A question that we briefly brought up in class pertaining to Come Down Burning by Kia Corthron was: where are all the men? Upon reading the script and watching the play, I immediately made the assumption that this is a feminist play; a play dealing with the lives of women and dealing with the decisions that woman are sometimes forced to make. Like the play, I left the men exempt. In doing this, I found myself discriminating against others based on sex, assuming that men "wouldn't understand the decisions of a woman in this situation". I will be the first to say that this is the wrong attitude and the wrong assumption. Perphaps a man would not be able to understand the significance of abortion, but at this point, I cannot understand those specific circumstances either. I also cannot understand what it is like to live in deep poverty or be disabled, both issues the women in Come Down Burning dealt with. So it would be ridiculous of me to assume that because men are not written into the show that men in the audience would not be able to relate. As suggested in the book "Women in American Theatre" by Helen Krich Chinoy and Linda Walsh Jenkins, I will acknowledge that men have been written out of the script Come Down Burning. And now I will attempt to write them back in.
There are a few men that we know of in the script based off of the character's talk of them. Bink mentions a man named Gary. As Bink asks Skoolie about a performing an abortion for her, Skoolie replies that someone needs to watch the kids in the meantime. "My Gary will watch 'em. He knows it got to be done." ( Scene 2, p 13). From this we can assume that 1. Gary is Bink's husband, 2. He understands her decision on the abortion and supports it, and 3. He is mature enough to watch over not only his children, but other's children as well. From these assumptions, it is safe to label Gary as a loving, understanding father figure. The script also mentions another man, Willie Joe's father. He is said to have left Tee and the children when Willie Joe was one years old, forcing Tee to move in with her sister. The man who got Tee pregnant is unknown. From this the assumption can be made that the men in Tee's life tend to run out on her. Another man mentioned in the script is Mr. Jim, Skoolie's and Tee's father who died when they were children. The script is specific to say that he worked for twenty-three years and left with "not enough pension to feed a flea." (Scene 2, p 12). But he could be painted as a hard working man supporting his family until his death. There are also several boys mentioned in the script, Willie-Joe, Tee's son, Jazzman, Tee's baby,Charlie Wilt, the cussing boy in Evie's class, and Jay, Bink's son. Willie-Joe is the only male seen onstage. Gary's father is also mentioned, as he is the reason Bink moved back to town, so that Gary could take over his hardware store. (Scene 2, p 11). It seems that the men who are mentioned by name are the men who are worth mentioning.
Although I do feel that Come Down Burning is a feminist play, I don't think it is a feminist play that men have no part in, which is how I originally felt. However, in taking a closer interpretation of the script, the men who are written in the script take away from the feminist aspect of the show. There are men written into the play as "good" men who are still around, and "bad" men who leave their wife and children behind. I think this makes another strong view on how men are intertwined with the decisions of women concerning abortion. The script almost punishes the family without a man with the loss of Tee's life, where the family that includes a patriarchy is blessed with the survival of Bink. Was this really the purpose of men in the script? Could this be another aspect of the play: that a man in the family is needed in order to survive; and that a female (Skoolie) attempting to replace the patriarchy is doomed to fail? If so, it would certainly change some views I have of the show, especially taking the feminist view into consideration.
2 comments:
Yes, it's interesting to consider the physical absence of men in this play, but to acknowledge their textual presence. They have an effect despite the fact that we only see Willie Joe (and Jazzman as an infant). I agree that women generally will respond differently, especially because of the issues of the body that come up. It would be easier for us to empathize. I'm sure men must have some response when other male characters are mentioned. Any experience of this from members of the class?
Also thinking of this play historically is important: there was a time when women (especially African American women living in poverty) were not represented in a sympathetic fashion on stage, if they were represented at all!
But the absence of men can't be an accident. I think you've noted really important things about how they're characterized-different actions are represented, and their results are seen in the play. But I wonder if Skoolie's ultimate failure to provide as a man would be able to is a statement that a (disabled) woman without a man can't succeed, or more a suggestion that the surrounding culture makes it impossible for her to succeed.
I think it's interesting that Bink sees no shame in relying on her husband when she needs help watching the children; but Tee seems to feel ashamed that she has to rely on Skoolie for certain things in her life, and vice versa. It seems tragic to me that it's the nature of their relationship-sisters-that brings on the shame. But if Skoolie were a man, and Tee's husband, would she resist relying on her so much? In my reading, maybe Corthron is making a comment on what relationships are and are not socially acceptable. How do people get in situations where they are resistant to accepting certain people's help when it's clearly needed? This ideology of independence seems to be a big problem.
The aspect of the absense of men in this piece is a delicate situation which I will tread lightly. Unfortunately, in the African American community this is a reality that is faced daily. Growing up I was fortunate to have my father presence and my stepfather in my life. This is rare. I know a disturbing number of family and friends who have no relationship with their father. A vast number have never even met them. I have seen heart wrenching affect up close and personal. I can recall my cousin confronting her father for the first time about his departure from her life at the tender age of four. She is a twin and my uncle left her and her three other siblings with her mother with no money, no means of paying the next month rent in the heart of Detroit. Here it was 25 years later and she poured all that frustration out in tears and rage.
The absence of men is definitely not an accident. I believe Corothon was just painting a picture on stage of the trajic epidemic that African American women face daily. Society will have you believe that a majority of African American men are in jail, gay or unfit to pro create with. I don't co-sign with stereotypes and negativity placed on my culture, however their is some truth in this statement. The rate of incarceration is obviously extremely high.
Some theorist link this cultural poison back to slavery and how slave masters like Willie Lynch knew that if he could break down the family foundation by seperating families and mentally destroying slaves they could remain in complete control. Some may argue that it worked and that African Americans have had a hard time rebuilding that structure in our communities.
I am thankful for the men in my life who have knocked down this toxic image of African American men. What can be done to fix this issue? Finding the answer to this question may be something I may wrestle with for the rest of my life.
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