Trailer

In Broken dreams we meet Colin, a heavily tattooed white man, sitting with his young son and daughter. We learn that he has ended a friendship between his young daughter and a black boy because he disagrees with race mixing, while his son admits that he was reluctant to hold the hand of a new boy at school because of his colour. We then see Colin, in a German football shirt, explaining why he no longer is affiliated to a neo-Nazi gang. After watching the extract, lead a to discussion about the prejudices that Colin shows and how they appear to impact on his children.

Next, consider:

• Why did Colin leave the neo-Nazi group?
• What kind of society does Colin claim to want?
• What is the connection between this and his racist attitudes?
• If students could ask Colin one question to challenge his racist assumptions, what would it be?

Main Attraction

Play students the second extract, Respect for the Soho Bomber. In this clip Neil describes how he admires the 'Soho Bomber' who detonated nail bombs targeting the gay community, because 'he got up and did something about it'. We also meet his girlfriend who says she has concerns about his violent streak and how it might affect her and their young daughter.

Students will need to be given some basic background to the soho bombings before watching the extract.

• How would students describe Neil's attitude towards homosexuality?
• What are the connections between this kind of discrimination and Colin's racism?
• Why does Neil think a 'war' is being fought?

In the third and final extract, Pictures from the Past, we meet Nick, an ex gang member who has now befriended a black man. After showing his friend pictures of his neo-Nazi past, Nick discusses why his attitudes towards black people have changed but explains he still dislikes Asian people.

• How have Nick's attitudes towards race changed and why?
• How does Nick justify his distrust of Asians?
• What are the similarities and differences between Nick's attitude towards race and Colin's?

After watching and discussing the three extracts, ask students to work in groups to prepare an A5 leaflet entitled 'Racism and Discrimination'. They should work on the basis that the leaflet will be given to students in the year below them to promote mutual respect and understanding. They should use the extracts to think about:

• What do we mean by racism and discrimination and how are the two linked?
• What are some of the reasons behind racist beliefs and behaviour?
• How do racist beliefs and behaviour impact on society?
• How can racism and discrimination be challenged?

Students should be left to design the layout and content of the leaflet but they will need to think carefully about the overall message and aim of the handout - do they want to focus on defining the terms or suggesting ways to challenge racism and discrimination? Students will also need to think carefully about their audience - what kind of language/images will they use? Are there certain terms that need to be highlighted (in a glossary) etc?

End Credits

Ask selected groups to feed back their ideas to rest of the class or, if there has been sufficient time to complete the leaflet, present their work in full.