Analysis Of The Play ' Straight White Men '

The first issue that is focused on throughout the play would be the racial inequality in America in the 1950’s. Although there were many Americans who were fighting to end segregation and discrimination, nothing was legally done about it until the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Troy Maxson being an African American man in his early fifties, grew up with the white man suppressing him. Troy was a Negro League star but when black men were finally allowed to play in the Major Leagues of baseball in 1947, Troy was too old to play. This left him very bitter towards life and the way he went on to raise his sons, which also ties into the generational clashes that will be discussed later on.

life in the mid to late twentieth century and the strains of society on African Americans. Set in a small neighborhood of a big city, this play holds much conflict between a father, Troy Maxson, and his two sons, Lyons and Cory. By analyzing the sources of this conflict, one can better appreciate and understand the way the conflict contributes to the meaning of the work.

Both sides show that discrimination can destroy the lives of many people who haven't done anything to deserve it. Discrimination can harm the people with a certain race which can be seen in the play when Rudy says, “Twenty sailors, Marines… They grabbed me by the neck and dragged me down the stairs, kicking and punching and pulling my greña.” on page 93 and in the real world the racism from Donald Trump inspired some americans to attack other races such as mexicans. Many people are discriminated by their looks and ethnicity like the 300 mexicans in the play who were arrested on page 28 to be identified as criminals when someone claims to be a victim of a crime and President Trump’s plan to build a wall along the border of Mexico to prevent drug dealers, rapists, and crime from entering the country. The message of the play about racism is still relevant in the real world because of the discrimination towards other races in both of the

In this spellbinding lecture, the author of White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son offers a unique, inside-out view of race and racism in America. Expertly overcoming the defensiveness that often surrounds these issues, Wise provides a non-confrontational explanation of white privilege and the damage it does not only to people of color, but to white people as well. This is an invaluable classroom resource: an ideal introduction to the social construction of racial identities, and a critical new tool for exploring the often invoked – but seldom explained – concept of white privilege.

creates a play that illustrates not only the struggle of growing up in a prejudiced world but also

Shannon Sullivan reveals what white privilege looks like from someone who deals with it on a daily basis, a white woman. Sullivan discusses how white privilege in this day and age can be an invisible and sometimes unquestioned norm in our lives in America. Sullivan speaks up about her own race and the ways it has affected her life. The book discusses the delicate effects white supremacy has had on America. Sullivan also prompts white people to start standing up to the podium and discussing the issues they see when it comes to race. In Sullivan’s writing, she states how white privilege is not discussed much amongst white people and that she wants them to own up to their privilege and to go against the norms of their environments that allow these activities to happen.

Popular media allow for the general public to be able to properly digest the matters of racial prejudice that are prevalent in our society. There are various ways that racial prejudices are exposed through actions and the structures in society that stems from the perceptions that race is this biological hierarchical supremacy. Additionally, these race classifications that are made by those in power has structured society in a way that puts some in advantage and many at a disadvantage that has continued into modern society. These are disadvantages are revealed through such things as microagressions and socioeconomic structures that favored and continues to favor the “dominant” classes. These matters can be best expressed through personal experiences relating to experienced prejudice, such as Lorraine Hansberry conveying artistically her experience with racial housing issues in Chicago. In her play, The Raisin in the Sun, Hansberry reveals through the Younger family, such issues as community acceptance, lost dreams, and racial discrimination on an economic level. Bruce Norris’s play, Clybourne Park, considers these issues as well as he expands on Hansberry’s world in his personal adaptation of The Raisin in the Sun’s primary plot point. Through experiences shared in the Younger’s future home, Norris explores privilege, systematic racism, white flight, community, and gentrification. Through reference and analysis of Raisin in the Sun and then of Clybourne Park, followed by

the play are ―rich symbol[s]‖ that convey the barriers of a ―racist society‖ (Kenny par. 18). The

Three sources analyze the racial conflicts of white actors playing colored parts, and all agreed that it was not a trivial situation, for audiences, or actors. Racial tensions are very popular with the media. While there is some minor tension today, the movies and plays of Othello top the charts for most racial conflicts. First, The article, “Othello: the role that entices and engages actors of all skin colours,” by Andrew Dickson shows the history of the actors that played Othello, and when the actors were black, they were either not cast, due to segregationists, or were criticized in their performance for the same reason. Also, this article uses diction to convey the seriousness of white vs. minority crisis. Next, the video, “SHAKESPEARE UNCOVERED White Actors Playing Othello” by PBS, shows the performances of many Othello actors that were white. Additionally, the video shows one white actor who used makeup to make himself more than than black. The video uses hyperbole to describe the absurdity of Othello movies. For example, Laurence Olivier, the 1964 Othello was black-top showing how far film industries will go to cover-up racial tensions, and the narrator describes the makeup as ridiculous,and dramatic. Finally, the last article, “Aladdin: putting a white character in Disney’s live-action remake is offensive,” by Hannah Flint displays that film industries feel obligated to please a white audience, keeping the minorities second fiddle by adding characters white people

Though there was a heightened sense of tension over civil rights in the late 1950s when A Raisin in the Sun was written, racial inequality is still a problem today. It affects minorities of every age and dynamic, in more ways than one. Though nowadays it may go unnoticed, race in every aspect alters the way African-Americans think, behave, and react as human beings. This is shown in many ways in the play as we watch the characters interact. We see big ideas, failures, and family values through the eyes of a disadvantaged group during an unfortunate time in history. As Martin Luther King said, Blacks are “...harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro, living constantly at tiptoe stance, never quite knowing what

Ethnocentrism is a serious problem in society because these prejudices lead to violence, hurting individuals both physically and mentally. Anna Steers stated that an original play should be developed in response to our nation’s dire circumstances. Her production successfully provides a clear response to the issues of racial profiling, discrimination, and segregation.

The play also shows the family’s struggles of coloured oppression and how money is the root of all evil. Each family member, wants the money, from the check, for their own personal gain (Hansberry, 1994). I will discuss how each

The production spearheaded with a solemn poem by Langston Hughes entitled "Harlem." Preparing for an emotionally empowering theater piece, the poem quieted the audience and placed a serious blanket over us. While appropriate for me, I found it extremely coincidental that the poem's title, ties in directly with James Baldwin and his extensive writings on the 1943 Harlem race riots. With the lights off and just a solitary voice reciting the poem, it gave us, the audience, an immediate notion of play's melancholy style.

This showing how other people’s thoughts can hold so much value whether they are positive or negative. There is also no such thing as perfect family which the prologue alludes to no matter what background you are. In the start, it says “Who will play with Jane?” No one ends up playing with Jane as to show how she gets ignored. The theme in this story is so much of these kids wanting to be white because they believe that to be perfect.

Though intelligent establishes relationships within the play, functions as an obstacle and a hindrance for people to express them self. Rebecca, Annie, and Peter all met through school and Drea is also intelligent, they all function to be perceived as smart people. With this intellectual syntax, they are unable to talk personally and with emotion, yet intellectual conversation cannot express the gravity of the moments they are feeling. Within most of the show, the characters stay in this intellectual mindset even when they are upset by a topic they bring it back to a large issue or to facts. When they break this convention in the last scene, the two pinnacle moments of the show are allowed to occur. For Peter and Rebecca, this weight to be intellectual is largely the reason David is never discussed, when they finally have the moment where they come to closure it is not spoken. Intellect is a huge obstacle for Annie and Peter because they don’t know how to discuss their problems with adoption and