| Performance and Activism: Grassroots Discourse after the Los Angeles Rebellion of 1992 Contributor(s): Afary, Kamran (Author) |
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ISBN: 0739133578 ISBN-13: 9780739133576 Publisher: Lexington Books OUR PRICE: $54.44 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: July 2009 Annotation: This book is a study of grassroots performances and activism in the aftermath of the 1992 Los Angeles riots, documenting efforts toward establishing truce between warring street gangs, networks of support by mothers of incarcerated youth, and the theatrical production of Anna Deavere Smith's Twighlight Los Angeles 1992. It situates these developments in the inter-disciplinary context of performance studies rooted in the history and political economy of Los Angeles. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Political Science | Political Process - Political Advocacy - Performing Arts | Theater - History & Criticism - Social Science | Minority Studies |
| Dewey: 979.494 |
| LCCN: 2009010785 |
| Physical Information: 0.8" H x 5.9" W x 8.9" (0.90 lbs) 262 pages |
| Themes: - Ethnic Orientation - African American - Topical - Black History - Locality - Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA - Cultural Region - Southern California - Geographic Orientation - California - Chronological Period - 1990's - Chronological Period - 20th Century - Cultural Region - Western U.S. - Cultural Region - West Coast |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Much has been written about the Los Angeles riots of 1992, which brought out deep racial tensions throughout the city, exposed by media images of police brutality. This book sheds light on another facet of the events, the birth of a dynamic grassroots activist and community organizing movement that has been little noticed by academics or even by the press. It also focuses on the theatrical production of Twilight: Los Angeles 1992, a performance created by Anna Deavere Smith. Performance and Activism analyzes a rich, eclectic, and ongoing ensemble of local activist struggles in the context of the history and political economy of Los Angeles. Building on the important critical urban studies work of Mike Davis and Edward Soja, it also draws on Dwight Conquergood's writings on performance ethnography to theorize the political work of grassroots formations such as alternative/underground media collectives, gang truce parties/picnics, and women-organized prisoner support and court watch groups, such as Mothers Reclaiming Our Children. The book focuses on these events through the inter-disciplinary approach of performance studies, highlighting 'performance-conscious activisms' that help bridge the enormous class, race, and gender divides of our society. |