Visual Arts and Film Studies - Film Fences - Assignment Example

The elements of the play that enforce that Wilson’s play is about African-American life than the universal man include; Troy’s inability to participate in professional baseball as a young man, and the fact that he had to consult their boss Mr. Rand to become a truck driver (Fences 40).

            Troy Maxson sets up the direction of the play’s plot in such a way that the theme of fatherhood and responsibility are depicted throughout the play. Events such as unfaithfulness in his marriage create a struggle for him as his wife takes care of another woman’s child but ends her relations with Troy. The rivalry between Troy and Cory is revealed when the father denies him the chance to play baseball professionally hence making the son move out of the house (Fences 57-60).

            The comment that surprised me in the interview was that when African Americans go back to Africa they are treated as white tourists and in the dictionary, the blacks are regarded as violators of laws. This is interesting because in one land they are discriminated and in another, they are celebrated and regarded as visitors. I felt that the interviewer does not get what Wilson was saying at the end of the interview. This is because he wonders why Wilson defends the blacks all the time yet one of his parents is white. What Wilson says relates to my experience in the world as I have witnessed some African-Americans striving to look for jobs and those in employment earning low incomes.

            Wilson’s play created a realistic set of characters and situations effectively as it displayed what happens in most African-American families where one of the relatives could be in prison, parents struggling to get money to pay their bills, and their children discriminated against in society because of their race. I would particularly relate to the scene where Cory is denied by their father a chance to play professional baseball even after being granted the opportunity by the coach. My parents would at times act in the same way to protect me from injury or danger. I would love to see the play produced so that I experience and associate with the characters in the film.