The Other: the old and current life of a “White Man”

So I have been very into politics this summer and it has become very apparent to me how xenophobic we are as a nation. We are not open to the ideas of others in this country and it has been a problem since our country first began. We don't like 'the other'. This is ironic considering the founding principles of our constitution.
The article points out a minority group that until now i had not thought of as an 'other' group. Admittedly, I have always had a number of reactions to the disabled. Mostly this reaction is pity or anxiety or even patronization. When I think of a group being an other I always go to a group that I normally don't associate with in daily life. (Well at least before I came to school) Before i left home in idaho i had only met one black man. And gay people were an abomination. I was surrounded by a very large latino population but never spoke to them. What I knew of the other was that they were in America because life in Mexico was inferior. What I knew of African America was what i saw on white TV and that showed a less than desirable lifestyle. I had no concept of a Gay community because gay men only wanted to have sex with you and that was wrong.
I bring all this up for a reason. It has become apparent to me this summer that nothing has changed back in the 'world' I grew up in. I have livedin, thrived in and been protected in my little theatre community for about 10 years now. I take pride in being very xenocentric with my philosophy. (though I'm still not very good at practicing it in life) But recent politics have made me very aware of how mainstream america treats the other. We as white americans think that the ideal is good old fashion 1950's America. We are stuck in that colonial mind set where we the white straight anglo-saxon protestant american is the norm of american life. Meanwhile we forget that the 1950's were only good times for us. I see manifested in laws like Prop 8. I can see it in protests against Muslim Community Centers. I see it in laws that allow for cops to detain you for questioning because of your ethnicity. It's white america desperatly trying to maintain control over those that it has colonized, all the while trying put up a show of tolerance.

Global Theatre and "The Other": Beginning Again

Hello, everyone.

It's been two years since this blog was created for the Tools for a World Theatre class in Spring Semester of 2008. We're starting again with a new group, and are using the same blog we created together last time to discuss some of the same topics.

As you might have noted in the post to which I linked above, this is a required class for MFA actors at the University of Louisville, and our interest is in examining different ways of using the inherently local form of live theatre to engage with various nations, communities and cultures around the world. We study a few of the theatre and performance practices of non-European cultures and people from those cultural traditions in diaspora, discuss the similarities and differences between our own work as theatre artists and the traditions we are examining, and debate the ethics and possibilities of creating performance that explores questions of difference, cultural exchange, colonization and nationality (among many other things). We're interested in learning about different performance traditions and finding possibilities for incorporating some of those traditions into our own work, while being fully aware of the issues raised by our own cultural positions in an increasingly "Global" culture.

We began, as we did last time, by discussing chapters on concepts of "the Other" and Postcolonial Theory. Our goal was to come up with a list of questions we could use to approach some of the plays and performances we'll be looking at over the course of the semester.

A few questions we came up with:

• How do we react when first faced with seeing "Otherness," whether it be based on disability, race, gender, sexuality, etc.? And what mechanisms to we put in place to keep those reactions at bay or curb them? Is there a way theatre or performance can help us grapple with the underlying reasons for our initial reactions in a productive way?
• What value is there in claiming Otherness? How does context change whether one feels like an "insider" or an "outsider"?
• What is the role of story in the theatre and performance of cultures that are not our own? To what degree to differences in form or aesthetics keep us from fully understanding those performances?
• Who can speak for whom in theatre or performance? What are the complications of casting across lines of racial or national difference?
• What are some different dramaturgical or physical tools for "re-writing the canon?"
• Is colonization always a question in "intercultural" theatre, or can openness and respect for others be a goal of this kind of performance?
• What role does capitalism play in the exchange of different theatrical forms between nations throughout history? What role does violence play?
• What are questions of land/bodies/gender in these performances?

