There were many things in this section that are worth discussing, but certain parts stood out to me most. The first would be when Anna Deveare Smith switches back at forth in the same moment between the character of Daryl Gates and the character of Mrs. June Park. The immediate shifts between the two characters created a powerful effect, because it shows how what they’re saying is connected but it still shows their individual point of view on what they were discussing. This also allows comparison between the two, especially emotionally. While Gates seems monotonous about the situation, Park is full of anger and confusion as to why her husband was shot.
Secondly, I thought Smith’s portrayal of Elaine Young was really interesting. To see a woman of color appear as a privileged white woman kind of made the act satirical in a way. I definitely saw this presentation as mocking racial privilege. This is because of the tone of Smith’s voice and how she is displaying stereotypes that come with a privileged white woman. Her entire interview shocked me because it showed me just how selfish a privileged person can be.
Elaine Young starts her interview by talking about her date, and at first didn’t even address the issue of the riots and chaos that were happening around her. She also makes the writer of the letter seem in the wrong for bashing on her for “Having fun at the Beverly Hills hotel during the riots”. Elaine Young acts guilty for a fleeting moment and says “No way in the world did I mean to be flippant on television about the riots” but then continues to mention how “There we were at the Beverly Hills Hotel” and “At a certain point you just have to say let me put this out of my mind and be done.” This shows that she doesn’t actually seem to care about the riots, and all she talks about is the Beverly Hills Hotel and how nothing else mattered because she felt safe there. She even states that she is just thankful that she is alive and that all she will do is hope that people will be alive when it is all over. This really angered me because she knows that she is privileged, but instead of using that privilege to help others in a time of need she is using to her own advantage to get out of any situations where she would have to care about less privileged people.
Your point brings up a good point about the effectiveness of seeing narratives side by side. I think about how easy it is, upon seeing a particular perspective, to sort of instinctively agree with that or side with the speaker. Having narratives side-by-side and interspersed in that way--not as a debate, but just as a juxtaposition--helps us see the complexity better.
ReplyDelete"...instead of using that privilege to help others in a time of need she is using to her own advantage to get out of any situations where she would have to care about less privileged people." This is something we have to be really mindful of. RECOGNIZING privilege, recognizing that exactly what you're talking about happens all the time, is a key step in moving forward.