things as each other. -Yujin Lee

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This entire film is so well done. The interview really shows how society relates race with value, and how being darker is often seen as ugly. Hearing all of your individuals stories about the racism and colorism you experienced even within your own families is really heart breaking, but it is powerful to see all of you confronting it and calling it out as something that is not okay. I also really enjoyed the symbolism in both of the dances, the first one representing the white majority often pushing down people with darker skin, and the second dance where you are all colorful and dancing to Latin music and expressing yourselves as you are. This is a complex topic to cover that is often difficult for people to talk about, but this concept of having to "test" into a race category as well as the interview process explained the issue very well. Not only is there a struggle in society to try and be more white and therefore more "beautiful", there is also the matter of proving yourself as being "white enough" and therefore more worthy. The ending where you all decide to break from the mold and be yourselves as you are, and to stop equating these racial categories with self worth is really powerful as well, because it shows how this change needs to start with all of us. I'm from Professor G's class and I'm really happy I had the opportunity to watch this film! - Jennah Saqib

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The story that you created in this film, one where people are literally forced to be divided by their skin color, really terrified me. Sadly though, it is the reality of our world. As you all mentioned, the whiter that you are, the more beautiful and better treated you are. The “ideal” body always has some sort of whiteness in it. When thinking about women especially, they are some of the people that are most impacted by these colorist notions. I have friends that have felt ugly solely because their skin is not light. Some of them are even reluctant to go to the beach sometimes, because they don’t want the sun to make them darker. Whenever they do decide to go though, they make sure to put multiple layers of sunblock on themselves, which is also something that you all mentioned in your film. This is why it is so infuriating that there are so many negative connotations that come with having darker skin. It literally makes so many people be defined as ugly and worthless by ideals set by those with power and supremacy. However, I do want to take the time to appreciate you for the film that you have created. I hope it reaches other people and allows for them to see the significant harm in having and complying with these ideals. So, thank you, for your personal stories, for your beautiful body movement, for your powerful camera work, and for your intelligence, which all contributed greatly to the story that you told. - Juliana S. (from Professor Grimes' class)

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Hello Ashley, Katelyn, Jagroop, and Mariah

This interview stimulation was such a creative approach to educating people on how one is judged based on the color tone of their skin. I especially liked your point that whiteness should be just a color on the spectrum, yet instead, it is “a standard of comparison for everyone else who doesn't possess that complexion.” Being white myself, my privilege and ignorance kept me from noticing this particularly. Now that I have heard this idea, it seems to be a major part of what is wrong with our society. We don't see people of each having their own unique and beautiful skin tone, instead society compares others' skin tones to how white they are or if they can pass for being white. Thank you for educating me on a very valuable topic that unfortunately I had not given this particular idea much thought previously. I wholeheartedly agree that we shouldn’t place people in categories that compare them to how their skin color differs from white skin colors. I’m sorry that our society has allowed you to be seen first for the color of your skin rather than who you really are. It was surprising for me that some of this preference toward whiter skin color has transferred over in your family units. For me, it just demonstrated how strong and deeply embedded colorism is in our society. Now that I am more educated on this topic, I will work to pick apart the system that places white above everything else and consciously notice all of the small things that society has embedded to preach this ridiculous idea.

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This is absoluetly wonderful and awesome! Each individual was interview in a similar but special way. Moreover, the interviews portrays or unveils the "color-coded" phenomenon which represents the discrimination among people with different backgroud, language, and beliefs in society. It is extremely creative to "amplify" the skin-color with the camara to implicate the importance of skin as an irony to critize the imbalanced perspectives from people, and people should not be "color-coded". Initially in the video, the producer zoom in not only the skin color but also the cloth colors. I think it is a function to juxtapose the cloth colors with the skin colors. Subsequently, the dancing part, which I think it very related to our class material, which encourage us to ponder over racial inequality. Firstly, the whole body movements reflects each one teach one, the body movement sort of representing the race according to their skin color and protesting the discrimination occuring in reality. Secondly, the final part underlines the "equal" beauty of different racial or ethical people, which is a way to share the "equalness" or "us-ness" should be built within a community or society that all skins colors should be respected and treated equally. Thank you so much for creating this video and help me pondering over many social issues! Luo Geng Xu Zhou from My dear Professor G's class!

