Before reading Theatre of the Oppressed, I had not realized the enormous variety that exists in genre and form for theatrical production. Particularly with regard to crafting performances for social change or activist intentions, I was really intrigued by the concepts of "Invisible Theatre" and "Simultaneous Dramaturgy." I am curious about the finale of Invisible performances. Do the spectators, having thus far participated in the performance unknowingly, eventually come to find out that the whole spectacle was meditated, rehearsed, and produced with great detail? Does this change how they view the message that they gained? When thinking about simultaneous dramaturgy types of performances, it seems as if this genre runs parallel to invisible theatre in the sense that the audience plays a direct role in influencing the progression and direction of the plot, however in this case, they are aware of their influence and actively participate with freedom to act on imagination, inquiring and projecting ideas that they may not feel are normative nor would they act on them in "real life" contexts. Is one way better than another? Can they function as complements?
I also really enjoyed learning about Teatro Campesino this week. In one of my Hispanic Studies courses we read Los Vendidos, by Chicano playwright Luis Valdez. It was interesting to learn about the theatrical implications of the work, in conjunction with my knowledge about the piece from a hispanic literature standpoint in my Hispanic Studies course. Although this play utilizes satire and exaggerates personal experiences to inform about and combat against the stereotypes and racism plaguing Mexican Americans and Chicanx culture in the US, this type of play could also be utilized to gain contextual understanding of the struggles chicanx people face in the US with regard to job opportunity, "sell-out" sentiment, ethnic cleansing, farmworker union demand, language barriers, and unfit working conditions.
Watch Los Vendidos KNBC television adaptation from the NYU database here: https://sites.dlib.nyu.edu/hidvl/j6q573x5
In looking for similar, more recent projects along the lines of this work, I found George Wolfe's 1988 The Colored Museum, which similarly uses satire and brings to light the racist stereotypes projected on Black Americans. It was definitely cool to see the intersectionality and translatable nature of the Teatro Campesino work.
Preliminary info on this here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Colored_Museum
Lastly, I was thinking about how stand-up comedians and other comedy productions use satire to address stereotypes in their work today. One article I found demonstrates the controversial nature of this approach, but also emphasizes the importance that comedians have the ability to reclaim stereotypes pertaining to their personal identity, and use comedy to make subjects more accessible and less polarizing to broach topics as heavy as discrimination based on identity.
Article on stereotypes in comedy: https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/entertainment/2022/08/01/stereotypes-in-comedy-discussion-phoebe-robinson-mo-amer/9892796002/
Saturday night live, for example, has a bit where two comedians read false news titles that each comedian writes for the other. The majority of the "Weekend Update" bits include news titles with blatantly racist remarks, touching on true stereotypes or controversial pieces of news relevant to current popular culture.
Katherine, these are terrific connections that you're making--The Colored Museum is definitely in the same vein as Los Vendidos, and both are incredibly important works for understanding comedy and satire used for social change (particularly around racial stereotypes). It's an astute observation to identify Weekend Update (particularly when Che and Jost write for each other) as another in this line of satire--do you think this is an effective way to prompt change? Do you think an organization like SNL is TRYING to prompt change, or are they trying to do something else with Weekend Update?
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