Ethnic Identity Construction in US via Art Theatre Movement - Research Paper

Abstract

The purpose of this research paper is to explain how the art theatre movement has helped to construct ethnic identities in the United States over the past years. The first chapter of this research proposal introduces the concept of ethnic identities and how art and media have played a major role in defining minority ethnic groups. It explains how media, art, and theatre has changed the perception of different individuals and how their ethnic groups are viewed in the country. It also explains the identification of the knowledge gap and the research questions that will help to formulate the rest of the study proposal. Chapter two is a literature review of past researches that will help to form a basis for further research and filling any research gaps. The third chapter is the methodology part, which explains the quantitative and qualitative approaches that will be used in the research.

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Introduction

The Theatre Movement started in the 20th century with the aim of creating inventive, unique, and well-made theatre in a time when theatre, especially in American, was not well established. The movement had a lot of benefits to the American theatre trajectory as it was rooted in a way that it could create national and community identities which could have a lot of importance in American theatre as it changed how the public made its relation to theatre, fostered playwrights and acted as a catalyst for activities that happened in the local theatres. With the film industry being invented early in the 20th century, theatre practitioners and other producers saw an opportunity in which they were able to make more money than before the invention of the stage production that caused more spending and money as each performance passed and new trends shifted in theatre. This paper seeks to identify the way that theatre in the United States has been used for many years to define and challenge ethnic values as well as different notions that people in a nation have over a certain ethnic group and its superiority or minority level.

Identification of a Knowledge Gap

The image of the people living in the United States has evolved over time since it was founded. The nation's concept has had different responses to crisis and social changes, with media and theatre having various contributions to the ever-changing discourses of national values and identities (Seredkina, 2016). Different national identity notions are continuously being contested for by various groups that seek to impose their own cultural values. Some suggest that searching for stable national identities is only successful when internal differences, contradictions, and tensions, as well as the existence of different races, religions, and classes, are repressed. Different groups of people in a country confront homogenous images that are represented by dominant groups through the assertion of counter-hegemonic identities that are usually pluralistic in nature (Seredkina, 2016). Plays and performances construct positive ethnic identities for the marginalized and oppressed groups, especially in American society, which has created an identity in the nation, which has helped to improve the position of these groups.

Research Questions

• How do artistic aspects contribute to the construction of ethnic identities?
• What are the cultural approach principles that should be applied in the study of the construction of ethnic identities from artistic practices?
• How do mechanisms of construction of positive ethnic identities exist in the use of art?

Literature Review

The literature in this chapter is important for relevant research on the art of theater movement and how it affects ethnic identities. Nations like Europe could claim organic developments of a national spirit using the common history of its people, language, literature development, and ethnicity (Seredkina, 2016). However, the United States was completely different, as its common identity was required to be constructed in a more artificially way due to its diversity in ethnicities, customs, languages, and religions. Self-identity is an important part of the American dream and spirit, and it has been a common trait from the time the British colonists started a motion that would form a perfect union which included distinct nationalities that would help to differentiate them from the others.

Art leads to separate spheres that show the struggle that Americans went through to achieve ethnic and racial equality. Such struggles have clearly been shown in the American art of theatre, where several pieces of art have played different roles in creating a revolutionary moment that changes the lives of the minority ethnic groups in the country (Whittier, 2017). Ethnic identities focus more on roots, cultural traditions, ancestry, and the way that these aspects influence theatre that is either created or seen rather than focusing on the color of the skin of some individuals. Ethnic theatre companies must always tell a group's story as it tells of stories about a certain community which is written by someone from that community and are specifically performed for that community.

Theatre movements played a major role in reducing racism in the United States. Regular audiences of theatre work that touch on ethnic identities and diversification processes create thrilling works that open the minds of the viewers and make them appreciate different ethnicities in the country (Whittier, 2017). When various artists use an intersection of activism and art in various works of theatre and art, they are able to represent power relations, geographical possibilities, and political boundaries, which help to create ethnic identities in theater movements (Whittier, 2017). The research of artistic practices of a particular ethnic group enables viewers to understand values which are relevant for ethnos in serving as a relevant factor when identifying ethnic group members as long as the cultures presented in the art are unique in human life and help in the preservation of original and native authenticity of the people. Art of theater movement is the main form of expression of a culture that acts as a means used in fixing archaic materials as well as the traditions of the people represented in the films.

The art of theater movement also creates a trend in developing unification processes, which helps in promoting the growth of national consciousness. This move is manifested in the appeal of their history, which strives to save the concepts which connect ethic group members with the native national cultures that connect them (Shay & Sellers-Young, 2016). Harmony can only be achieved if positive ethnic identities are a norm in the interactions of ethnic groups. The use of the art of theater movements also enables members of ethnocultural groups to have positive images of their community and value the systems of other ethnic groups different from theirs.

The emergence of ethnicity in categories of ethnological sciences creates a need for emphasizing an individual's belonging to a specific ethnic group. Ethnic identity is a source of protection from discrimination of people who come from ethnic minorities by the ethnocultural groups (Shay & Sellers-Young, 2016). The image of a person from a certain community is seen as positive as it manifests ethnic identities that help to define attitudes that correspond to culture, history, and mentality. Dance as art also has the ability to express power, resistance, and complicity, which has affected several ethnographic and historical analyses in the past years.

Media sports have also played a major role in defining ethnic groups as individuals are able to realize what they aspire to be, various values that matter in their lives, and what distinguishes them from the other people around them. Sports, most of which are shown in media platforms, have facilitated the creating of imagined communities (Sylvester, 2019). Athletic performance and its circulation through visual, print and electronic media have promoted the identification and connection of individuals with other people. In situations where great performances are conducted by an athlete from a minority group, the ethnic minority groups acquire a foundation of celebration and pride, which makes them stand together and increase their impact in a country. In the United States, the individuality and creativity that is associated with black urban cultures have led to changes in society (Sylvester, 2019). The African Americans and Euro American athletes and fans have been able to nurture social networks that have increased their ethnic identities in the country.

Methodology

The research methodology chapter of this paper will act as a path that will allow the researcher to conduct the research by formulating the problems in the study and using them to create the results and discussion sections from the data obtained (Sylvester, 2019). Different approaches and designs will be used in this section with the purpose of formulating mixed techniques that will be used in the collection of information from participants.

Research Approach

This research will adopt both the quantitative and qualitative research approaches as each approach will play a major role in strengthening the other. This step will help in acquiring more information from wider groups of participants (Denman, 2017). The qualitative method will be descriptive in nature and will employ variables to answer the study queries at the start of the research. The quantitative approach will help to ensure that a case-control research is followed as a research strategy, and it helps to achieve the researcher's objectives.

Population and Location

The study will comprise participants from different ethnic groups in the United States. This research population will play a major role in helping the researcher acquire important data that will be used in the results section (Denman, 2017). The total population for this study will be 40 people from different ethnic groups, especially in the places where the African Americans and Mexican Americans live.

Sample Size

The main partakers for this study will comprise 15 African Americans, 10 Mexican Americans, and 15 Native Americans. This sample size will be chosen by the use of purposive sampling methods, where the investigator will choose participants for the study based on their own judgment (Holmes, 2008). The sample size is acquired from the division of the participants in the study and the total population selected.

Rationale for Study Sample

A researcher will follow a non-probability technique of sampling. All the members to be selected will have no known likelihood of getting chosen to participate in the research. The non-probability sampling techniqu...