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Wow. I am so moved by how personal each of these individual stories are, and how real and honest each of you are able to be on camera. You are all so well-spoken and have very effectively gotten your message across. This film shows the effect of colorism in today’s world, and how it affects people, particularly the younger generation. I was amazed at the cinematography of this film. Specifically how the camera zoomed in on everyone’s skin tone, showing who has the lighter and darker skin tones, and how that has affected everyone’s life experience. We are bred to believe that being white is superior to all other races. However, the color of your skin is not a determinant of your character. This film showed that in today’s world there is an acceptable level of darkness to your skin rather than the typical black vs white. Light-skinnedLight skinned individuals are granted more opportunities than people with dark skin. In Professor G’s class, we read a book by Toni Morrison called The Bluest Eye. This book features a black girl named Pecola who struggles to feel worthy because she is black. She struggles to accept herself for who she is because society has made her feel less than human due to the color of her skin. She thought that “if her eyes, those eyes that held the pictures, and knew the sights- if those eyes of hers were different, that is to say, beautiful, she herself would be different”(46). Pecola believes that beauty is defined in whiteness because that is what society breeds us to believe, but that is far from the truth. This film reaffirms those societal beliefs as the girls with lighter skin tones were placed into higher levels, showing that we as a society continue to place whiteness above all other races. I am so glad Professor G recommended this film, I can see how much hard work went into it!

-Gabriella (From professor G’s class)

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Ashley, Katelyn, Jagroop, and Mariah,

This film was really captivating because of the creative way in which you all presented the issue of colorism. Even though this dystopian society where young adults are assigned a color is fictional, it is still representative of our real society, which is extremely apparent during each students’ interview. I loved the contrast between each students’ personal account of their relationship with whiteness and how the camera did not focus on the students’ full faces while they spoke. This effectively emphasized our society’s concern with physical appearance over qualification, which shows how much color determines access to opportunities. At the end of the film, when the students were arguing over the results of their evaluations and started to go after the student who was put into the White sector, I was reminded of a character named Claudia from the book The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison. Claudia, a little girl who is Black, tears apart her White baby dolls because she does not understand why White is deemed beautiful and as a result, Black is labeled as ugly. Before the students in the film decide to go against society and run away, they begin to get angry with the student who is placed in the White sector because they do not understand why she was placed higher than them, just like Claudia. I love how the students unite at the end to reject society’s standards. This moment was a reminder that change is possible, and it was so powerful to see young women coming together to spark the change. Thank you for making such a creative and thought-provoking film!

(Shoutout to Professor G for recommending that we watch your film. I’m so grateful that I got to watch this.)

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This was absolutely BRILLIANT. You guys put together a true masterclass that highlighted how society sees and qualifies people. Physical features that cannot be chosen at birth play the largest role in how we are viewed by society and it is devastating. Dark skin is marked in society as "bad" or "poor" or "low class" and it is taught from a very young age. I love the subtle emphasis that was put such as the zooming in during certain parts as well as what was being zoomed on. It really highlighted the deficiencies that society has, yet chooses to continue practicing. I also thought that the song choices were well chosen such as "Mi Gente" at the end because we should all be together as one and not judged or discriminated off of our skin color, eye color or hair texture. Really great job!          ~Benjy from Professor G's class

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Great project! The individual interviews presented how the skin color discrimination commonly exists among people’s consciousness and education. And it it very creative to have those zoom-in scenes. So people will put more attention to these facial details and think about the interviewers’ intention. The dance parts are really amazing. In the first part, I feel that the implications of clothing colors, plots, and body movements reflected the color discrimination in reality. However, second part of dance presented the beauty of these girls with different ethical backgrounds.

Thank your for creating and sharing this wonderful video!

Ruoming Li

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I am so happy that Prof. G sent me to watch these films because all of them and especially this one show a really world view on race and how it affects people. I really like the literal way you were able to show race and colorism through the storyline that then led into dances that also showcased the message of the film. I love how you all shared your stories as being people of color with all different experiences because it really does show the problem with colorism and how the lighter you are, the better idea in society evolves across generations and countries. This was amazing! Thank you showing this in a creative and interesting way, I enjoyed every second of it!

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I love how creative your film is. I like how the camera zooms in to focus on facial features like skin tone, eye color, and lips when the girls are being interviewed. I think it is a very creative approach. I am not sure if this was what you intended to do, but it makes me feel like I am the interviewer who is trying to judge a teenage girl by closely examining every one of her physical features. The idea of a placement interview to divide people to different color sectors is also very interesting. In reality, we certainly don’t have such an obviously racist interview. However, despite being a fiction, the seemingly ridiculous placement interview portrayed in this film is still an accurate representation of reality, because we are still living in a society where, a lot of the times, the whiter is equivalent to better. With creativity, you conveyed a strong message to the society. I think your film is the definition of a good film. Great job!

