Happy Face

The pitch of the piece is that this so called “orthodoxy of friendship” is a lie, or more so a stretch from the truth and far from the reality between the black race and the white race. The piece is reacting to the relationship between black and white people. It is reacting to how movies portray a friendship theme among black and white people, when in his mind is just not so. The moment of the piece takes place in the present. It does make references to past history. It was written because of the tension between African Americans and Caucasians that has gone on throughout history and is still present today.

He uses a pattern of repetition when he gives numerous examples of movies that portray friendship or a connection between whites and blacks. He also uses the word friendship frequently; because of the repetition of this word it is significant. It is obvious to anyone that this article is about friendship among blacks and whites. A probable strand would be, “commercials, news features, TV specials, and films.” These relate because they include the media in which they believe racial harmony exists. One quote that can sum up the part about how movies portray the “orthodoxy of friendship” is, “The good news at the movies obscures the bad news in the streets… The movies reflect the larger dynamic of wish and dream.” He refers to the past, and how that today Americans are forgetting the past of blacks, such as slavery and the civil rights movement and that it has no affect on the present.

Thinking implications, I believe that one thing DeMott is trying to say is that white Americans and African Americans are beginning to forget how different they are from each other. He lists some statistics on the 2nd page that evidently separate whites from blacks. These statistics are very important details in the article. They are significant because they address some of the differences between blacks and whites that many people are now disregarding. He also believes that people believe this “orthodoxy of friendship” myth so they feel less guilty for being racist or being bias. He thinks people assume they can make up for the past (even with un-involvement) by becoming friends with black people. To prove hatred has diminished they will carry out this friendship theory to clear their guilty conscience.