– What is the human condition that Baraka speaks to?

Thoughts on Dutchman and Multiculturalism in the U.S.

Over the past few weeks we have been spending our time discussing “The History of African American Entertainment” the artists who have made substantial impacts to the genre, to the culture at large and how we view these values, issues, histories, and social conflicts today as we reflect on the past.

We have been doing this with the vehicle and lens of Art and entertainment, the compelling stories and dynamic characters of our recent Black American History that have sprung from the roots, remembering’s and re-telling’s of what actually happened in our past and how we as a society wrestled with it then, and today.

This week you watched Dutchman. Here we have a playwright who are challenging our view of the past and how the struggle for certain races to succeed, forced to assimilate into a white dominated world view are hampered and faltered not only by modern society, the social norms and decorum or – code of conduct – of the day, but also by the personal struggle and need for self identity in the face of a very rooted value system (Jim crow) that had been lived in and ascribed to since the days after Reconstruction.

Now that you have done the reading and are able to reflect over the past two weeks, I would like you to wrestle with this quote from Notes on Dutchman.

“Baraka challenges the black community to produce art that portrays the human condition, and provides The Dutchman as a paradigm”………”It must be produced from the legitimate emotional resources of the soul in the world. It can never be produced by evading these resources”

– What is the human condition that Baraka speaks to?

– How is the SYMBOL of the Dutchman (The name of an infamous slaver ship in the 1700’s) and the train that the play takes place in provide a “PARADIGM” for more effective storytelling?

– How do we understand the human condition (as Baraka sees it) in a better way?

– What do you feel are “legitimate emotional resources of the soul” that Baraka speaks to?

Do you agree with his stance? Why or why not?

Now, as we look at this topic through the lens of our present day and 2020, how do you feel we are doing as a society in providing entertainment and the telling of stories (Theatre, film, T.V.) about civil rights generally, black history, and how we have progresses as a society since the first time that Dutchman or A Raisin in the Sun, first made an impact on the American public and body-politic? Are the films, television series and African American Theatre of today reflect the lives, history and struggle of the African American experience that we have come to know and understand?

Use complete sentences and correct grammar. No half-answers!

REQUIREMENTS

California State University – Fullerton THR 300

Film

One thing to note, can you please place the answer under the question. For example:

What is the human condition that Baraka speaks to?

The human condition that Amiri Baraka speaks to in Dutchman is the differing ideas between White America and African-American America. Baraka, through the character of Lula, speaks to the idea that White America is very alluring to many, but is also very turbulent and bipolar in a sense. He also, through Lula, speaks to the fact that African-Americans who are part of the new revolutionary African-American population of the time are more likely to be hurt or killed due to their questioning of their status in America. Through the character of Clay, Baraka speaks to the negative attention that African-Americans get just for being themselves and trying to live in a predominantly White America. He also calls attention to the fact that, in most (if not all) cases, it’s not until an African-American individual does something bad (i.e. rape, murder) that African-Americans get attention and publicity.

How is the SYMBOL of the Dutchman (The name of an infamous slaver ship in the 1700’s) and the train that the play takes place in provide a “PARADIGM” for more effective storytelling?

The symbol of the Dutchman and the train that the play takes place in provides a feeling of no escape. By having the film take place entirely in on a subway train, the film provides this feeling of no way out but death, much like the fact that, for slaves on ships, the only way out was by jumping overboard. It helps establish the tension between Lula and Clay, much like the tension between the differences between White America and African-American America.

Answer preview………….

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