Film Buffs: Need help for research paper (1 Viewer)

[Paul P]

Ummmm. How about every gay coming-out movie.

 

[Dome Vongvises]

The Infiltrator
Link Removed

 

[Alex Spindler]

I was just watching Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, and realized it was just what you're looking for.
Ceasar pretends to be a part of the minority, the subservient apes that man has made servents of, when in fact he represents the future superior to humans. During his stint as a servent, he observes and is disgusted by the treatment of his fellow apes. The support of past human slaves is covered quite well, and MacDonald helps Ceaser from within as well.
Sounds like it might be a good, although different, choice.

 

[StevenA]

Women aren't actually a minority, but oh well...

(They're actually a majority of a little over 50% in terms of world population, if I recall correctly).

 

[Vince Maskeeper]

OK guys, I appreciate the help!
The list, as offered by the HTF is:
Black like Me
City Lights
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes
Europa, Europa
Finian's Rainbow
Focus
Gosford Park
Just One Of The Guys
School Ties
Shock Corridor
Soul Man
Switch
The Closet
The Infiltrator
Trading Places
True Identity
Twilight Zone : The Movie
Watermelon Man
White Man's Burden
Yentl
Now obviously I won't have time to view all these films in the next 3 weeks before finishing the paper. Certainly Black Like Me goes to the top of the list- and Alex's points about Planet of the Apes certainly has me tempted to include it.
The Infiltrator seems like it would be an interesting one to include as well- however it appears to be a made for TV film and I checked all the local libraries, and no one can get it.
Of the titles remaining- can anyone confirm one or two which really touches on this specific taletype:
* Someone pretends to be a minority either seeking to learn about discrimination or discovers discrimination in the process.
I appreciate the help- but unfortunately I need to hone in on 4-5 movies because I simply won't have enough time to watch them all.
-Vince

 

[Rex Bachmann]

Ruth F wrote:

? Not sure if this qualifies because he wasn't "pretending" to be a black man, he woke up one day and discovered that he had somehow become a black man.

Yes, the point of Watermelon Man was that the Jeff Gerber character starts as a raging white bigot who wakes up one day inexplicably transformed into one of the "Negroes" he (and his wife, played by Estelle Parsons) have spent so much of their lives disparaging. As he gets the perspective from the "other side" of the mirror, he's forced to change his outlook on life.
At no time does he pretend to be black. He's forced, literally and figuratively, to become black. It's an absurdist and highly political piece.
(Police officer: "This man [Gerber now turned black and detained while taking his usual jog] stole something. We don't know what yet.")

 

[James D S]

Vince,
Another movie that fits the bill would be The Jazz Singer(1980) starring Neil Diamond. He is a Jew who pretends to be black to get gigs singing at jazz bars. While doing so, he is discovered. "Is being a Jew not hard enough?!," his father (Lawrence Olivier) asks.