Module 1 Monday 28th September Skype Discussion

Today we had our first module 1 focused Skype discussion. I wasn't really sure what it was all about going into and was a bit worried that I wouldn't know what to do, but it was great fun and really interesting topics were discussed. One that really sparked my interest was the assumption of race. A lot of said that really opened my eyes proving that I myself also fall victim to these assumptions. One such thing was the assumption that as Lion King The Musical (1997, Disney) is set in Africa it makes sense for the cast to be majority black. Adesola made a really fantastic point that the choreography is not a style of African dance and was in fact choreographed by Garth Fagan. It is also an American show so the point was raised that on that basis shouldn't majority Americans be cast? 

'The Jamaican-born choreographer's style is a mix of ballet and modern dance, spiced up with his Afro-Caribbean roots.' (Morain, 2020)

I've been thinking about this topic a lot over lockdown as it's been quite prominent in the media recently. I've been questioning the unconscious bias that I have to things and where they have stemmed from. I'm also aware that the things people say to me due to their own unconscious bias which annoy me, are the same things that I have found myself thinking on occasion. I don't believe this makes me a hypocrite, I think it goes deeper than that and we need to look at where we've got these ideas from, is it the media? is it our communities? is it our history? 

A point was raised about the question 'Where are you from?' and its connotations. I myself have found that when being asked this question what people really mean to say is 'What is your heritage?' Now I know people aren't intending to assume I'm not from the UK and are simply interested in me. But a small change in the question automatically changes the assumption. A question to ask is if I were to answer your question with 'Leicester' would you be satisfied? if the answer is no then you've asked the wrong question. If I were to ask you 'Where are you from?' what would your response be? if it is the same as me then why would you assume our answer would be any different? 

We have all been taught these ways through years and years of culture and education, myself included, and I think what's important now is to question what you're saying and wonder whether that's something I've unconsciously been bias towards or whether I've made my own decision about the matter. Re-taking control of our own minds. 

This isn't to say that we have to be worried to ever speak again in fear of offending someone. People on the whole aren't malicious, we are allowed to speak freely and openly as that is the cause for change. This is only stopped when people refuse to learn. 

Diary of a Performer xx