Read:
David Kertzer, “The Superbowl’s Strange Tribe.” TV Guide, 25 Jan. 1992, pp. 2-6.
Karl Marx, "The Secret of Commodities" linked here.
Maurya Wickstrom, "The Lion King, Mimesis, and Disney's Magical Capitalism." Performing Consumers: Global Capital and its Theatrical Seductions (2006).: 99-121
Top left: Yaqui Deer Dancer with Yaqui headpiece. Top right: white actress as Antelope in Celebrity Cruise Lines Lion King with headpiece. Center: Malian Bambara antelope "headdresses." Why is one "ritual," another "theatre," another "art"?
What/when is mimesis appropriation and when is it not? Who gets to appropriate (mime) where, when and to what end?
Also, with Kerzer's essay in mind, think about Rugby and Haka. Watch:
Reader
On appropriation or repurposing performance:
watch the video here and think about mimicry/violence in the context of everyday life/street performance.
Response:
What/when is mimesis appropriation and when is it not? Who gets to appropriate (mime) where, when, and to what end?
What is David Kertzer's point about football and capitalism -- do you agree? Can you relate that reading to Geertz?
Agree or disagree with Maurya Wickstrom on Lion King -- be sure to clearly articulate at least one of her major points in the process.
Can Marx's theory in the small section you read be called a performance theory in any way? That is, if commodities are standing in for things they are not, is that a theatrical operation? If you're interested in unpacking this a little more, the video here might help.
Further interesting things to think about:
Do re-dos of Lion King challenge Wickstrom's analysis in any way? Are re-dos a kind of circulation of social energy, and is theatre something of a circulation machine? Below is a mashup by DJ DoYou and Lil Wayne followed by more links and questions to spend some time with before class.
Surf clips from The Lyceum, London, Disney production. And other links, such as this one, or this one. Then look at "crank dat lion king." And others like this one, this one, and this one, and this one (from 2012). There are fairly foul adaptations of lion king and characters in the urbandictionary.com as well (I am not advising that search). Do cranks and remixes and memes (pottering for example) complicate Wickstrom in any way? Is there an afterlife to theatre, and even "the commodity," that circles in ways not strictly determined by corporations such as Disney (speaking of the circle of life)? Is such circulation always necessarily "theatrical"? If so, then does theatricality (whatever that might mean to you at this early point in the class) drive circulation?
No comments:
Post a Comment