Jonzi D's Aeroplane man - Term Paper Example

 «Jonzi D's Aeroplane man» In this production, (the Aeroplane Man) Jonzi D presents a the full-length video that tells the story of a black man's sojourn from East London, on his global quest to find his spiritual homeland. This Jonzi’s narrative work follows a black mans journeys to find his homeland and his roots, from Britain through Grenada, to Jamaica and New York and finally he gets to Africa. His hip-hop based style leads him to utilize stereotypes of people from all these places through movement, music, design and dialogue. Characterisation within theatre is often built on stereotypes and the preconceptions of the artistic creator and his audience. Throughout the history of African derived peoples on the western stage, they have been subject to the view of Europeans and European Americans. More recently, artists of the African diaspora have challenged these stereotypical caricatures explicitly, and used stereotypes to their own advantage. (Jenny Rossier) Jonzi’s characterization of the various peoples can be said to be the most striking feature of this piece of work, because of his use of comedy with a subject matter that is highly political. For example, he plays on the laid-back image of the black Caribbean in his evocation of the Grenada carnival. Here, his challenger addresses him as an English boy, and uses a particular type of accent and voice inflection, changing pitch and holding the last words of sentences. The character also stands with his weight in a far back position, with hips stuck out, and affects a look of being easy-going, only half serious, and teasing. The characterisation of those whom Jonzi encounters in New York contrasts this starkly. “Clearly drawn from images of gangsta rappers (and their girlfriends) on the streets, Jonzi uses the stereotypical reflection politically. Heavy, dark hip-hop beats mirror the serious, dangerous attitude of the NY men.” (Jenny Rossier) Stereotyping Jonzi’s treatment of the stereotypes enables one to dismiss any preconceptions of oppression from the view of the creator of the work. It is clear that Jonzi has researched, and has first hand experience on the matter. His characterization makes use of the stereotypes advantageously, and enables him to communicate a political statement on the stereotypes and also on the level of truth behind them. Contrary to the typically objective views of blacks as is usually seen in westerns film and western theatre, Jonzi has not assumed the truth in this piece, or a role as truth teller. He uses parodies, comedy and irony to create multiple layers of the stereotypical images. Aeroplane Man is a good example of the usefulness of hip-hop as recreation, and as a functional art form. It also depicts the use of hip-hop as a means of entertainment, and a political tool. Aeroplane man shows that ethnic stereotypes have a stable cognitive content, and that sometimes, insignificant events do invoke a wave of somewhat biased writings and statements. It is possible for one rumour to able to make many stereotypes actual, but only if the rumour matches the general content of the ethnic stereotypes. If not, then the cognitive dissonance mechanism will lead to a rejection of any information which invalidates or contradicts that particular stereotypical image. Aeroplane man also shows that the similar fight with contradictions does indeed concern the psychodynamic factors of stereotyping. One such factor of stereotyping is the transfer of emotional reaction to any hardship from actual to imaginary causes, or “scapegoats” as regards the ethnic groups. This emotional transference can help in maintaining the balance of the inner world of a personality despite the object of the affection has often nothing to do with the real reasons of a problem. In a situation where an ethnic group blames another ethnic group for its own hardships, it will be very difficult to prove the opposite, due to the fact that recognizing one’s own mistakes is a psychologically difficult process. Thus the scapegoat, as previously mentioned, surfaces once again from the bottom of the mass consciousness and finds its victims. Social issues Jonzi shows here that he has the skill, technique and the charisma to create entertaining pieces that represent a voice for the alienated. The piece tends to assert various values like thoughtfulness, technique, and an abundant amount of entertainment. Jonzi's impersonations are full of affection for his fellow man whilst capturing the sting of rejection offered to him in each place. Aeroplane Man proves aptly that hip hop theatre is an innovative art form which deserves to be taken seriously. Tackling themes like gender roles, relationship dynamics and cultural identity, Aeroplane Man is as much a tour de force of human emotions as a multi-layered performance of dance, rap poetry, drama, film and music. (http://www.portobellofilmfestival.com/2004/winter%20festival/12finale.html) “Do we ever find who we are, especially since we live in the world of modernity? Jonzi’s candid narration allows for a clearer understanding of a life story. Jonzi D’s decade-old piece Aeroplane Man is another showcase of his trademark choreo-poetry, which explores black identity in a dynamic and funny way.” (Jenny Rossier) Thus, Jonzi reminds us that life is a journey, as he captures the journey well. Jonzi also tries show that no man is an island. Entertainment, and especially entertainment involving the use of videos, does have a way of assisting in helping society to overcome prejudices and stereotypes. Watching a film in a theatre or elsewhere, one