Has Representation, Represented?

By: Alanna Taveras

All of February Repertory celebrated Black History month; this past week we enjoyed spirit week, sponsored by BSU. We all got to participate and show our appreciation for black culture, head over to the BSU instagram for a look back at the school spirit. I would also like to congratulate and applaud all those who performed in the Black Excellence Assembly on Friday, the level of talent never ceases to amaze me!

Cast and Director of Barbecue during the Talk Back on night two

The multiple demonstrations of celebrating black people and culture through art we saw Rep made me want to look into how they’re seen in media when the room isn’t always full of supportive, open minded individuals. I reached out to a few people to talk on the subject, alum and the director of Rep’s production of Barbecue, Ndeye Daro Niang, to gain insight on the directors mindset when portraying black actors. As well as BSU members, Alyssa Martin-Mccullough, Cree Atkins-Griffin, Damaari Coombs, and Kaliya Thompson for an audience perspective when interpreting such media. 

"Although this movie may get grouped in with other movies about “black struggle” it is so much more than that. Black women are consistently portrayed as being less-than, and this movie helps to prove otherwise. This movie truly has changed me for the better." -Alyssa talking about her favorite piece of media featuring black people.

After watching Barbecue and participating in the Talk-Back that followed, it became evident that it was a huge project to take on, not so much because of the length of the piece but because of the important message it needed to send to audiences. When I asked Niang what her fears were when directing the play she said she didn’t want it to come off as cliche, “I was very fearful of the actors and the audiences feeling as if they are watching a huge clown show. With material like this, you have to come to it with care and gentleness and take care of the script because if you don’t, it can easily show up as a joke.” The piece is categorized as a comedy, and the actors were exceptionally funny, but there’s a fine line that Ndeye had to balance upon; lean too far into the comedy and the audience may completely miss the point. The solution to this worry came early on in the rehearsal process, “Implementing things such as research finding real world connections, digging deep into these characters' hearts, and figuring out why they are the way they are and how does that show up in the real world? Having my actors personalize these situations. It was also very important that the actors not be afraid to tell this story, to forgive their characters and get past the stereotypical. When you get past the stereotypical mess, that’s when you reach the truth.” When treating such a delicate topic, it’s important to be educated not only by personal experiences- when applicable- but also by history and current events. As an audience member, I appreciated learning that Ndeye took time out of the rehearsal process to make sure her actors were comfortable with who they were portraying and what they were saying and doing. It made the entire piece that much better- the actors had to learn what it meant to be “ghetto” or “white trash” in order to play the roles in a non-ignorant way. Ndeye expected her actors to step up to the plate when they were ready and to do so with every part of their identity, not only the ones that aligned to the rolls. 

"...very much powerful piece of media because it shows how much black get stereotyped or even how much politics and police system depict youths not just any youths but black youths!"- Cree talking about her favorite piece of media featuring black people.

I also wanted an audience perspective, not so much on Barbeque but media in general. I asked them how they felt about how black people are portrayed in the media and how it’s affected how they present themselves in front of society. Kaliya said, “The way that we are presented in the media has haunted me all my life. I used to try not leaning into the stereotypes because of how harmful they are, but it doesn’t matter. Regardless of what we do as black people, there will always be a non-black person ready to criticize our every step. So regardless of what they portray in the media, just live your life fr.” I think we could all relate to being told to “tone it down” and act “presentable”, but at some time we have to come to terms with the fact that we can’t please everyone and simply be ourselves. Cree took the way black people are portrayed as a call to action, “to stand up for black people and show the knowledge and intelligence we were given, I use it as motivation and turn it into an impact and soon a positive influence to make a change in the community.” Every leader starts off with a different purpose. Cree found a lot of comfort in the possibility to better her community through taking a stand modeled in the media. 

"it has such a fun, realistic, relatable, and diverse cast. the characters have such fun personalities that highlight the show itself."- Damaari talking about his favorite piece of media featuring black people.

I also asked whether the students believed directors do a good job representing black people in media? The responses were split. Alyssa was disappointed with the Hollywood industry, “Consistently representations of Black people are used as a two bit joke, or for a diversity quota, but we are more than our skin.” There’s of course a need for representation of all in mass media, but it can sometimes feel disingenuous, especially when the characters are simple and stereotypical- almost as if they couldn’t be as complex as the predominant narrative. However, there was also a feeling of betterment, Damaari said, “recently, there has been an influx of media that showcase tons of different black characters, and put them in a more positive light. There are shows accurately showcasing black troubles, as well as depicting black joy and humor.” 

" ...black people are not monolithic. We are more than our trauma and struggles, we are human beings who also want to be seen in fairytales and whimsical stories."- Kaliya when talking about her favorite piece of media featuring black people.

He also brought up a valid point- “it depends on who is creating the media”- you can’t possibly create a believable narrative for anything unless you’re speaking from the heart. It’s easy to duplicate stories you’ve seen on TV before, but the art becomes memorable and impactful when you can connect to it. There’s always going to be room for improvement, and we’ve seen it happening already. It becomes a bit more difficult when the creatives who could and want to represent minorities aren’t given the space or the opportunity. As a community, it’s important we uplift each other, watch that indie film, go to a new artist’s art gallery, listen to that TikToker's music, and support the arts.

Thank you to those interviewed:

Ndeye Daro Niang

Alyssa Martin-Mccullough

Cree Atkins-Griffin

Damaari Coombs

Kaliya Thompson

BSU Instagram: @bsu_repco