October 4, 2015 - 14:19
Fraden says, “The eye of every beholder is not disciplined. And this finally is what makes the Medea Project Wild, on the edge, not entirely didactic, and never the same”. This quote sticked out to my mind after I heard people in our class talking about that in theater we are creating “characters” that “exaggerate” the stereotypes of those women. However, I really want to point out that, different people would have different versions of interpretation toward the same performance. And the audiences of the Medea Project, like us being self-selected in this 360, are the people who genuinely care about social injustices. As Freire points out the importance of having “love” in a true dialogue, we cannot make sure that everyone in this society can hold a deep love to the world, to love people in need enough, to be motivated or expecting to make some changes.
As Du Bois says about the tension between black and white people, “It is not enough for the Negroes to declare that color-prejudice is the sole cause of their social condition, nor for the white South to reply that their social condition is the main cause of prejudice. [BOTH] must change”. What Jones is hoping, from my own interpretation, is to create a dialogue, a community, an opportunity of social interaction, by blurring the boundaries of insiders and outsiders, by making people see the power differences in them, to enlighten more people who have the potential to be awakened to become socially active. To add on that, I also truly agree with Freire that “reality is a process”. Not only reality, but also our identities and statues are not static. By narrating personal stories, making contemporary connections with epics, and bringing them into a performance, Jones allows people to find themselves relating to the performance in different degrees, and force them to “think beyond the performances”. People see the power differences between themselves and the women, but also relate and empathize with those women. That is the significance of blurring the line. Once you learn about your similarities with others, you cannot help but start to see yourself in them. Your fate is related to theirs. You status, and their status, are both not static. To relate it to my own experience, I have started to feel more and more conflicts rising inside myself that we are often unwittingly considering the women as a homogeneous group, in the specific literacy group setting, while at the same time, I can see the uniqueness in everyone sitting beside me. Each one has unique style, attitude. Just like us. And one day we will be walking on the same street. How can’t we feel somewhat connected to them?