The Racial Pecking Order in British Theatre and TV

Media Diversified

Structural Inequality In UK Theatre & TV

byDaniel York

I’ve been reading a book recently by the American sociologist David T. Wellman with the frankly terrifying title Portraits Of White Racism. I say terrifying because it conjures all kinds of images of Aryan skinhead fascists with big boots and arm-bands. I find myself hiding the lurid green cover of the book so people won’t see it when I’m reading it on the tube.

In fact the book isn’t about skinhead fascists at all. Rather its premise is to refute the popular notion that all “racism” is born of ignorant prejudice. Instead Wellman’s subject is

“culturally sanctioned strategies for defending social advantage based on race”.

Of course the very word “racism” is now so incendiary it actually seems to have become worse to call someone a racist than actually be one. But leaving aside Wellman’s terminology there…

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To blog or not to blog

I have finally succumbed to the suggestion of Nick Bailey and Amanda Root that I should blog about my theatre going – or rather Nick said blog and Amanda had more of a  switch into arts journalism in mind. I willingly admit that I have the heebies about writing about anything people who are close to me are in and although I’m not shy in blabbing out my opinions about things, it’s always felt a bit more *bleck* to do it in print as I know how difficult it is and I know how much work goes into putting on a play. I also know what it’s like to be in something that you just don’t think is very good, which is another reason for my reticence.

It was Gavin Clarke that crystallized it all in suggesting I blog specifically about my American drama project as it’s forming. Which is the main reason I have decided to begin trying to put some thoughts to paper about the enormous amount of theatre I see. So this is my research blog, which is no doubt going to be a conglomeration of not just American drama, but also Shakespeare in performance in the UK. There is almost undoubtedly going to be a smattering of media criticism going on as well as television drama and current events. So this is what’s here in this forum, the various strands of my research interests, mostly to do with theatre and the culture in which it is performed.