Skip to main content

What A Riot! Response

What a Riot! Response
-By Meisen Hu
Before I write this response, I have to admit that I don’t know much about the history of racism in America, and I’ve only done very limited researches about the L.A. Riot of 1992. Please forgive me if I’ve unintentionally wrote anything offensive.

The play UPSET! Was written in conjunction with age 13 to 17 Latino teenagers who’ve enrolled in the Plaza program at that time. It’s content is indeed quite upsetting as it addresses the historical issues of racism directly and literarily: creating the plot of the play based on Rodney King, a construction worker turned writer and activist who were brutally beaten by LAPD officers on March 3, 1991, which later had triggered the L.A. Riot of 1992. I personally like how she invites all participated teenagers to craft the plot of the play together, and how she also steps in to explain certain words or events that these youngsters may not have understand. The Joker system also allows the participants to not only self-criticize and refine their creations, as well as making this serious subject matter easier for these youngsters to understand.
The play is relevant to this community because it stages the stories to address the common issue that this community has to deal with and allows the youth to experience it by themselves in a safe and less serious manner.
I’d like to ask Mady about what changes would she make if he’s making UPSET! today. Since it has been 14 years after the initial creation of the play, what changes would make the play relevant for today’s youth? And should the topic shift towards addressing recent issues regarding the Trump administration from its original material?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

CalArts Garden

The reason why I choose this topic is that I know a lot of students are complaining that CalArts is too plain. It is just one main building with a small campus. I would like to design a space for the CalArts campus where students and teachers can work together as a community and taking care of the plants. The community can hold a farmers market, season food festival or food-related artwork competition.    Few things I read about the benefits of school garden:   -  Gardens create opportunities for students to work cooperatively and to take on responsibilities.  - Gardens provide unique opportunities for cross-generational connections.  - Students learn to focus and patience, cooperation, teamwork, and social skills.  -Combining language arts and gardening activities brings a hands-on element to a subject normally taught lecture-style, providing inspiration and motivation for students who struggle to focus in traditional cl...
Post a Comment
Read more

Tuition meeting

Speaking point: We have spent over 60 thousand dollars on this school so far, we have tolerated the raise each year. At some point we do not have more money to give and we are pushed out along with all of our debt including interest. With this false start we lack the motivation to attend another school in the future, therefore leaving us uneducated and in debt. Other than the knowledge gained, this would be a waste of two years of my life and in fact sets me back in my career.
Post a Comment
Read more

Rachel Tibbetts - What a Riot

Schutzman starts off this reflection with an excerpt from the play she created. The opening lines serve to give recognition and context to the subject matter by immediately dedicating the show to Rosa Parks. This is an extremely effective strategy to introduce the tone and subject matter of the piece. The addition of Claudette at the end was the “icing on the cake” to the introductory excerpt. Raising questions and therefore instantly opening up a dialogue. Schutzman approached the students by asking questions while also letting them choose the person/people they wanted to learn about and also depict in the play. I think entering a school with something to teach is the idealistic approach to interacting with students; when students are in class they are expecting to be taught and ask questions. This is the exact approach Shutzman used. This allowed her to familiarize herself with the student community and find their interests, question...
Post a Comment
Read more