The Outsiders

Peter Jackson's 2009 film "District 9" is a not so sympathetic look at how civilized nations deal with immigration.  The film begins with an alien crisis, a real alien from outer space crisis, that grips the city of Johannesburg, South Africa with fear. As the crisis escalates, the foreign community pressures South Africa to deal with the crisis head on. After storming their spacecraft, they find that the aliens are in extremely poor health and desperately need medical attention and nourishment.  The community responds. However, they are overwhelmed by the situation, and end up creating more of a problem with their help. Temporary tent cities turn in to permanent slums and ghettos, marred by violence and crime, and illegal activity. The ghetto is fenced off, separating it from the rest of the city, isolating those on the inside and the outside.

Donald R. Kinder and Tali Mendelberg published an interesting article "Cracks in American Apartheid:The Political Impact of Prejudice among Desegregated Whites" in 1995.  They found that whites who lived in isolation of blacks were more likely to hold stereotypical views of blacks. They also found that these stereotypical assumptions affected public policy making.  But their research also found that those whites who had more interactions with blacks were more likely to hold positive views of their black neighbors.

Just as in the film District 9, in real life, segregation breeds contempt and mistrust.  Daily interaction between blacks and whites promotes tolerance and understanding.  This is true off all dominant/non-dominant groups.  Education can further promote healthy attitudes towards one another.  Stereotypes are perpetuated when groups live in isolation.