Annabelle de St. Maurice“Thankfully, this is just a test.” This oft-repeated line from last week’s Black Anthology performance is an appropriate, if modest, explanation of the show. Constructed by switching the roles of black and white Americans, the show was an extremely thoughtful probe into race relations in America today. Unfortunately, not everyone who saw the performance was able to enjoy and appreciate its significance.
The show followed the television company WET (White Entertainment Television), which had recently been bought out by black corporate executives. Its white reporters were often frustrated with the stories that the black executives chose to cover, claiming bias. According to one reporter’s boss, she was tolerated because “she’s not like other whites.” White people were oppressed, and black people were at the top.
This combination of elements understandably made many people in the audience uncomfortable. And yet, that was the point. People went to a performance, saw their worlds flipped inside out, and became uncomfortable. Why was that? What are people supposed to be feeling when they see that? What are they actually feeling? These are the questions the audience was supposed to seriously evaluate during and after the show.
Unfortunately, some people dismissed the show outright because of the high level of discomfort they felt. It has been remarked that the in-your-face approach clouded the other ‘legitimate’ messages that Black Anthology was attempting to convey. This is a shallow assessment and a copout which some people use in order to avoid seriously thinking about the issues presented. The in-your-face nature of the show should cause you to pay attention. If you couldn’t listen, a better question is, “why?” It’s easier to dismiss a message because it makes you uncomfortable rather than risk evaluating it further.
Some people questioned the motives of the show. Some white people asked, “Is this just showing us how black people really feel about us? Do black people hate white people?” This interpretation, while certainly understandable, is the one that requires the least amount of critical thought on the part of the spectator. Remember that during Black Anthology, black people were white people. Any inferences people could draw about the attitudes presented in the show were merely reflection of how black people see white people as behaving. When a black executive pokes fun at the white worker because of her race, people are supposed to read this as a reversed version of what black people experience daily in their lives.
“But things are better today than they used to be.” In many ways they are. In many ways they are not. The people who truly believe that racism has been completely erased in America-that all people can get ahead on their own merit alone-are the ones who most needed to see Black Anthology.
One of the highlights of Black Anthology was that it offered a forum for students to discuss and react to the show. This was a very smart move by the Black Anthology Executive Board. Instead of presenting the show as provocative and having it be the final word on the issue, it provided a framework for campus dialogue. The fact that it cares enough about student feedback shows that it is genuinely interested in making a difference more than making a statement.
One of the other reasons it is so easy to take Black Anthology so seriously is because it felt professionally executed. Unlike other shows this year, the actors actually knew their lines, scenes were creatively staged, and situations presented provocatively, yet tastefully. The script, which was student-written, could have been the work of a professional writer. The narration of the hosts, the staged commercial breaks, and the interpretation provided by the dancers could have seriously interrupted the flow of the show. Instead, they enhanced it.
Because of its message and the high quality of the show, Black Anthology has set a new standard for student cultural productions. It will be a hard act for the many other multicultural performances at WU to follow. We are confident that it will continue to be for many years.