Hi all- A Raisin in the Sun as a watershed play in American Theater history because of its representation of African American life. How do the roles, plots and themes resonate today? Does the play resonate as "modern" today? Why or why not?
I think the play and all that it encompasses definitely resonates with modern audiences, especially with African American viewers. I say this because the struggle of the Younger family to transition into a middle class existence is one that is very prevalent today as many African Americans have realized this dream, or they are currently trying to actualize it. Another reason is that it would have a sense of nostalgia for older audiences members who could directly relate to the hardships of that time. Also, I think RITS has become such a part of the African American experience that somehow in our imaginations they are representatives of the push for the increased amount of opportunities we have now in education and entrepreneurship and homeownership. This connecting of characters and themes from a work of fiction to reality, I think, is one of the reasons why we can have a celebrity and mogul like Diddy in the role of Walter because he embodies the dream Walter wanted to have for himself: Diddy has the yachts, and the mansions, and the jewelry for his wife. And like we talked about in class, this play is part of the American theatre canon because they are struggling for American ideals which resonates beyond race. Living in American, people of any race can understand what it means to try to claim a piece of America's wealth and opportunity.
Yes, it still resonates today because audiences today are still very aware of how recently conditions were like this in America. In many major cities, they still are like this. Even though we are many years past legalized segregation, the neighborhood where I grew up was all white. The public school I went to did have students of many ethnicities, but many of them were there because of a state-sponsored program that brought inner-city students to public schools in the suburbs. I remember that when I had my first job, at Sonic Drive-in, the restaurant I worked in was located in an area of town called "Meachum Park." This was an all-black residential area in Kirkwood (Kirkwood School District served the Kirkwood, Oakland, and Glendale municipalities). Nearly every single one of the black students in my school that didn't transfer from downtown St. Louis lived here. I recall one day when I gave one of my friends from work a ride home to his house in Meachum Park. It was the first time I had ever been there, and it was like entering another world. Looking back on it, even though segregation hasn't been the law of St. Louis for a long time, it still exists by custom. I can only assume that this situation is not unique to the St. Louis area in the midwest. My experience in Los Angeles has shown to be similar, although the fact that different racial groups live in different parts of the city is more widely discussed here than it was back home. Given that segregation still exists so prominently, I definitely feel that this play is still very relevant to contemporary society.
This play rings with numerous themes that can be considered timeless in the African American community. One of the things that is clearly at the core of it is the conflict between African American men and women. Even today black men and women seem to often be at odds with one another about the "place" of one another. Black women historically had to take the place of an absentee patriarch (for a wide variety of reasons), therefore when this role is naturally assumed without thought, as it was for Mama Younger, it intimidates and denigrates the masculine position of the black man. On the other hand we have Ruth, who attempts to do things she does not necessarily want to do solely to uplift her man who the world who has already stepped all over. Its an on going dilemma today for black women, are we supposed to take a step back and make sacrifices to uplift a black man because no one else will, or are we to step up in the areas where he may slack or may not yet be unready?
I definitely think that Raisin in the Sun has the ability to resonate with today's audience. One of the big issues that I found in the play that I think alot of people today can relate to would be be the search for your own identity within the bigger picture of your cultural identity.
In Raisin this issues is brought to light by the character of Beneatha. She has dreams bigger than members of her family has ever seen and because of this lack of understanding they often dismiss them as being silly or too big for her. And although becoming a doctor might not be what African American girls did at that time, that's what she wanted to do and therefore she continues to define her choice to do so. At the same time that Beneatha wants to explore these new things and possiblities she also wants to be true to her African heritage creating a struggle about which ones of these worlds are you going to live in and why can't you exist in both. For example when George comes to pick her up for their date and Beneatha's dressed in the traditional African dress and George refuses to go out with her like that until she changes into something more "appropriate".She likes the robes and she wants to wear them but changes to something more socially acceptable to avoid trouble in the form of defending her personal likes. And I think a lot of people today deal with situations like that where they want to be a certain way or wear certain things in a particular situation but then they feel as if they have to do things within the constraints of their culural identities in order to fit in or be understood.
I think that the fact that Hansberry wrote characters that are real people dealing with universal problems such providing for you family, or trying to figure out who you are, or wanting more for your life, allows people today to still relate to the work.
