and that white and black Americans view the same situations through very different lenses is something he al-ready understands
I think this is a crucial attribute for Chris. It is only possible for the protagonist to have a deep understanding of racial inequality so that, through Chris's perspective, the audiences can experience the heavy contrasts between the "white man in the woods" and the black community in the film.
Nor did I need to convince myself of my own au-thenticity by drawing a line between somebody else’s supposed fraudulence and the fears I have concerning my own (thus evincing an unfortunate tendency toward overcompensation that, it must be admitted, is not un-known among us biracial folks). No. The viewer is not a fraud. Neither is the painter. The truth is that this painting and I are simply not in pro-found communication.
I encountered difficulties when reading this part. Does the writer want to imply that the artwork simply does not resonate with her? Although she recognized herself as a black person, is it acceptable for her not to feel the same way as other black people?
Rem-nants of the black “host” remain after these operations—but not enough to make a person.
I interpret the quote in this way: the clients wish to preserve their souls (thoughts, perspectives, beliefs) and express these qualities through a black person's perspective. They want to be black. However, because the clients have not experienced what black people had undergone, they still uphold the "white values," so it is never enough to become a real black person.
But when arguments of appropriation are linked to a racial essentialism no more sophisticated than antebellum miscegenation laws, well, then we head quickly into absurdity.
I highly agree with this sentence. It is totally fine for us to preserve our art evaluations on history, politics, and even race. But we shall not relate the art to extreme "racial essentialism" all the time because it will do more harm than good. Focusing too much on a political correctness issue will let us ignore the original message of a piece of art and our appreciation of it.