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Color Coded is truly a cinematic masterpiece. Your depiction of life in a society which scales the worth of a human being according to its skin complexions was absolutely insightful to watch. The composition of the storyline radiates authenticity and triggers the urge to ACT, to CHANGE the ways in which we think, to BE MORE AWARE of all the racial injustices that prevail in this country and the world! In a sophisticated manner and through cinematic skill, you raise awareness on the oftentimes subtle nature of racism - how it is most detrimental. Thank you for depicting this story in the realest way possible. This film has to be watched by many more! EW

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This film hits the nail on the head describing the incorporation of color into a system that should not be based on the appearance of someone but their skills and efforts. It's quite frightening that these ideologies are still being used especially when we're told not to worry about our appearance or culture and believe that everyone will be treated equally when it comes down to selection. However, as you guys described with great visuals and dialogue, that is simply not the case. I really enjoyed the cinematography of this film and I thought the part where you zoomed in on the body when pigmentation, melanin, and color was being discussed was very clever and emphasized the idea that in society, we are not always judged by our stories and qualifications, but the physical appearance, something we cannot change. As a Pakistani, I highly related to Jagroop who expressed her feelings about how south Asian culture can be very judgmental within our own communities. It's very difficult when South Asians are stereotyped and dealing with racist ideas from other communities, but it makes it even more difficult when racist and toxic ideas are also incorporated within the south Asian community itself. This idea that white is superior and what everyone should be striving towards is so misguiding and has been used to brainwash so many people to feel inferior. However, we need to overcome that idea as a community, because as individuals, we know our worth and are worth much more than what anyone else believes! Overall, I'm amazed by the concepts and production that went into this film. Your hard work is not going unnoticed!

-Hayan Khan (Student from Professor Sabela Grimes’s class)

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I really enjoyed this film! Not only does it very accurately depict the very real problem of colorism within minority communities, but also how these self or community imposed depictions decide the opportunities and challenges we face throughout our life. I found it very clever to present this societal problem through the lens of a dystopian world that marks you because many individuals can relate to the feeling of being marked due to their appearance. I also though it was very clever to zoom in while the interviewees were speaking as if to show that the individual's  words did not matter, but rather their physical characteristics or external traits that decide what category they are placed in. It is very tragic that sometimes these coloristic stereotypes are not only perpetuated within society, but also can originate from our own families that may be ashamed themselves. I love how in the end they actively reject these arbitrary hierarchy. It shows that although these ideas of white supremacy may be implanted in society, they are not permanent and that we are reaching a place where individuals can be proud of how they appear and regardless of Eurocentric beauty standards. Overall, I really enjoyed the film and different shots. I thought it was excellently shot and held a moving message throughout. I'm very glad professor G recommended this film!

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Wow.. This film was able to portray real life issues in such a way that everyone can understand. The film was very creative as the interviews were set up in a way to make it seem as though they were actually interrogations. A lot of great points were brought up in this film, one that stuck out to me around the 3:55 minute mark. We often hear in media, "minority youth pursuing career in medicine to make it out of their community." Why must things be addressed in this way, do they do the same with white children? No. I am sure a lot of that is done out of goodness, but what they don't understand, and this looks to be something engrained here in LA culture, that evaluating someone solely on the race is still a form of discriminatory behavior and must be changed.

There is so many details in Color Coded. From Ashley playing with her gold necklace when talking about whiteness, implying whiteness is seen as gold. To the child watching Bollywood films when Jagroop was talking about how we are engrained to prefer lighter skin tones because of the media around us. Katelyn introduces   great points and observations when she brought up how on her father's side, it is better in terms  of opportunities when one is light skinned than dark skinned. This brings up the complexities in our society and how we don't just view things as black or white, but how there actually levels to the "desired skin tone." Life is never so simple and Mariah  points out that racism and societal preferences have long been in American culture and still are. These preferences affect us in real ways and Mariah mentions that her mother's side, being of darker skin, has more blue-collar workers than her father's mixed side.

Professor G. recommended our class to watch some Love South LA vids done by high schoolers. You all did such a great job laying out the evidence in such an easily digestible way, that it is almost hard to believe this was a production done by teenagers in high school. I thoroughly enjoyed this and you all helped me see things a little more different.

Thank you for this film,

CJ

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I'm thankful to Professor G for encouraging us to watch these films. If you don't hear it from anyone else, I want to let you know that I see your hard work. This film emphasizes the power of colorism across multiple cultures (not just within the black community). It is so crazy how the world wants to convince us that "white is right" when every shade is perfectly made, and I appreciate y'all for shedding light on that. Goood work!

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This film was so impressive!! "Color Coded" took me on an aerial overview, yet an intimate deep dive into the ways race, color, and ethnicity manifests itself into our everyday society. I am one of Professor Grimes student's from the University of Southern California. He highly recommended our class watch these films and I'm so thankful he did. The storyline of this film was very thought provoking. As a multiracial individual, I found myself connecting with the experiences of these four friends facing societal pushback based not on their qualifications, but rather their external appearance. I enjoyed the multi-media incorporation this film used. One scene that particularly stood out to me as a viewer was when the camera angle came from the perspective of the one actress dressed in dark clothing as her hands were pushed down by the three actresses dancing in light clothing. The metaphoric costuming and visual representation of the one actress in dark clothing being pushed down, covered, and isolated was so impactful. I plan to share this film with some of my friends. Kudos to the four of you!!! Wonderful work! -Emily L.