Film: Race: The Power of an Illusion, Race is not Based on Biology (Essay Sample)

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Race: The Power of an Illusion
Question One
The film “Race: The Power of an illusion” argues that race is not based on biology. The film points out that humans are highly similar genetically despite their racial classifications. Only one out of every thousand nucleotides that make up our genetic code is different from one individual to another (Brown et al.12). Biology is mainly used as an excuse for social differences among people of different races. The social differences are then naturalized by biology, and this creates racial classifications in the society. Race is a prominent social concept and historic idea which has shaped various institutions such as the legal system and interactions in workplaces. Racism is built on the impression that race is biology, and this a common misconception. Biology is used as a tool of justifying racial opinions. People in the past believed that race could be biologically proven through differences in the skin, eyes, hair, and facial shapes. The social view of race was developed from these historical convictions. 
Question Two
Biological characteristics cannot be used to categorize individuals into constant races because race is not the notion of genetic make-up. Scientists have not identified a specific gene that bounds people to a certain gene. The main differences manifest in the appearance which happens in various races are based on the environmental parameters which people are adapted to. Also, there is a lot of connection between people in the contemporary era of technology (Brown et al.16). It is easier for people to move to distant regions geographically.
The communication process has improved, and it facilitates a lot of intermingling among various races. Without the existence of advanced technology, people of different races would be geographically isolated and sorted to consistent races. Technology has enabled people to travel and interbreed with people of different races. Therefore, it is impossible to categorize people into different races. 
Question Three
The individuals who benefited from the conviction that it is possible to categorize people according to race based on the differences between groups are the people who would use it for their own advantage. In the 19th century, Americans used racial differences and categorizations between Whites and African Americans for their own advantage by enslaving them. The Americans gained numerous economic benefits during this period. Most of the infrastructure in the United States was established by slave labor from black males. The slaves received low payments, and they would be subjected to prison labor. Black women would work as hous