When studying performance ethnography one has to ask the question, is it a stereotype or authentic field work? What is the Identity of the performer? This performance was far from stereotypical. The group from Austin not only brought what they learned and knew from the Yoruba culture but incorporated film, photos and food directly from Yoruba. During one of the performances a woman from the community joined in during the dance and later was found to be a Yoruba woman now living in Austin.
Self-conscious about their work and accents, the actors were afraid the work was flat and poorly executed. Many would think their work pales when placed next to the real thing. This can be found in a lot of art and performances. While watching the Anna Deavere Smith videos, she performs a Jewish woman who is distraught during the race riots in the 90s when a Hasidic Jew accidently runs down a black child in NY. The woman goes on record stating she doesn’t talk that way and doesn’t act like that, however she may feel about the impression of her, Ms. Deavere Smith sounded exactly like her. Some people are quite sensitive about who and what they are and cannot see the other side. I do applaud Anna for listening to the woman and taking her concerns into account. Is she accountable for using this work after hearing from the disgruntled woman? I feel it’s her work and can use it however she wants. It is far from malicious and nothing was said in a demeaning manor. It was performed in a matter of fact way, representing the words of a person speaking during a time of trouble.
It all comes down to subjectivity and what we choose to portray and promote. The group in Austin did an amazing job at sharing what they learned and how to portray the Yoruba culture in a positive light. This production has quite the Brechtian feel to it. What I mean by that is we see the films of the true folks of Nigeria while the actors are mimicking and re-enacting what is on screen. We also see the actors in the halls and not in a true setting. We know it is a re-creation of something real, but performed in an open and accessible way. We are not in Yoruba, the actors are just that, actors, but there is authentic artwork and films to ground you in your participation. This is very much a Yoruba “street scene”.
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Wil you have made some interesting observations about performance ethnography. I think performance ethnography is a genius way of representing people who come from a different place from you in a safe and positive way. It's great in the sense that it allows the observer to see the real thing and then the represent of it. It also allows people to understand that the person performing is doing just that, performing.
When representing some one different from yourself it there are so may pitfalls you run the risk of falling into. With out having a real reference for people to compare your performance to you can easily be confused as perpetuation a stereotype. By showing the audience the videos of Yoruba people the arts allowed the audience to make their own judgments. The experiment becomes about how well the actor can represent to real thing. It is a way of always making the audience aware that they are watching a performance.
The responsibility then falls on the actor to try and mimic the example as close as they can. What happens is, something that might normally be confused as stereotyping has a point of reference and the observer can see that the actor is only doing what she or he sees. Moreover, it allows the actors to really step in to the mindset of the person they are representing and allowing them to try and experience what it is like to be this person.
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