This week we are discussing the Black Arts Movement which was started by Amiri Baraka. Many of the plays produced during this time period, from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s, worked to establish a new Black Aesthetic for creating art. In his play "The Dutchman," Leroi Jones (AKA Amiri Baraka) uses the theater and the characters he creates to explore many polemic issues that shape American identity at this time. As you blog this week about Inter-racial conflict,think about the following questions. In what ways does Baraka use the relationship between Clay and Lula to explore and disrupt socially constructed racial stereotypes?
How does the play address inter-racial relationships?
If you consider the platform of the Blach Arts Movement as one that stressed separatism, community involvement and the development of a new arts aesthetic that departs from Euro-American ideals, how successful is Baraka at achieving these goals? Where does he fail?You do not have to respond to all of them,but do let them guide you to think more broadly abut Civil Rights and quests for self-determination by African Americans in the 1960s.
During the Black Power/Arts Movement the level of inter-racial conflicts was coming to a head in history. Intra-racially, there were still conflicts between African Americans as how to protest for their civil rights as some preached peaceful confrontation while others were more radical in their thoughts. Baraka leans to the radical side with his play The Dutchman with its violent dialogue and actions between his white and black characters which echoes of Lori Parks’ equation of Black drama and the violent oppression of the white power. However, in reading Sell’s The Black Arts Movement I feel that in some sense the conflict was not helped at the separation of the “Black” art from the “White” art. Sell states that BAM sought to evade any sort of attention from the whites, therefore segregating the knowledge and art from whites whether or not they supported civil rights or not.
ReplyDeleteIt surprised me in Sell’s article that BAM sought to stay segregated during this era, though I agree with his thoughts of BAM being used to help liberate and educate the next generation of Black in America. I don’t feel that Baraka’s Dutchman sought to educate, but to put fear into people, to make them fight and further segregate themselves and prevent the education and understanding of the whole to benefit society. Baraka used Lula as a symbol of Whites’ power over Blacks and the injustice to Blacks by showing Clay’s death go unpunished, thus to incite fear instead of inspiration.
First off I have to say that this was, in my opinion, a very powerful, disturbing and creepy play. Amiri Baraka achieved a sense of horror and suspense, which was totally unexpected. I’m a sucker for horror stories/cinema, and was blown away by Barak’s words that visually painted a picture in my head. The Dutchman contained signs of psychological and emotional horror, but more importantly, contained various elements of socially constructed racial stereotypes. These stereotypes were shown by the main characters; Clay and Lola. Towards the end of Scene I, Lula says, “What right do you have to be wearing a three-button suit and striped tie? Your grandfather was a slave, he didn’t go to Harvard” (386). This is a socially constructed stereotype of how a black man can/cannot dress during this time. According to Lola, only a white man can wear nice clothes. Later on in Scene II, she even compares him to the “white man”. “Clay, you liver-lipped white man. You would-be Christian. You ain’t no nigger, you’re just a dirty white man” (389). I feel that she is claiming he is a “dirty white man”, because of the color of his skin. She even throws religion in the conversation to imply a white-man’s stereotypical religious views.
ReplyDeleteAnother aspect of the play was the common symbol of the apple. An apple, of course is red, which symbolizes seduction and romanticism. Some times romanticism and seduction do not correlate hand-in-hand (i.e. Snow White). Clay even quotes Snow White, "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest one of all? Snow White, baby, and dont you forget it" (389). The apple represents evil, Lula represents evil. I feel that this concept was blatantly obvious by Baraka’s continuous usage of Lula and the apple. I also thought Amira Baraka was trying to imply that African Americans are not evil and animals like white people stereotyped them to be. Lula’s character was continuously psychotic, and forced Clay over the edge to strike her twice in the face. Once Lula stabbed him in the end, nobody on the bus stood up for Clay; everyone was on Lula’s side. In the end, Lula is the white seductress about to lure another black victim in her trap. Can this relate to how Baraka saw white people during this time? Maybe not directly, but it is certainly ironic to the plays conclusion.
