Characters

Brianna

Brianna is one of the main characters in "Video" by Randy Yang. Her outer characterization shows her wearing a purple top, jeans, and a backpack, with a sophisticated hair style. Her attitude towards her groups of friends suggests that she is a bit arrogant, as she keeps saying that she has something to do and might be late to the game.

As she walks with Shantell, we find out that the teenage boy who just left probably likes her.

Inner characterization

Brianna’s inner characterization is conveyed through her speech, actions, and attitude towards the other characters.

When she walks with Shantell, her attitude suggests that she is interested in her friend’s life. She gives Shantell advice to stop going out with a boy who claimed not to have money to pay for her movie ticket during a date. Her attitude suggests she is confident and protective.

When she and Shantell witness the racist remarks of the woman, she becomes verbally aggressive, calling the woman ‘bitch’ and letting her know they are filming her. Also, she becomes defensive and physically aggressive when the woman tries to cover the camera, suggesting she is short-tempered.

At first, the fact that she wants to post the video and shame the woman suggest she is deeply offended and frustrated with how African-Americans are treated. She believes the woman is ‘only sorry because she got caught’, that her regret is not authentic.

Furthermore, when she finds out the woman is a lawyer, she immediately assumes the woman is rich and in a position of power. She tells this to Shantell, arguing that people with authority should not act in racist ways and the people the woman works with have the right to know she is a racist. She assumes that the woman is the kind of person who would not hire herself or Shantell because of their race.

However, as the woman offers money, Brianna begins to blackmail her to offer more. This suggests the girl is self-interested but also that she does not have a problem with blackmailing a white person who she believes to be racist. 

When the woman promises to give her $500, she begins to reconsider, because she needs the money. This is probably because she is young and it may suggests that she comes from a poor family. This plays into the social relations in the film, as African Americans are statistically likely to be less well off than their white peers in US society.

However, when the woman goes inside the bank, she reveals that she wants to post the video anyway and take the money as well. Her speech reveals that she is not aware that she acts in a biased way or perhaps that she does not care about being biased against white people. She seems to think she is entitled to do both because the woman is a racist and deserves to be shamed.

Furthermore, she claims the woman has ‘been playing them the whole time’ and does not respect them. She claims that the woman sees the two girls...