can see other perspectives and even see their own personal points of view, without the risk of direct involvement. I think that the aeroplane man did help in shaping the way in which society views and treats black people. Another example of films that treat these issues is Philadelphia, which helped to discourage the prejudices and stereotypes of HIV positive people, and homosexuals. These types of production probably do not single handedly break stereotypes or prejudices but I beleive they probably played a significant role, just like Jonzi’s Aeroplane man, in shaping the way that society views the issue of minorities Jonzi’s Aeroplane man also depicts that recognizing the importance of diversity can lead to great accomplishments. Nowadays we are seeing a huge proliferation of works in cognitive grammar, and most of these are related to the field of metaphor. This could result in a high probability to metaphorically conceptualize the way we understand the world. It is clear that applying cognitive science to the analysis of a literary text might be contradictory. Also, the application of cognitive science to the field of literary criticism may be contradictory. This could in effect, deprive the work of a writer or producer of its inherent creativity, which is the quality that enables it to be traditionally literary, but this movie is not such a contradiction. Jonzi gets across that cognitive science is compatible with literary criticism, the key to this being a function of the way that the writer uses metaphorical structures that pervade society’s everyday language. Also, interpretations which are dependent on evidence from cognitive-metaphoric analysis are constrained by the requirement that the topology of the schematized experience in a metaphoric source domain be mapped into the topology of the target domain and experience. The relative validity of particular source domains and metaphoric projection can be assessed with reference to their independent motivation and internal consistency. Of course there is no one valid God's-eye interpretation of a literary work, whether the evidence for such a claim arises from cognitive metaphor or anything else. But there is a range of plausible interpretations and a scale of valid ones. Cognitive metaphor constrains the interpretative community to the body of the embodied imagination ( IMAGINATIVE USE OF THE METAPHORICAL CONCEPT) The aeroplane man also brings into focus, the study of his journey because it simulates the pattern of human experience. We all live this experience now and we will continue to live with it for the rest of our lives. In a way, the changes and challenges we face in life are like being on a journey. As we find love, and multiply and die, every birth and every death carries the potential of transformation to a new level of understanding. The things we do in life, like moving to a new environment or job, presents a chance to change from what we were, and begin to become what we can become. Therefore, every situation that confronts us with something new, or makes us to re-evaluate our behavior, perspective or the way we think, presents us with new possibilities for insight and growth. Jonzi’s journey in the aeroplane man is a process of self-integration and self-discovery, and talks about the maintenance of harmony and balance in life. As is the case with any process of growth and change, a journey may seem to be painful or confusing, but it will create the opportunity to develop personal confidence, perspective and new ways of being in the world. Understanding the pattern of the Journey in Jonzi’s video can also help us understand it better, thus helping us to understand the experiences that shape our lives. By recognizing the various stages in the Journey, and how the stages function, we develop a sense of the flow of our own experience and we will be able to make better decisions to solve problems, and also begin to recognize our own points of passage and acquire more respect for the significance it holds for us. Aeroplane man represents a journey that is a process of separation, transformation, and return. The various stages involved in the video tend to be cumulative, as each scene has to be successfully completed to be meaningful and heroic. To turn back from this journey is to reject our innate need to grow, and if we fail to set out again, we might be locking ourselves in a defensive shell that shields us from the pain of rejecting our potentials, but such a shell will also imprison us from real contact and engagement with the real world In the aeroplane man, Jonzi attempts to get across that when a person is born, the person can almost feel and know everything, but as one progresses through life, life’s experiences soon strip the person of that innocence. This is quite sad, but the video tends to display the predicament of a black man, as he tries to get back, to that original state of being, by way of the medium of light. According to Jonzi, “Everything I am is light. Everything to my mind begins with light. I realised that fact from the age of three, standing in that kitchen in Longsight beneath the window, feeling and looking at the rays from the sun, just the certain things it spoke.” (Jonzi D) References Jenny Rossier. characterisation in jonzi d's aeroplane man (retrieved from http://www.adad.org.uk/metadot/index.pl?id=22788&isa=Category&op=show_printer_friendly) http://www.portobellofilmfestival.com/2004/winter%20festival/12finale.html IMAGINATIVE USE OF THE METAPHORICAL CONCEPT LIFE IS A JOURNEY. (retrieved from http://www.pala.ac.uk/resources/op/Paper11.doc) Read More