After watching The Dutchman, I was struck by its boldness. Even by the slightly looser standards of today it is an action that almost feels somewhat inappropriate to watch. I would imagine this relationship would be even more controversial when it originally came out in the 1960’s. It is a striking commentary on social relations, some statements so bold it almost feels weird to read into the comments in such a way for fear that’s not the message that was intended. The desires of Clay for Lula(constantly eating her forbidden fruit), making herself appear so tempting, yet speaking of Clay later as “nigger”. Describing a time when Clay would become more like Lula, and they would walk around discriminating against others because he, the black man, had been assimilated as white. Then it would be back to Clay being a black man, Lula proclaiming him an “uncle tom”. The graphic, back and forth relationship of Clay and Lula still holds true as a representation of race relations in American society today. In the end you see the cycle repeating itself. This is what Lula does, comes down and uses the black men who see her as their desire. Perhaps this is a false desire to be something else. Lula doesn’t really know the black man, maybe a comment of superficial white racial progress. Lines such as “I’d rather be a fool” show disgust at playing such a role in the social system. These bold statements of the time were reclaiming their own identity, rather than fulfilling the expectations of another, through the black arts movement.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the play and watching the film, I am confused and curious about what Baraka was trying to illustrate in his work. At the beginning, I thought he was trying to imply that whites think they “know everything” about blacks, for example when Lula tells Clay things about himself that were correct when she didn’t really know him personally. I thought maybe Baraka was using his work to show how blacks and whites stereotype each other or that blacks do what whites expect/want. An example is when Lula says to Clay “What right do you have to wear a three button suit and a tie?! Your grandfather was a slave!” Lula also calls Clay the “N” word several times. But do black men want to be seduced or “accepted” by white sex-addicted, neurotic, blonde women?! I would think not. At one time Lula tells Clay to ask her to the party and tells him to ask her in her words verbatim. Could this possibly mean that whites and blacks should be equal and integrated into each other’s lives but only on “white’s terms?” Baraka’s work confused me and made me feel uncomfortable and I kept waiting for the moment to come when I would go “A-ha! I get it!” However, that moment never came. I’m sure different people understand the play and film in different ways but I can’t say for certain that I can pinpoint what Baraka wanted the audience to gain.
ReplyDeleteWhen BAM was started, it was the height of the Civil Rights in America. Tensions were at an all time high, not only between African Americans & whites but also within the African American community. While the tensions caused between these groups were due to only differences of opinions, they escalated to a point where one side was not allow to express their rights how they saw fit without being slandered for their ways. BAM focused on expressionistic vs. realistic works (lecture 2/210), which can be seen in Baraka’s The Dutchman. Baraka took a radical approach in this work by showing the relationship between Clay & Lula & how it disrupts the racial stereotypes. Lula is a very outspoken, liberated woman who at first seems to seducing Clay, wanting him, despite the fact that he is African American (which was unfortunately not acceptable yet).We find out is she is seducing him only to tear him down, which in turn confirms the racial stereotype. Baraka uses Lula to voice the actions that he sees around him. Actions that white people are taking are put into words to be spoken out of a white women’s mouth. Where the play is developed during BAM which stresses separatism, it also delves further by using the stereotypical racial ideas to further separate Clay (black) & Lula (white), which she makes perfectly clear through her interrogations & spewing of ‘you’re not black enough’ slanders. The Dutchman also clearly fits into the BAM for it is not completely realistic (not many would stand by then help dispose of a man’s body after watching him get murdered.
ReplyDeleteIt is possible to use Mike Sell’s articulation of the “performance politics” (p. 56) of the Black Arts Movement to explore the aesthetics at work in THE DUTCHMAN. Intentionally unaffiliated with the Black Church and the non-violent ethos inspired by the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King (p. 59), the Black Arts Movement sought to separate Black communities and artists from white culture. In their quest to establish separate cultural institutions for African Americans (lecture 2/2), BAM artists employed a “revolutionary and racially separatist nationalism” (60) in order to destroy the entire western aesthetic tradition (64) that enforces philosophical standards such as “value” based on Euro-American traditions. To borrow from Audre Lord: “The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house” (Sister Outsider, 1984). To attempt to measure how well Baraka is using or not using the master’s tools is challenging, for Baraka and his fellow BAM writers wanted to “escape a certain philosophical, aesthetic, historiographical, and critical tradition” (62), however, as Sell points out it is impossible to ignore the impact that avant-garde traditions had on BAM productions—or to ask a similar question: how successful is Baraka in escaping the “white thing” (69)? For example, Lula’s line, “You look like death eating a soda cracker” (384) works on two levels: it evokes the spare, jazz- riff coolness of Beat poetry AND it stings with the percussive crack of the overseer’s whip. The line, like Baraka’s play, is disturbing because it is somehow both shockingly poetic and lovely in its imagery and horrific in its familiarity as a haunting echo of a whip we have heard before.
