Eye Opener

Synopsis

Jane Elliott conducts her Blue-eyed, Brown-eyed Exercise in Glasgow, Scotland, with thirty-five volunteers from across the United Kingdom. Participants experience a role reversal that challenges their perceptions of power and prejudice. Blue-eyed individuals confront feelings of powerlessness, while brown-eyed participants grapple with their compliance in the exercise. Through this experience, they gain insight into the systematic nature of racism and the effects of their actions or inaction. The exercise remains relevant in the UK, echoing its origins in Riceville, Iowa, in 1968.