Diffusion of Racialized Boundaries

I found Jennifer Gonzalez's account of morphology of race, and the notion of race as a morphable visual technology to be interesting, especially in light of the readings we've been considering recently. As the course comes to a close, I've been trying more to get a sense of where I am in relation to the various articulations of race that we've considered, and I realize that I'm coming to terms with the notion that digital technologies (as well as modern scientific technology such as fMRI) have a significant role to play in presenting a visual argument for the dissolution of race (if indeed that is where we're headed). Goebbels says that “Propaganda must be made directly by words and images, not by writing.” And in a sense, propaganda is required to make the case that there's “no gene for race,” moreso than writing, if it is to have reception across a larger audience.

Thank Michael Jackson for this, in his video “Black or White,” which has been stuck in my head ever since I watched it to see the face-morphing. This sort of argument, made through art, and especially mass art, has an important role to play, in addition to theorizing on the topic. Perhaps the internet, too, plays a crucial role in a similar regard, as is suggested by Mark Hansen. These seem to be two ways of diffusing racialized boundaries – by rendering the boundaries more diffuse themselves through art, or by thoroughly ignoring them altogether on the blogosphere and throughout the internet.