Alexander Hamilton, One of Americas founding fathers, author of “The Federalist Papers,” and the gentleman on the ten-dollar bill, has a riveting Broadway musical biography on his life by the great Lin-Manuel Miranda. What makes this show absolutely unique is that it not just white men dressed up in powdered white wigs, it’s a contemporary piece with scores of music in pop, hip-hop, R&B and only uses Black and Latino actors. In theatre, the concept of colorblind casting has been used for a long time but it is still a debate whether or not it’s an effective practice. Even the celebrated Black playwright August Wilson, in his speech addressed to the Theatre Communications Group National Conference “The Ground on Which I Stand” states that, “colorblind casting is an aberrant idea that has never had any validity other than as a tool of Cultural Imperialists who view American culture, rooted in the icons of European culture, as beyond reproach in its perfection … to mount an all-black production of a Death of a Salesman or any other play conceived for white actors as an investigation of the human condition through the specifics of white culture is to deny us our own humanity, our own history, and the need to make our own investigation from the cultural ground on which we stand as black Americans.” Nevertheless, Hamilton does the exact opposite, it opens the audience to understanding that talent can transcend the characters and still tell the stories of our cultures history using both a serious, comedic, and musical approach.
To die a tragic death by the hand of another man- to carve ones way through destiny and shape one's future from the humblest of beginnings- to forge a legacy by a medium only those heralded as our countries "Forefathers" have per chanced to meddle with- these are the makings and the foundations for which great men and the dreams of our country rely upon.
But all the excitement and success that surrounds “Empire” cannot erase the reality that it’s a glossy showcase for internalized racism. Just look at the publicity photos of the lead characters, all flashing lightly tawny skin. After Emancipation, a hierarchy of light-skinned black people developed into community leaders with access to jobs and education that were closed to darker-skinned black people. At black colleges, the paper bag test – wherein only African-Americans with skin lighter than a brown paper bag were admitted – further established the separation between skin tones. This separation between lighter and darker skin tones continues today. People of color that can “pass” (“passing”is when POC are light enough that they might be mistaken for white) in society are given more advantages over darker-skinned black people. Being lighter is still considered being better, which is why darker-skinned celebrities typically are white washed in photo shoots. “Empire” has been called out for playing into this stereotype with a cast that features only light-skinned people in the significant, powerful roles and relegating dark-skinned people to subservient, minor
Then, in the play, Wilson looks at the unpleasant expense and widespread meanings of the violent urban environment in which numerous African Americans existed th...
Slavery consisted of numerous inhumane horrors completed to make its victims feel desolated and helpless. Many inescapable of these horrors of slavery are conveyed in the “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass”. The entire prospect of the duration of the story is to plan an escape from the excruciating conditions awaiting Douglass as a slave. When his escape is finally executed, unpredictable emotions and thoughts overwhelm him. Within the conclusion of his narrative (shown in the given passage), Frederick Douglass uses figurative language, diction, and syntax to portray such states of mind he felt after escaping slavery: relief, loneliness, and paranoia.
“If you stand for nothing, Burr, what will you fall for?” Lin-Manuel Miranda raps at the beginning of his hit musical, Hamilton. This sentence truly epitomizes the ideal that governed Alexander Hamilton’s life; that is to say that he was always a weighty advocate for the things in which he believed. His accomplishments range from orchestrating the Bank of New York to being a delegate for the Continental Congress, proving him to be a well rounded Founding Father. Nonetheless many would like to discredit Hamilton because he, like all human beings, had significant flaws; he had an affair, he had trouble keeping his head, and many other countless flaws. However, does not every human being have a multitude of shortcomings? From the perspective of
Marlon T. Riggs’ video, Color Adjustment, offers the viewer an exciting trip though the history of television, focusing on the representation, or lack thereof, of African-Americans. A perfectly chosen combination of television producers, actors, sociologists, and cultural critics join forces to offer insight and professional opinion about the status of African-Americans in television since the inception of television itself. As Color Adjustment traces the history of television shows from Amos n’ Andy and Julia to "ghetto sitcoms" and The Cosby Show, the cast of television professionals and cultural critics discuss the impacts those representations have on both the African-American community and our society as a whole. Color Adjustment continually asks the question: "Are these images positive?" This video raises the viewer’s awareness about issues of positive images for African-Americans on television.
Over the course of approximately one-hundred years there has been a discernible metamorphosis within the realm of African-American cinema. African-Americans have overcome the heavy weight of oppression in forms such as of politics, citizenship and most importantly equal human rights. One of the most evident forms that were withheld from African-Americans came in the structure of the performing arts; specifically film. The common population did not allow blacks to drink from the same water fountain let alone share the same television waves or stage. But over time the strength of the expectant black actors and actresses overwhelmed the majority force to stop blacks from appearing on film. For the longest time the performing arts were the only way for African-Americans to express the deep pain that the white population placed in front of them. Singing, dancing and acting took many African-Americans to a place that no oppressor could reach; considering the exploitation of their character during the 1930's-1960's acting' was an essential technique to African American survival.