ReplyDeleteIn Amiri Baraka’s play “The Dutchman” he uses the white character Lula to challenge the black character Clay in a racist manner. The difference between this play and the others that we have read in class so far is that Lula is not the oppressor and Clay is not oppressed. Although Lula shows “power” in the beginning of the play by seducing and manipulating Clay, by the end he has had enough of her racist comments and wild behavior. Clay fights to not be oppressed by Lulu. He says, “Don’t tell me anything! If I’m a middle class fake white man…let me be. And let me be the way I want.” (391) Unfortunately Lula murders Clay soon after this proclamation, which makes one question whether or not he ever had a chance. Could it be that nothing has changed with white-oppressors/black-oppressed even in modern times? Although Baraka did succeed in emphasizing ideas from The Black Arts Movement such as separatism and black consciousness (Lecture, Feb. 2) within the play, he seems to be giving in to the same aesthetics from plays written decades before. But one could argue that this was just Baraka’s way of confronting his audience. Maybe Amiri Baraka was showing the classic “oppressed and oppressor” and purposely twisting it by Lula killing Clay.
ReplyDeleteAmiri Baraka was an influential advocate of the Black Arts Movement and believed, as stated by Mike Sell, that “aesthetics and oppression were inseparable”. He argued that the only way to break from oppression was to deconstruct the “White” aesthetic traditions and create a wholly unique outlet for “Black” art. These ideas are evident in The Dutchman, which overturns typical play structures by focusing entirely on the dialogue of two characters; Clay and Lula. These characters emphasised and undermined inter-racial stereotypes of the time; for example Lula’s cruel demand to know “what right [Clay has] to be wearing a three-button suit” (386), and Clay’s shock that Lula lives “in a tenement?” (387). Baraka also challenged racial stereotypes by portraying the “white woman” as a dangerous predator, stalking vulnerable, young men - a total reversal of racial stereotypes present in early “white” film/theatre. The influence of the “Theatre of Cruelty” is also evident in The Dutchman. Baraka sought to confront his audience with deliberate, disturbing scenarios that no one wanted to acknowledge in real life. From the moment that Clay and Lula make eye contact through the window, Baraka’s descriptions are unnerving and, when watching the film, it was impossible not to feel increasingly uncomfortable as Lula began to direct crude insults at Clay with a kind of sinister humour. By the end of the play, when Baraka describes how the onlookers quietly remove Clay’s body without hesitation, the audience has been forced to witness psychological torment and a shocking physical attack in a seemingly safe, everyday environment.
ReplyDeleteThe use of several methods to bring about change during the fight for civil rights in America proved to be a very effective tool because it showed that the movement was being taken very seriously and that the people fighting for change were going to exhaust every resource to ensure that the movement was successful. Many whites took offense to the in your face tactics and some whites even looked at the non violent movement as an ineffective tool for change, this thankfully was not the case as both the nonviolent and more militant efforts turned heads and drew media attention to the struggle once swept under the rug. Amiri Baraka used provacative language to insight people to rage and to change. His beautifully crafted words and in your face style drew a crowd of supporters as well as protesters. The tensions were not only white-black, all races were in struggle with all races. Many races had fighting among themselves as to what the future should hold for their "people"
ReplyDeleteWhen The Dutchman by Amiri Baraka came out it was a controversial time for the civil rights movement. There was much conflict not only between blacks and whites but also between African Americans on the way to deal with protesting and achieving these rights. Through The Dutchman Baraka presents a tempting, confident middle aged white woman, Lula, and a younger, educated African American man, Clay. Through the show you see Lula trying to mold Clay into what she considers an acceptable ‘black man.’ She tries to achieve this in a number of ways. One is by getting him to repeat exactly what she wants him to say. For example, “Lula, Lula why don’t you go to this party with me tonight?” When he says something close to it she makes him repeat it exactly as she says it. She also goes about doing this by telling him how to feel and what he is. In the end, when she is unable to control him she murders him moving onto the next young man. He doesn’t turn into the man that she wants because in the end he stands up for himself and is dominant over her. Even discarding the notion that all African Americans are similar in his final speech he says: “My people. They don’t need me to claim them. They got legs and arms of their own. Personal insanities. Mirrors. They don’t need all those words. They don’t need any defense.” Whereas through most of the show she is the one in control and he allows her to get away with things that are socially unacceptable. For example “You’re an escaped nigger.” Even today this statement would be offensive. Also, I felt that Lula could easily represent society at this time. She is powerful, dangerous, and oppressive. She is only alright when she in control of the situation and when Clay speaks out for himself she silences him for good