And in case you're curious, here's a similar list from this blog two years ago, for the sake of comparison and expanding the list:

• Do we study theatre from other countries or cultures out of an impulse to control or have power over its people? Or do we do so out of a desire for peace, harmony and love? And how do those issues -- power vs. love -- appear in the forms of performance we are studying?
• A related question: who defines "peace," and who does that idea of peace serve? Is conflict between cultures productive and important? How does drama, performance and theatre deal with conflict in productive ways in different cultures?
• How do we discover "sameness" in different cultures without disrespecting their right to difference? Is it possible to look for similarity and understanding without imposing our own perspectives on cultural expressions from other countries? If so, what do we have to do to step outside of our own preconceptions and biases?
• What was the stated intention of the ritual, performance or play initially? How did its meaning or people's perception of it change when the form moved into a different historical or cultural or economic context?
  
• Who is the audience for the performance, and how might that change its meaning?
  
• What is the role of violence in this culture's history? How does violence appear in its cultural expressions? Has violence influenced its ability to create art, theatre or performance freely and publicly, or played a part in the transport of the culture's beliefs and ideas elsewhere in the world?
• What about spirituality/religion? In its original context, is the form spiritual in nature? When and how did that meaning get lost? What happens to a culture's beliefs when they are studied outside of a certain community? Can people who don't share a culture's religious beliefs understand the meaning of ritual or creative expressions that arise from those beliefs?
• A related question: in plays, is spiritual content contained in a different form of performance? Or is secular content explored using a technique or form that was originally associated with religion?
  
• And what about commerce and economics? How has money affected the meaning and understanding of a cultural expression? How has it affected the ability of a community to create art or performance? Who profits from the creation or circulation of a work of art or form of expression? Conversely, are certain forms threatening to someone's economic gain, and who profits from the suppression of those artists or ways of working? (Or: are there certain elements of a form that are retained to make something profitable in commercial contexts, and others that are hidden or suppressed?)
  
• Does the form and content of the performance adopt a certain attitude toward assimilation? Does it resist being understandable by people outside of the community that produced it, or does it invite other people in?
  
• Since we are studying from the perspective of people brought up in The United States, what is "American" culture? And what is the history of people in diaspora and their presence in the United States? As Americans, what is our relationship to the cultures we are studying?
• In what language or languages was the performance originally written/performed? How and why does language seem important in the form?
  
• What do you relate to in other forms of cultural expression? And what seems impossible to understand? How do people deal with complicated, ambivalent responses to other cultures? Is it possible to learn and change one's response -- that is, can we develop empathy or understanding for the things we initially find confusing, disorienting or unappealing? Is there value in attempting to do that?
  
• How do people from other cultures perceive "outsiders"? How do we, as spectators, represent ourselves and our motives to people whose work we are viewing?
• How are our skills/techniques/goals as actors and theatre artists enhanced or challenged by contact with artists from other cultures, and vice versa?

And here are some comments on that post from former students:

"In response to some of Amy's questions, I had some thoughts. To the question, "Can we look for similarities in another culture without imposing our own?" I think not. To say that we're similar to something, we presume that we understand it, which is virtually impossible because, as someone else mentioned, we can't have any experience other than our own, no matter how thoroughly another is described to us. As to how a comparison could be made without imposing our own view, i dont know. Even to examine the differences between cultures, presumptions must be made. I guess if there were equal time spent studying/experiencing two cultures, maybe it could be done fairly. But even then, it seems like whichever culture was experienced first would influence perception of the second."

And also:

"What happens to a culture's beliefs when they are studied outside of a certain community? Can people who don't share a culture's religious beliefs understand the meaning of ritual or creative expressions that arise from those beliefs?

I think to an extent if a culture's beliefs are studied outside of the community they may be changed or not taken seriously, but if you are someone who is really interested in understanding a particular culture, a lot may come out of this experience. Something truthful and meaningful.

I think these cultures have to be very careful who they invite into their communities and cultures to participate in these rituals. I think that could be one of the most offensive things to a culture to not take a ritual serious or not understand what the heck you're doing and taking these experiences for a joke. I also feel like to an extent if I were to participate in a ritual experience I still wouldn't get the same experience that someone from that culture would. I would probably have my own creative expression from what I went through in my life, but I guess that brings up the question of: How do we go about trying to experience these cultural rituals through their eyes, if we can? Is it possible"

I'm sure there are many other questions to add as we go ...

So, here we go! I'm looking forward to an exciting semester of discussing these things. Please feel free to comment or send an email any time and join our conversation!