Sorry to jump on this so late. One reason I think this play endures and stays relevant is just how well it's written. But aside from that I have to go with the fact that it's characters really are chasing dreams with which we all can identify. Especially in America, where everyone's supposed to be able to get their piece if they only work hard enough. The Youngers' desire to have their piece of the American dream should resonate, as Curtis said, across racial boundaries. I think the play challenges just how real the "American dream" really is, just like Death of a Salesman, but it does have this note of hope that makes it even more attractive to audiences. We're really watching the Youngers discover their pride, and kind of reclaim their lives as their own. I think this is really the closest to achieving "success" in life that many Americans can ever hope to come, and I think for that reason the play still captivates us.
I think that this play is timeless in that many black families are still struggling with the same issues. There is a lack of resources and the dreams of these families seem far-fetched. If I wanted to be a doctor today I would have a limited amount of options, granted that's more option that the Youngers had but still I would probably run myself into hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. I'm sure my family would support me and try to their best by taking out loans also but where does that leave us? In an enormous amount of debt, hoping that all my training will pay off. I would have reached my goal but at a very heavy price. The socioeconomic challenges of the black family are still prevalent. Black Families are still struggling to have a slice of the American Dream.
i grew up in the subers of osuthern california. there was little racial diversity in my school, most of it coming from asian and latino populations. the asians worked to integrate themselves into the general population, latinos tended to stick to themselves. the very few black students at my school would try and do both, stikicking with each other yet making an effort to be "like" everyone else. this diversity, though, ended as soon as the school day ended. where i grew up, in my neighborhood, everyone was white. the latino kids at school all lived in one neighborhood. as i grew up and people began moving, we began to see more diversity in my neighborhood. i will never forget my neighbor telling my mom "what is the world coming to" when a black family moved in two blocks down. i was really suprised, because i felt like it wasnt a big deal. if they wanted to live in our neighborhood and they could afford to do so, then who was i, or who is anyone, to stop them. as time progressed, i saw that there was more to it thant that. certain people are simply racist and afraid of what they do not know. property values didnt drop because of the increasing diversity in my neighborhood, crime didnt go up. what is so interesting about raisin is that the same issue that are discussed by hannesberry in the play exist even today. in an effort to improve one's life, it soemtimes require making some people uncomfortable. unfortunatly, in the case of my neighbor and in the play, this discomfort is completly unwarranted.
7 comments:
I think the play and all that it encompasses definitely resonates with modern audiences, especially with African American viewers. I say this because the struggle of the Younger family to transition into a middle class existence is one that is very prevalent today as many African Americans have realized this dream, or they are currently trying to actualize it. Another reason is that it would have a sense of nostalgia for older audiences members who could directly relate to the hardships of that time. Also, I think RITS has become such a part of the African American experience that somehow in our imaginations they are representatives of the push for the increased amount of opportunities we have now in education and entrepreneurship and homeownership. This connecting of characters and themes from a work of fiction to reality, I think, is one of the reasons why we can have a celebrity and mogul like Diddy in the role of Walter because he embodies the dream Walter wanted to have for himself: Diddy has the yachts, and the mansions, and the jewelry for his wife. And like we talked about in class, this play is part of the American theatre canon because they are struggling for American ideals which resonates beyond race. Living in American, people of any race can understand what it means to try to claim a piece of America's wealth and opportunity.
Yes, it still resonates today because audiences today are still very aware of how recently conditions were like this in America. In many major cities, they still are like this. Even though we are many years past legalized segregation, the neighborhood where I grew up was all white. The public school I went to did have students of many ethnicities, but many of them were there because of a state-sponsored program that brought inner-city students to public schools in the suburbs. I remember that when I had my first job, at Sonic Drive-in, the restaurant I worked in was located in an area of town called "Meachum Park." This was an all-black residential area in Kirkwood (Kirkwood School District served the Kirkwood, Oakland, and Glendale municipalities). Nearly every single one of the black students in my school that didn't transfer from downtown St. Louis lived here. I recall one day when I gave one of my friends from work a ride home to his house in Meachum Park. It was the first time I had ever been there, and it was like entering another world. Looking back on it, even though segregation hasn't been the law of St. Louis for a long time, it still exists by custom. I can only assume that this situation is not unique to the St. Louis area in the midwest. My experience in Los Angeles has shown to be similar, although the fact that different racial groups live in different parts of the city is more widely discussed here than it was back home. Given that segregation still exists so prominently, I definitely feel that this play is still very relevant to contemporary society.