ReplyDeleteThe “Dutchman” by Amiri Baraka was very intriguing as well as entertaining. Honestly one thing that stood out to me was the degree of manipulation by Lulu. It was just that she preyed on weak individuals who could not control their overt curiosity. When Lulu found out she could control Clay attention she could possibly gain control of Clay emotions. Lulu went on rampantly to gain Clay’s attention and empathy to gain a foothold on Clay’s emotions. After that Clay did the rest and he fell right into the plan of deceit by the ironic white woman. I say ironic because is this day and age pertaining to the film which took place in 1966. How many white women would approach a lone black man on subway? However Baraka begins to twist the minds of viewers by allowing this. However this was great film if it challenged my perception this day and age. It probably floored most of those who watched it when it first came out.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching Dutchman and reading Sell’s The Black Arts Movement, you get an idea of during this Black Arts movement the blacks were done trying to be equal with the whites they were trying to be separate. In the movie the relationship between Clay and Lula I did not really understand when I first watched this movie last year, but watching it a second time makes it clear. Baraka was very radical in how he wanted to show the blacks that we needed change in our attitudes. Clay’s character was the well educated black man that Lula, using her sexuallity, was tryng to change. Everything she said to him were sterotypes to try to get him angry enough to act like the crazed black man, so she can get the action she expected. I also got a feeling that Baraka was trying to say that all because the black man is educated and dress nice does not mean he looses his since of being “black.” He keeps it inside until he needs to express himself. I feel the stance Baraka took was an extreme view of how to tell the black community stay seperated, because all the whites want to do is bring you down like Lula did Clay at the end of the movie. Before reading the article, I did not know the Black Arts Movement was about Blacks wanting to make art for others blacks to educate and nothing they were doing was for a white audience. It shows that during this time period, blacks were about understand each other and their culture and making sure they saw themselves as separate from the whites and not trying to be equal with them.
ReplyDeleteAmiri Baraka uses Clay and Lula as an example of what most African Americans experience routinely. People who are not black typically believe that there is some sort of luck involve with success that an African American may gain. Personally, I believe that Baraka has done a wonderful job through his books, poems, and plays in attempt to expand the ideas of limiting the abilities of African Americans with stereotypes. Referring back to A Soldier’s Story when Captain Davenport was speaking with Captain Taylor about the murder, Captain Davenport family was believed to be rich or well off because he graduated from Howard. In addition, I do not believe that black people have a type as referred to in The Dutchman. I believe African Americans are different, though they have their similarities. In my opinion, its ignorant to associate someone to something according to the color of their skin. But during this time it was much easier to stereotype black people as compared to now, because black people were not heard or even allowed the opportunity to be heard. Thankfully we live in a generation where we are not heard like we should be but we are heard enough. Ultimately, I believe that racial stereotyping is going to continue for years and years to come because there are always going to people in our society that have no knowledge about the B.A.M or the black culture.
ReplyDeleteIn Amiri Baraka’s “The Dutchman”, I noticed how in the film the white woman Lula was very dominant and had more control of what was going on over the black man Clay. This to me demonstrated how back then whites were more superior to blacks back in that time and it showed in their conversation. She led the entire conversation and made him say what she wanted him to throughout the entire ride. When Lula told Clay that he probably did not see himself as a nigger when he was in school, and that his grandfather was a slave and did not go to Harvard; Baraka was showing the racial stereotypes that existed between whites and blacks. It was seen by whites as if a black man went to school to make himself more white and unlike other African Americans; it was as if a black person was in school or educating himself that he was an Uncle Tom in the eyes of his own people and Baraka wanted that stereotype to be seen and seized. Lula was very sexual in their interaction so it gave the impression that black men were hypersexual beings and could not resist the seduction of a white woman or women in general. She constantly seducing him throughout the whole film and Clay just kept submitting to her due to his lack of self control sexually as a black man; this was another stereotype that existed about the African American race.
ReplyDeleteAmiri Baraka’s play the “ Dutchman” was interesting but also confused me somewhat. When watching the film I did not understand why this random lady got on the train and began to flirt and seduce this man. She was claiming that she knew him from somewhere and he looked familiar. But she did not know him she was just stero typing him saying that she knew the men of his kind. When she said men of his kind she meant black colored men. Amiri Baraka was trying to eliminate racial stereotyping in America but this film and play is a great example of racial stereotyping and how it can have an effect the American way of life. Because it puts a limit on black opportunity and black people when they are trying to be successful.
ReplyDeleteWhat really caught my attention was when Lula, a white woman, stabs Clay (college educated black man) in front of everybody on the train ride and absolutely nothing was done to help Clay. Everyone knows that if the role were reversed, Clay would have been killed on the train right along with Lula, a white woman, who stabbed Clay nothing was going to be done. Now, I dont think much would have changed if this was to happen in today's society. If a white woman was to stab a black man, I'm sure the white woman would have something happen to her, but it would be as severe as if a black man was to stab a white woman. I wonder if things will ever change, or will inter-racial conflict always remain the same.
