Lust and Disgust: Reimagining Injurious Representations and Experiences of Black Actresses in the U.K. and U.S.
La Virgne, Samia (2021) Lust and Disgust: Reimagining Injurious Representations and Experiences of Black Actresses in the U.K. and U.S. Doctoral thesis, Birmingham City University.
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Samia La Virgne PhD Thesis Volume 1 published_Final version_Submitted Oct 2020_Final Award Nov 2021.pdf - Accepted Version Download (2MB) |
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Samia La Virgne PhD Thesis Volume 2 published_Final version_Submitted Oct 2020_Final Award Nov 2021.pdf - Accepted Version Download (60MB) |
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Samia La Virgne PhD Thesis Volume 3 published_Final version_Submitted Oct 2020_Final Award Nov 2021.pdf - Accepted Version Download (4MB) |
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Samia La Virgne PhD Thesis Digital Appendix published_Final version_Submitted Oct 2020_Final Award Nov 2021.zip - Accepted Version Download (4GB) |
Abstract
This thesis contributes to the broader discussion of representation within the performing arts industry recently illuminated by the Black Lives Matter and Representation Matters movements popularised in the United States. It is a contemporary analysis of the ways womanhood and the social stigma of blackness influence the representation, and performative nature, of black actresses in the educational and professional sectors of the performing arts industry. Both the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US) are examined due to their historical colonial links and reputation. This research uses an interdisciplinary framework that includes reception, feminist, and post-blackness theories, as well as performing arts, and black studies. It highlights the impact that the representation of black women in the performing arts industry has on black actresses, and issues that have arisen for black actresses as a result, with an aim of postulating ways to shift this dynamic in the future.
This thesis begins by examining the colonial history of the UK and US via the transatlantic slave trade, explaining the establishment of the white hegemonic normative system which dominates most institutions, as well as the performing arts industry. Casting norms that perpetuate limited and negative representations of black women are then scrutinised through the analysis of colour-blind casting. Robin DiAngelo’s concept of ‘white fragility’ and Touré’s discourse on post-blackness in the twenty-first century guide a pragmatic contextualised approach through a series of four practice-based case studies in the areas of: audience reception, actor perception, theatre making, and immersive black actor training. My contention is that colonialism and the transatlantic slave trade was the impetus for the present-day white hegemonic normative system in the performing arts industry, and the negative representations and stereotypes of black women. As such, black actresses are placed in a precarious position of perpetuating said representations and stereotypes within their drama school training and professional acting jobs. I argue that a dual approach in the educational and professional sectors of the performing arts industry, divergent of the white hegemonic norm, can provide more authentic representations of black women and less traumatising experiences for black actresses. My objective is to open new avenues of discussion that will lead to possibilities for positive representations of black women in the performing arts industry, and improved performative experiences for black actresses in both actor training and professional working environments.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) | ||||||
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| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Performing Arts, Performing Arts Industry, Women, Black Women, Actors, Actresses, Black Actresses, Theatre, Representation, Blackness, Stereotypes, Practice Research, Womanhood, Acting, Theatre Practices, Ethnography, Actor Training, Film, Television, Casting | ||||||
| Subjects: | CAH24 - media, journalism and communications > CAH24-01 - media, journalism and communications > CAH24-01-05 - media studies CAH25 - design, and creative and performing arts > CAH25-02 - performing arts > CAH25-02-03 - drama |
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| Divisions: | Doctoral Research College > Doctoral Theses Collection Faculty of Arts, Design and Media > Royal Birmingham Conservatoire |
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| Depositing User: | Jaycie Carter | ||||||
| Date Deposited: | 19 May 2023 10:19 | ||||||
| Last Modified: | 19 May 2023 10:19 | ||||||
| URI: | https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/14395 |
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