Jun Xing and Lane Ryo Hirabayashi, eds. Reversing the Lens: Ethnicity, Race, Gender, and Sexuality through Film.

Jun Xing and Lane Ryo Hirabayashi, eds. Reversing the Lens: Ethnicity, Race, Gender, and Sexuality through Film. Boulder: UP of Colorado, 2003. 270 pp. $45.00 cloth/$19.95 paper.

This essay collection about using film as a teaching tool to explain cultural differences among U.S. populations is effective and useful. Moving from the twentieth-century "color line" to the twenty-first-century "difference line," contributors explore key elements of sociological distinctions among groups referenced in the book's subtitle. Organized into four sections totaling fourteen chapters, the book approaches race as a "social construction ... subject to political contestation" and as "a phenomenon that varies through time and space."

Part I opens with two essays that explain the book's thematic purpose and the relationship between stereotypes and visual media. Part II looks at racialized communities represented in film, while Part III explores ethnicity and race from a social issues perspective. Part IV considers the potential for "critical visual thinking" by emphasizing the value of individual and shared film viewing, and for guiding instructors' film selections for classroom use. Contributing authors include history, English, anthropology, and political science scholars, among others. Key themes purport to be film's exploration of ethnicity and emotion, as well as representation and construction values in film media. The authors assert that their book can help readers sharpen visual thinking skills and appreciate social constructions of race. They emphasize that film has more than supplemental value in a teaching classroom.

Essays review Vietnamese, Chinese, Native American, and Latina groups, among others, in memorable films like Monterey's Boat People by Spencer Nakasako and Vincent DiGirolamo, which won a Red Ribbon at the American Film Festival and finalist status at the U.S. Film and Video Festival. Ward Churchill's Chapter 4 essay examines the role of Native Americans in not-so-memorable films like Buck Dancer (1898), as well as more recent productions like A Man Called Horse and Dances With Wolves. Churchill surveys film history to claim that 2,000 movies and 10,000 television segments have projected Indian themes and roles over the past hundred years. Marilyn C. Alquizola and Lane Ryo Hirbayashi's Chapter 8 confronts gender stereotypes of Asian American women, while Elisa Facio's "The Queering of Chicana Studies" considers gay profiles in Hispanic films. The role of Eastern mysticism is the subject of Chapter 11, while Chapter 12, "Beyond the Hollywood Hype," condemns "state oppression against people of color" and offers a list of pertinent pedagogical issues.

Practical guidelines for instructors are outlined in Chapter 13, "Self, Society, and the 'Other,'" such as the desirability of viewing films in the classroom rather than at home to promote a shared experience. Other suggestions include the value of pre-viewing warm-up exercises. Chapter 14 raises the issue of reinscription and how to prevent students viewing stereotypical films from inadvertently adopting the films' values. Finally, a "Selected Filmography" lists more than 100 recommended films for classroom use, accompanied by a distributor's index for ordering films and videos.

The book's topical breadth is a plus. Perhaps a chapter on Arab-Americans or Jews would have added contemporary relevance. Chapter length is uneven. For example, Churchill's essay comprises sixty-eight pages, while "The Issue of Reinscription" runs just six. The two introductory chapters, though written by different authors, could have been combined.

Overall, the text is readable, meaningful, and practical. With insightful guidelines, a film list, and references, Reversing the Lens can aid instructors who wish to make effective use of film. The editors hope their book will begin rather than complete a dialogue on this topic.

Debra Johanyak

University of Akron, Wayne College