Theatre Ph.D. Dissertations

Rethinking Racial Representation through Sound: An Analysis of Young Jean Lee's Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven and The Shipment

Date of Award

2023

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Department

Theatre

First Advisor

Jonathan Chambers (Committee Chair)

Second Advisor

Charles Saenz (Other)

Third Advisor

Cynthia Baron (Committee Member)

Fourth Advisor

Michael Ellison (Committee Member)

Abstract

Young Jean Lee’s Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven (2006) and The Shipment (2009) deal with stereotypes of Asian women and Black people in America respectively. Music, speech, and sound effects play an important role in revealing stereotypes’ hegemonic nature and suggesting alternative views on the representation of racial minorities. The growing interest in sound and sensory experiences and resurgence of cultural conflicts between social groups including races draws attention to Lee’s treatment of sound and race and the possibility of sound for reimagining racial identity. I argue that the sounds in these plays exhibit two crucial functions—one is to convey contextual information of a sound’s origin and the other is to allow space for expressing multiplicity and fluidity. These functions help explain stereotypes’ sociocultural background and individuals’ struggle to represent race beyond the boundary of social positions. The use of sound and the representation of minorities together point to the importance of understanding genealogy and allowing individuals’ particular function. This study also attempts to clarify some of the issues in representation such as how stereotypes and exoticism work together to perpetuate discriminatory narratives and how theatre represents races other than one’s own despite the risks of exploitation and assimilation. The main arguments of the study are developed through a critical reading of Lee’s scripts, published interviews, performance videos of the two plays, and key contributions to research on sound and race in theatre, stereotypes, and representation of others.

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