This play rings with numerous themes that can be considered timeless in the African American community. One of the things that is clearly at the core of it is the conflict between African American men and women. Even today black men and women seem to often be at odds with one another about the "place" of one another. Black women historically had to take the place of an absentee patriarch (for a wide variety of reasons), therefore when this role is naturally assumed without thought, as it was for Mama Younger, it intimidates and denigrates the masculine position of the black man. On the other hand we have Ruth, who attempts to do things she does not necessarily want to do solely to uplift her man who the world who has already stepped all over. Its an on going dilemma today for black women, are we supposed to take a step back and make sacrifices to uplift a black man because no one else will, or are we to step up in the areas where he may slack or may not yet be unready?
I definitely think that Raisin in the Sun has the ability to resonate with today's audience. One of the big issues that I found in the play that I think alot of people today can relate to would be be the search for your own identity within the bigger picture of your cultural identity.
In Raisin this issues is brought to light by the character of Beneatha. She has dreams bigger than members of her family has ever seen and because of this lack of understanding they often dismiss them as being silly or too big for her. And although becoming a doctor might not be what African American girls did at that time, that's what she wanted to do and therefore she continues to define her choice to do so. At the same time that Beneatha wants to explore these new things and possiblities she also wants to be true to her African heritage creating a struggle about which ones of these worlds are you going to live in and why can't you exist in both.
For example when George comes to pick her up for their date and Beneatha's dressed in the traditional African dress and George refuses to go out with her like that until she changes into something more "appropriate".She likes the robes and she wants to wear them but changes to something more socially acceptable to avoid trouble in the form of defending her personal likes. And I think a lot of people today deal with situations like that where they want to be a certain way or wear certain things in a particular situation but then they feel as if they have to do things within the constraints of their culural identities in order to fit in or be understood.
I think that the fact that Hansberry wrote characters that are real people dealing with universal problems such providing for you family, or trying to figure out who you are, or wanting more for your life, allows people today to still relate to the work.
Sorry to jump on this so late. One reason I think this play endures and stays relevant is just how well it's written. But aside from that I have to go with the fact that it's characters really are chasing dreams with which we all can identify. Especially in America, where everyone's supposed to be able to get their piece if they only work hard enough. The Youngers' desire to have their piece of the American dream should resonate, as Curtis said, across racial boundaries. I think the play challenges just how real the "American dream" really is, just like Death of a Salesman, but it does have this note of hope that makes it even more attractive to audiences. We're really watching the Youngers discover their pride, and kind of reclaim their lives as their own. I think this is really the closest to achieving "success" in life that many Americans can ever hope to come, and I think for that reason the play still captivates us.
I think that this play is timeless in that many black families are still struggling with the same issues. There is a lack of resources and the dreams of these families seem far-fetched. If I wanted to be a doctor today I would have a limited amount of options, granted that's more option that the Youngers had but still I would probably run myself into hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. I'm sure my family would support me and try to their best by taking out loans also but where does that leave us? In an enormous amount of debt, hoping that all my training will pay off. I would have reached my goal but at a very heavy price. The socioeconomic challenges of the black family are still prevalent. Black Families are still struggling to have a slice of the American Dream.
i grew up in the subers of osuthern california. there was little racial diversity in my school, most of it coming from asian and latino populations. the asians worked to integrate themselves into the general population, latinos tended to stick to themselves. the very few black students at my school would try and do both, stikicking with each other yet making an effort to be "like" everyone else. this diversity, though, ended as soon as the school day ended. where i grew up, in my neighborhood, everyone was white. the latino kids at school all lived in one neighborhood. as i grew up and people began moving, we began to see more diversity in my neighborhood. i will never forget my neighbor telling my mom "what is the world coming to" when a black family moved in two blocks down. i was really suprised, because i felt like it wasnt a big deal. if they wanted to live in our neighborhood and they could afford to do so, then who was i, or who is anyone, to stop them. as time progressed, i saw that there was more to it thant that. certain people are simply racist and afraid of what they do not know. property values didnt drop because of the increasing diversity in my neighborhood, crime didnt go up. what is so interesting about raisin is that the same issue that are discussed by hannesberry in the play exist even today. in an effort to improve one's life, it soemtimes require making some people uncomfortable. unfortunatly, in the case of my neighbor and in the play, this discomfort is completly unwarranted.
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