ReplyDeleteIn the Dutchman, Amiri Baraka really went out on limb on his attempt to provoke the audience with addressing stereotypes. The characteristics that he associated with Clay were very far fetched and exaggerated. Lula, who in my mind symbolizes the whites view on Blacks in the 60’s, showed how exaggerated Baraka made his ideas. Lula states “What do you think you’re doing. You think I want to pick you up, get you to take me somewhere and screw me,” (384 Hatch/Shine). Here Baraka wanted to show that black men were considered as some type of a sex-craving and aggressive being that wanted to seduce Lula. However, in reality Clay was just a passenger on a train minding his business, it wasn’t until he was interrupted by a seductive woman when his concentration was thrown off. Baraka addressed inter-racial relationships as very awkward and uncomfortable in this play. The body language of Clay toward Lula was very distant while being in the view in the view of the white passengers on the train, because he knew that relationship would not be acceptable to the public. When Clay draws back after Lula makes the statement “Come on, Clay. Let’s rub bellies on the train. The nasty. The nasty. Do the gritty grind…,” (389) shows how ridiculous inter-racial relationships were perceived. This entire quote seems completely bizarre to me. What I believe Baraka wanted to show here is that inter-racial relationships were viewed during this time period as absurd as this quote, not to mention the fear in Clay of the reactions of the public he could face if he were to be with a white woman. I think this is by far the best play we have studied in the course. I think Baraka successfully stressed the importance of BAM here in this play through provoking the audience and exaggerating stereotypes. I am all for eye-openers that show those who are in disbelief how things really are, even if that means exaggerating the truth a little. It was a very successful strategy.
ReplyDeleteIn the film the Dutchman, to be honest my first opinion of the film was that I did not like it. At first it seems like the norm, a white woman getting a black man in some type of trouble, but I had to go back and look at it again to understand it. I began to understand the reason why he chose to use a white woman and a black man; I figured he was trying to display the racial tension that was happening during the civil rights. At that time it’s something about a white woman talking to a black man, its jus not suppose to happen especially in the public and in any kind of sexual way. To me it was like she wanted to get him in some type of trouble, when she said, “What do you think you’re doing? You want me to pick you up, take me somewhere and screw me.” I thought he would say yes, but that would have been just a typical stereotype that black men are sexual predators and want to sleep with white women because it was “forbidden”. And for a good part of the film she was pretty much tearing him apart with racial stereotypes, and then when he finally takes up for himself she kills him. I’m not going to lie I was mad because she did it in a public area with white and black passengers and no one moved and I think that, that was a reality of what was really happening, basically saying that at that time whites could get away with doing that to someone of color and not receive any punishment.
ReplyDeletethe first thing that comes to my mind when I saw and read the play was stereotypes the biggest for me is how a black man always wants a white woman how that is the ultimate sign of success in society is to have the attraction of a white woman.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching The Dutchman, I was struck by its boldness. Even by the slightly looser standards of today it is an action that almost feels somewhat inappropriate to watch. I would imagine this relationship would be even more controversial when it originally came out in the 1960’s.
Here Baraka wanted to show that black men were considered as some type of a sex-craving and aggressive being that wanted to seduce Lula. However, in reality Clay was just a passenger on a train minding his business, it wasn’t until he was interrupted by a seductive woman when his concentration was thrown off. Baraka addressed inter-racial relationships as very awkward and uncomfortable in this play.
The Dutchman by Amiri Baraka is a play that is able to evoke the reader because of its ability to compare white versus black and present a piece of work that is a great representation of the Black Arts Movement. The divide of race in The Dutchman forces the reader to compare racial separatism in the United States as well as expose the Black Arts Movement to an audience that would otherwise not know much about it. Baraka uses the characters Clay and Lula as representatives of the white race and black race as they battle with one another. I felt that Lula’s feelings on African-Americans were very aggressive but yet necessary for Baraka to explain the separation of the two races. The racial tension between the two characters, Clay and Lula, push the Black Arts Movement idea because Lula, throughout the play, constantly puts Clay down by using racial slanders to describe him which forces separatism amongst the two races, a key ingredient for the Black Arts Movement. Lula can be seen here as a white temptress to Clay, a black man, making him second guess himself as a person because of the way she speaks down to him throughout the play. The idea of the white oppressor and the black oppressed is a central idea in The Dutchman, solidifying Baraka’s ideas within the Black Arts Movement.
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