Assimilation Quote by bell hooks
““Watching Paris is Burning, I began to think that the many yuppie-looking, straight -acting, pushy, predominantly white folks in the audience were there because the film in no way interrogates “whiteness.” These folks left the film saying it was “amazing,” “marvellous,” incredibly funny,” worthy of statements like, “Didn’t you just love it?” And no, I didn’t love it. For in many ways the film was a graphic documentary portrait of the way in which colonized black people (in this case black gay brothers, some of whom were drag queens) worship at the throne of whiteness, even when such worship demands that we live in perpetual self-hate, steal, go hungry, and even die in its pursuit. The "we" evoked here is all of us, black people/people of color, who are daily bombarded by a powerful colonizing whiteness that seduces us away from ourselves, that negates that there is beauty to be found in any form of blackness that is not imitation whiteness.””
About This Quote
Source Film: Paris is Burning (1990) documentary
The film exposes how marginalized black gay men are compelled to emulate white norms, leading to self‑destruction and loss of authentic identity.
In simple terms: Black people are pressured to imitate whiteness, harming themselves.
Resist assimilation, celebrate authentic blackness.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- activism
- film discussion
- education
- personal reflection
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- How does media shape racial self‑image?
- What steps can we take to honor genuine black culture?
The film also shows moments of joy and resistance that can inspire empowerment.