NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
In the second exhibit, Cookin with Aunt Ethel, Wolfe uses satire to describe what characteristics contribute to making an African American person. He uses familiar phrases that trigger emotion from the memory of African Americans. Such as, Now you beat it really work it (Owen, p. 37). He was referring to the vigorous mental and physical abuse that African Americans were exposed to.
Discard and Disown... And in a few hundred years once its aged and fully grown... ya put in the oven till its Black... and has sheen... or till its nice and yellow... or any shade in between (Owen, p. 43).
These phrases touch on the memory of the hundreds of African American women that were raped and bore biracial children that were then disowned by their biological fathers. With the line, take out and cool em... cause they no fun when they hand wont you be surprised at the concoction you got (Johnson, p. 93), he takes it one more step by triggering that memory. He is sending a message to white people on behalf of all black people. Just because there was a period where the two races were separated during segregation and African Americans had their time to cool off, now they can deal with the problems in a rational manner without blame. Wolfe says in the last lines basically that they made the problem now they have to fix it.
He also implies in the last lines the scars are to deep for African Americans to forget and not be angry (Johnson, p. 50). In "Symbiosis, " a scene from George C. Wolfe's The Colored Museum, a successful businessman fights against a younger version of himself to forget the values and cultural symbols of his youth. "Being Black is too emotionally taxing. Therefore, I will only be Black on weekends and holidays (Johnson, p. 62). Meanwhile, the Kid implores the older version of himself to remember where he came from. He will not forget his past no matter how high on the corporate ladder he climbs.
Then the man throws the kid in the trash can. This symbolizes the assimilation of the African American culture. The mental adjustment to slavery has been responsible for the manifestations in this type of behavior in African Americans. It has instilled a belief in their own actual inferiority.
Therefore, the need to denounce Blackness is a prevalent theme amongst successful African Americans. In the exhibit, Hairpiece, physical assimilation of African Americans is expressed. It is the reoccurring battle between bad hair versus good hair, curly versus straight, or in actuality black versus white. African Americans have been on a mission for years to get closer and closer to white as possible. It is the subtle effect of slavery is represented by the persistent evidence of the acceptance by African Americans of standards of beauty, which are not wholly adjustable to themselves (Owen, p. 111). In The Last Mama-on-the-Couch Play, the characteristics of subordination and oppression psychosis are revealed.
Inevitably, habituation of a subjective status persists. It is the psychology and collective memory of African Americans, formed because of slavery and years of conditioning, that whites are and will remain superior and are oppressors (Owen, p. 114). This leads to a feeling of hopelessness, like explored in the character, Son. This is very similar to what African American men feel consistently, on a daily basis. These black men are the ones who, when balked, develop psychosis oppression and become radicals. In the exhibit the Son says, Since when did your God ever do a damn thing for the Black man! (Owen, p. 116) Here Wolfe touches on the spirituality of African Americans.
During slavery, the exposure of African Americans to Christianity was uneven. There was some reluctance to converting them, because the strength of the religious doctrines made some of the white people uncomfortable about their actions. This changed when they realized how cooperative it made the slaves. In the play, The Colored Museum, the collective memory is brought to light at every moment. No matter how subtle or how direct Wolfe was, African Americans were reminded. Wolfe used the humor that has been regarded as one of African Americans native characteristics as a coping mechanism.
The trait continues as a survival measure, to cope with the collective memory. After considering that example of creating and forming collective memory, it would also be interesting to look at Deborah Lipstadts work, Denying the Holocaust: The Growing Assault on Truth and Memory. In that work, the author describes how various groups of people try to make sure that the memories of that period of time are lost forever. She also gives her reasons on why they are doing so, and they are rather evident, since that crime was one of the most horrific in the worlds history. She claims that even collective memory can be changed if enough pressure is put on those who are defined as collective memory group. (Lipstadt, p. 23) Just like Maurice Halbwachs, she very closely compares collective memory and historical memory, and gives her reasons why collective memory will never be lost forever. George Lipsitz, in his Time Passages: Collective Memory and American Popular Culture, also discusses how collective memory is formed and later transformed by various factors.
He considers mass media in all forms the most significant factor influencing the memory of millions of people. The crowd effect is something he believes stimulates people not only to forget something they have known for sure, but also to change their opinion simultaneously. He describes that rather interesting phenomena and suggests that contemporary political leaders simply get used to manipulating people by all the means possible, including transforming the collective memory in a way most suitable for their current interests. (Lipsitz, p. 14) Lipsitz believes that it is unethical and should be prevented by all the means possible.
Free research essays on topics related to: collective memory, johnson p, african americans, lost forever, owen p
Research essay sample on African Americans Collective Memory
