In this blog it is to be determined how an actor, such as Dick from 3rd Rock from the Sun, is supposed to "perform" an ethnic identity. I would opt to go with the approach of most people when they have to act like someone else: by following them and viewing their actions and responses to everything. However, in this particular scenario from 3rd Rock from the Sun it is not as simply as that because he has to act for an entire ethnicity not just an individual. Dick notices this difficulty when he refers to African Americans as appearing to have "strict rules they have to follow" so he moves on to the next race after an initial observation. To completely understand how to perform a specific race I feel an actor would have to resort to playing upon the stereotypes that portray their ethnicity through society, film, and history. Thus, the importance of our course Exploring Ethnicity through Film shows the importance of how ethnicities are performed and the effects it has on society. I would use specific racial cues as seen through caricatures and other portrayals of race to compliment my acting. For instance, Mexicans with mustaches, Irish with fair skin, Jewish with a common last name, and so on.
More over, I find it interesting that the aliens from 3rd Rock from the Sun feel the need to immediately start trying to learn about different racial groups so they can fit into society. For example, the son, Tommy, states he is bullied because he doesn't know his ethnic background and because of it the kids on the playground cannot stereotype/ understand him. Also, since the Soloman's don't see race as a color, they resort to other ways to stereotype ethnicities based on their rules, values, and traditions which illustrates the need of our society to always find a way to group people together.
It is a difficult task to perform an ethnicity but it can be done through not only research about the ethnicities traditions and beliefs, but more importantly how they are viewed and stereotyped by society because those are the aspects an actor needs to focus on. When performing an identity it is vital to be aware of how the acting will be portrayed on film and to not offend anyone. In the image below, it shows how someone may be attempting to act out an ethnicity but overplays the stereotypes and as a result greatly offends the ethnicity.
I find it particularly interesting that the students were making fun of Tommy because he didn't know his ethnic background. Personally, I felt that the subject of race, especially in elementary and middle school, was never touched upon. The fact that 3rd Rock from the Sun is indirectly touching on this subject is very intriguing to me. Is 3rd Rock from the Sun trying to indirectly say something to our society? Is the issue of ethnicity and race more prominent amongst younger children than thought to be?
ReplyDeleteI think Tommy is supposed to be in his teens in this TV show, so I would guess he was around the end of middle school or towards the beginning of high school, which I feel is around the time that students tend to start to truly recognize other races and the jokes about other ethnic groups begin to pop up in conversations. So when the other students made fun of Tommy for not being part of a racial group, it seems to make sense that he would want to fit in by being able to say he was part of one.
ReplyDeleteI find the Solomon's attempt to find a racial group to be a part of to be a very interesting method. Looking at the rules, values, and traditions seems to be a good way to look for a favorable group, but, of course, not how society tends to determine race. By looking at those traits rather than the phenotypic attributes, the Solomons seem to really be performing ethnic groups, rather than trying to truly find a race to belong to.