So this perhaps the most tricksy part of all of this – how do we know that this musical engages with whiteness? Part of the answer is because it doesn’t engage with anything else. To be unconcerned with race in the autumn of 1985 is a luxury only whiteness could allow; being indifferent is a privilege only whiteness would embrace.
Continue reading “Part 6: The Megamusical and Whiteness”Tag: Les Mis
Part 5: Les Mis, white optimism, and Autumn 1985
The musical as a form relies on a relatively straightforward dramaturgical structure, broadly used in the majority of musicals, where a set number of characters, usually relatively small in number, go through some kind of conflict or experience and their story is resolved by the end of the show, ideally with some kind of happy ending. The happy ending in Les Mis might be fairly thin on the ground, but there is some kind of hopefulness. In this part I’m going to explore how the musical is structured, and consider what does this have to do with Autumn 1985, and narrative whiteness?
Continue reading “Part 5: Les Mis, white optimism, and Autumn 1985”My Dad and Me (with a sneak peek of my new book)
There’s just over a month now till my book comes out. So here’s a sneak peek which I think captures why and what the book is best.
Continue reading “My Dad and Me (with a sneak peek of my new book)”
Sarah Whitfield 