Hissing, bidding, and lynching: participation in Jacobs-Jenkins’s An Octoroon and the Melodramatics of American Racism
Files
Accepted manuscript
Date
2018-11-15
Authors
Preston, C. J.
Version
Accepted manuscript
OA Version
Citation
C.J. Preston. 2018. "“Hissing, Bidding, and Lynching: Participation in Jacobs-Jenkins’s An Octoroon and the Melodramatics of American Racism”." TDR/The Drama Review, Volume 62 | Issue 4 | Winter 2018, p. 64-80 https://doi.org/10.1162/dram_a_00793
Abstract
Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’s 2016 An Octoroon encouraged Boston theatregoers to hiss and cheer like the audiences for Boucicault’s 1859 The Octoroon, then encouraged them to bid for slaves and scream for a lynching. For some, participation may have encouraged a self-satisfied post-racial bliss; for others, it may have bolstered psychic investments in racism and misogyny. Many, however, were confused: What is an appropriate response to the melodramatic extremes of American race relations?