With the turn of the century, society and technology evolved and so did the minstrel shows. The introduction of the television gave the shows a new platform to broadcast their content to more American audiences. While not as harsh as the shows in the 19th century’s shows, the modern minstrel shows were “vestiges of their racial stereotyping and performance aesthetics that persisted for decades in various performance mediums. ” (7).
The Harlem Renaissance, in the 1920’s, sparked a cultural movement known as the “New Negro”. Along with this movement, an anthology was published by Alain Locke named The New Negro. Within this anthology, the playwright Willis Richardson left his mark in the movement through his play Compromise. Compromise depicted what Alain Locke meant by the New Negro movement. Many plays that were published established ideas similar to Compromise. In the single issue magazine Fire, the play Color Struck had similar agendas but from a different point of view, culturally. Willis Richardson, through his work, Compromise, tries to establish the idea of how culture influences the political sphere in society.
Harlem provided a source of entertainment for many people. With its Jazz Clubs and poetry readings it was the “hip” place to be. This was a shock to many African-American’s, who had never before had the opportunity to perform in such affluent surroundings. Oftentimes funding for these clubs or programs was provided by White Americans. This in itself was not a problem. However, the Harlem Renaissance became so dependant on the funding that when it stopped coming, there was no means by which to keep any of the clubs or literary cafes open. Some clubs in Harlem even discriminated against Black audience members. The popular Cotton Club, which featured solely Black performers, even went so far as to ban African-Americans’ from its audience entirely. Even in the Mecca of supposed racial equality, these sorts of discrimination were still prevalent. Advertisements for products produced by African-Americans were also skewed. Para...
In conclusion, Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson” portrays racist stereotypes through symbols, such as the piano, watermelons and supernatural powers, characters like Breniece, Boy Willie, and Avery and also through conflicts within oneself, with another character and also supernatural power. Racism was prominent throughout the play but these are the symbols, characters, and conflicts that were very significant. Wilson’s “The piano lesson” did indeed teach about the happiness of white men in the misery of black men, as once said by Fredric Douglas, “The white man's happiness cannot be purchased by the black man's misery.”
I think this play is a lot about what does race mean, and to what extent do we perform race either onstage or in life:
Blackface minstrelsy was an established nineteenth century form of onstage entertainment most popular in the northern states of America which intentionally created exaggerated stereotypes of black people for prominently white working class male audiences . White performers would blacken their faces with burnt cork or black grease and perform skits, songs and dances and act out their image of black people. Rather than present an accurate depiction of African Americans and authentic portrayals of the qualities of ‘negro’ life, minstrelsy reflected the ideas and conceptions of white society . The content of the shows however was altered to create images of blacks and slaves that suited white northern public opinion . White actors now had the opportunity to manipulate black identity and reinforce notions of white superiority, and by portraying blacks as uncivilised it reinforced the need for slavery. This white produced black identity served to reinforce racial differences, and all...
This performance review stood out from the rest of the text for the purposes of this project. A Mr.Charles Matthews was the reviewer. He first talks about the fact that that he took the time to visit the “Niggers (or negroes) theatre” (Dewberry), and then went on to say, “The black population being, in the national theatres, under certain restrictions have, to be quite at their ease, a theatre of their own.” (Dewberry) . The performance is already being judged, because it’s happening at a “Nigger theatre”. The transcript goes on to say, “Here he sees a black tragedian (the Kentucky Roscius) perform the character of Hamlet, and hears him deliver the soliloquy "To be or not to be, dat is him question, whether him nobler in de mind to suffer or lift up him arms against a sea of hubble bubble and by opossum (oppose 'em) end 'em…” (Dewberry). Mr. Charles continues this review by stating how unamazed he was at the performance. Mr. Charles felt as though these negroes were changing Shakespeare into something that was meant to celebrate them, and Shakespeare is for white
This paper is a critique of a production of Show Boat, a musical classic with compositions by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, which was performed and produced by NETworks Presentations LLC at Emens Auditorium on the 14th of February 2001. Clayton Phillips, the director of the production, attempted to test the waters of racial discrimination by exploring controversial themes such as prejudice and interracial relationships. Show Boat takes an enlightened approach to ethnic controversy by using both music and drama to express the feelings and hopes of the characters to the audience. Even though I enjoyed the production, I felt that it was lacking in terms of its plot and may have overused its melodic reprises. However, Show Boat truly succeeds with entertaining an audience.