By Invitation Only

By Invitation Only is a brilliant, and utterly unique examination of class and race privilege, and shows us just how deeply embedded are the structures of entitlement and expectation for members of the ruling class, not only in New Orleans, frankly, but nationwide. Most importantly, Rebecca Snedeker explores the ways in which this system not only dehumanizes those who stand outside of it, but even those for whom its benefits were intended. For those who seek an understanding of what was broken with the American class and race systems, long before Hurricane Katrina, 'By Invitation Only' is a fantastic place to start.

Just imagine being in the center of New Orleans debutante and Carnival traditions and opting out of all that power and privilege! Snedeker had beauty, brains, money, and entitlement. She poignantly records her stepping back, rethinking, reconsidering, reorienting herself into a wider way of being in the world, outside of the social and emotional prisons of her caste, class, and racial position. This sensitive autobiographical video can be especially valuable for work on class and race awareness and on diversity in general. It invites the viewer to Just Imagine giving up some unearned privilege, and living a stronger and more coherent life as a result of this decision.

A personal documentary in which the liberal filmmaker rubs against the upper-crust Mardi Gras traditions of her society family, realizing there's no place in the celebrations for her African-American boyfriend. It's a smart, tantalizing take on class and race that traces 100 years of parallel New Orleans history, white and black.

This film is a great teaching tool for introducing students to the concept of white privilege. The documentary also provides rich material for an analysis of the intersections of race, gender, sexuality, and class.

White privilege may reproduce itself crudely and overtly, by whip and fire—or subtly and discreetly, by debutante ball and carnival celebration. In this fascinating insider's documentary on New Orleans' Mardi Gras world of floats and parades, Rebecca Snedeker shows how racial exclusivity—white kings and queens ruling an unreconstructed antebellum aristocracy of color—masks itself as innocuous family tradition and holiday reveling. She may have given up her own chance of a crown, but she has performed a queenly service in the long quest for a more racially democratic realm.