Introduction

Abstract

Picture yourself sitting in a theater, waiting in anticipation for the lights to dim, the curtains to part, the actors to appear, and a story line to unfold. Imagine the excitement of witnessing new expressions of black cultural life and production, and more significantly, the anticipation of the unfolding narrative being presented as your story. Visualize sitting in that same theater now bursting with uncontrollable laughter. Now, envision your amusement disoriented by discontent, for your complex individuality has not only been typecast in front of a backdrop of familiar, fictitious, frozen themes, but it has also been eclipsed by a massive cultural invention. What you just witnessed is not an accurate depiction of you, or anyone you have ever met. Yet, there is something strangely familiar and compelling about it. And this is just the opening scene. Oddly you desire more, so you begin plotting when you might be entertained once more—even if it means disentangling your identity from the creative energies of the master showman…again.