The black body has a relatively long history and there have always been certain approaches and meanings attributed to this particular body in dramatic writings as in the cases of The Tropical Breeze Hotel, That Old Black Magic and Pantomime, all of which are postcolonial plays written in different times and places around the world, transcending national borders. This is an important issue because the black body is where race and gender come together; therefore, in these pieces we can see how the black female and male body is approached in terms of racial and gender identity. We can therefore question the existence of a racialization and sexualization of black female and male bodies in the postcolonial period with the help of these dramatic writings. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"? Get the original essay The Tropical Breeze Hotel, written in 1988 in the Caribbean by Maryse Condé, tells the story of a failed romance between a former aging Guadeloupean nude dancer. named Emma and a Haitian revolutionary Ismaël to whom Emma opens her home in Paris in 1986. In their claustrophobic environment, these two people from different places and with different worldviews meet. As Emily Sahakian states in her article, Condé refuses “essentialist notions of black femininity” and “dramatizes in her play the experiences shared by Caribbean women of the traces of slavery, with its system of sexualized subjection” (386 ). We therefore see that Emma is oppressed by the roles of Caribbean women defined under slavery even though she “distances herself from the social expectations of women in Guadeloupe” (Sahakian 397). To show this refusal and this distance from expectations, Condé points out what is refused: the racial and sexual stereotypes established on the black female body. As an example of these expectations, her father's disapproval of her career as a nude dancer is a good example. The reason for this objection is due to the established understanding of black women in the black mentality: being a black dancer means entertaining white people using her body and when a black woman dances for white people as entertainment, "showing off" ass to the whites,” as Emma’s people would say, they enter into a close relationship with them (Condé 123). This situation can lead to collaboration with whites, which is feared by blacks because it is possible that they will betray blacks. According to Sahakian, this accusation “—that enslaved women chose white men and betrayed black men—is a common, if often unspoken, trope in the French Caribbean” (385). We therefore see that Emma is still affected by certain stereotypes that appeared under slavery, such as the betrayal of black women by taking power by using their bodies over white men. Additionally, she is also under the influence of society's projected ideas about blackness. female sexuality on her body (Sahakian 398). She recognizes that “her brain is not the best thing about her” and that she only had a body that she made “work for her” (Condé 127). We see that she repeats the stereotypes used by white people about black women: black women have nothing other than their body which is something highly sexualized. Emma therefore uses her body to find a place in society with the help of this body. stereotype. As Tyler Stovall says in his article “The New Woman and the New Empire,” Emma is not ashamed of her blackness but she uses the language of primitivism to make and trade money. However, as a result, it ishighly racialized and sexualized. While earning her keep, Emma is racialized and sexualized, presented as a hypersexual woman in a rather primitivist manner due to her former profession. The reason lies in the stereotype of the “naked black dancer” who exposes her body to entertain others. In the 19th century the scientist believed that they pathologically proved the sexuality of black women since their sexual organs are much more primitive and developed than those of white women (Gilman 213). Consequently, “the uniqueness of black female genitalia and buttocks…is considered to be a sign of abnormal female sexuality” which racializes and sexualizes the profession of nude dancing specifically reserved for black women (Gilman 218). This explains white primitivist and sexual expectations of black dancers' performances, as European audiences wanted to see black women's primitivism as a foil to their supposedly unique, civilized, and appropriate bodies and values, which resulted in the creation of an “other” of black women (Gilman 216). For example, they must wear “the banana belt,” which alludes to their so-called apelike sexual appetite and sexual primitivism (Condé 119). Even though Emma does not agree to wear this particular belt, she uses the language of primitivism and the view of whites versus blacks to make money. Thus, in the eyes of blacks and whites, she is reduced to a simple sexual object, exposing her body. However, she does not consider herself as a simple body but as an artisan without limits. She cares about her work and her sexuality. Emma said to Ishmael: “You think, here is a woman who was a naked dancer; so she's a whore. She made love to me because she's a whore. But that’s not it at all” (Condé 134). We can deduce that she has had enough of this stereotype about the hypersexuality of black women and is trying to show Ishmaël that being a naked dancer or a black woman who can freely express her sexuality has nothing to do with the being a whore. Its goal is to master these stereotypes. trying to be “the new woman” that Stovall speaks of in her article: free, courageous, masculine and modern (2-5). In short, Emma is exposed to prejudices of both blacks and whites, such as the objectification of black women's bodies as mere sexual objects and their possibility of betrayal, developed under slavery. The play suggests that no matter how hard a black nude dancer tries to separate sexuality from black femininity and dance, she is destined to be seen as merely a primitive sex object because she repeats these stereotypes by society and as a woman who can betray her own "people" due to her hypersexuality by the black community even in the postcolonial era. That Old Black Magic, written in 1993 in Ivory Coast by Koffi Kwahulé, imagines the black experience beyond its national borders through American boxing. . In the play filled with male characters, Angie appears as an ambitious jazz singer who “had a nightclub in Spanish Harlem” (Kwahulé 178). She chooses her art and work for herself, like Emma; however, this time Angie is respected on the surface by these males. For example, Chuck compliments her “divine voice”: “Angie, honey, you have the most divine voice. You send me to heaven, your voice is magical; it is the secret of life” (200-201). She is treated as if she is a gem and an angel-like creature, which is very unlikely in Emma's case, as she only receives money from the men she interacts with, with no respect . Angie, for example, is also helped with her coat, which is a way for men tothe play to show him politeness (215). Additionally, she sings the national anthem at the start of games, which is especially important because the national anthem is "national." Historically, black people are not accepted as Americans because they are considered inferior to white Americans due to the stereotype of black people being inherently primitive, ape-like, and barbaric as in the case of Emma (Gilman 212). However, we see that Angie is not bothered by these stereotypes at first. She is accepted as “American” and allowed to sing the national anthem. However, this is just an illusion because in the end, society shows its true face and ideas about blackness. Everything changes in Angie's life when rumors about her brother's incest relationship spread. It is difficult to defeat Shorty because “he is the perfect American hero,” who is “a modest, rather mysterious, very civilized guy” (Kwahulé 236). To overthrow Shorty, McKenzie and Ketchell agree that it is necessary "to sink into the depths of the American psyche, where the most morbid impulses reside, the hidden original sins that have shaped this country" (236). In doing so, they “make the great American people open their eyes so that they can see that behind the healthy and brilliant hero is a Negro who mocks us all” (236). Their goal, therefore, is to activate the stereotype that black people are naturally barbaric, sexually primitive and abnormal. As Gilman states in his article “Black Bodies, White Bodies,” “by the 18th century, black sexuality, both female and male, became an icon of deviant sexuality in general” (209). With this iconography, McKenzie and Ketchell present Shorty and Angie as brutal, sexually abnormal figures that dehumanize them. In conclusion, this incest relationship will put an end to the title of Shorty as an American hero and Angie as an American jazz singer because according to the mentality of society, this barbaric practice has nothing to do with being American since they consider themselves superior and more. civilized compared to blacks. After rumors spread, "the boxing commission decides that Angie cannot sing the national anthem before the match" because she is immediately perceived as primitive, barbaric, and un-American (Kwahulé 244). We see that these stereotypes are ready to be activated in society at the first action consistent with the stereotype, no matter how extinguished they seem. It's quite interesting how society is willing to accept the accuracy of these rumors. They love Angie in one second and hate her the next. They accuse her, saying that she would "taint the Star Spangled Banner" because of her so-called primitive sexual appetite, which they deem inappropriate to American identity (244). By the end of the play, Angie completely breaks down because of the functional stereotyping of black women, as well as the black community. Shadow implies that she is pregnant by Shorty: "Your soul was already captured through his cock and was tight in his womb," which is probably the thing that causes her to get lost in the trial (262). She hits Shadow with his "blood-stained pants", showing strong evidence that she is not pregnant at all (262). However, this is of no use because once the stereotype is activated, there is virtually no reversal. In short, we see that in the beginning Angie was able to create limited freedom and authority over her body. As Harvey Young argues in his article “Embodying Black Experience,” the physical experience of the black body becomes a means to obtain a kind of experience. freedom, which Angie achieves with her voice. However, this freedom is immediately suppressed at the will of society; because theThe white American's view of the black female body, which was formed largely under the influence of slavery, actually never changed during the postcolonial era and Angie suddenly becomes "Emma" ; a black woman defeated by her “unbridled and primitive sexuality” (Gilman 229). As for Pantomime, it was written in 1980 by Derek Walcott who is a mulatto from Saint Lucia. The play takes place in the West Indies in a viewpoint on the edge of a cliff. There is a claustrophobic partnership between Englishman Harry Trewe, owner of the guest house, and Trinidadian Jackson Philip, a retired calypsonian, that is similar to the relationship between Emma and Ishmael (Walcott 132). Harry symbolizes "the master" and Jackson represents "the servant" in their partnership. However, with the game within the game, they reverse this relationship in the enactment of the relationship between Robinson Crusoe and Friday. Harry therefore takes the place of Friday, the colonized, and Jackson plays the master, the colonizer. This is particularly interesting because when there is a role reversal, it reveals certain types of racial and gender stereotypes. For example, when Jackson begins to imitate the goat and Crusoe makes it "a hat and an umbrella made of goatskin", Harry sarcastically praises it. his ability to imitate with stereotypical allusion. He said to Jackson, "You're the monkey, buddy." You just came down from the trees” (Walcott 146). This stereotype of black people as barbaric and primitive creatures dates back to pre-slavery times, when "whites portrayed people of African descent as primitive and animalistic as part of the process of demonizing and othering black men", which in turn creates another prejudice. related to black men regarding their hypersexuality (Richeson 103). Harry is able to bring back this whole story of oppression and domination of black people with a single word, “monkey”. We can infer that even in the postcolonial era, these images of animals displayed on the black body still exist in society, as in Angie's case. In another conversation, when Jackson does that exaggerated British accent, Harry retorts again with the same stereotype: "Ape! Imitate!" (Walcott 147). Here there is another allusion to this particular animal, to its ability to imitate, for monkeys are known to repeat what they see as children would. Again, we can deduce that through Jackson's ability to imitate like a "monkey", Harry brings the stereotype to light, which depicts black people as naturally childish, immature and unintelligent (Eiselein 53). , black people are unable to create anything original because “they cannot think for themselves,” which causes them to constantly repeat what they see (Walcott 148). That's not the point at all because these stereotypes are the result of colonialism and slavery. As for Jackson, he is very aware of these stereotypes and he connects them to the history of colonization and slavery. . He argues in his “child/shadow” metaphor that white people have so dominated black people and their minds that black people's way of thinking has become their shadow (Walcott 137). “Every move you made, your shadow was copied,” Jackson explains to Harry. The piece therefore really calls into question the vicious circle. It is basically white people who created these stereotypes about black people which are all related to each other like their lack of intelligence and originality, their ability to repeat like a monkey, their primitiveness, their childish animalization, etc. The vicious cycle begins when white people accuse black people of these same stereotypes in the postcolonial era because, as Jackson also implies, that is what is happening.