I recently saw the soon to be on Broadway play, “The Wiz,” at the Pantages Theater in Hollywood. Just in case you don’t know The Wiz is a Black adaptation of The Wizard of Oz. I first saw the film with Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, and Nipsey Russell to name a few in 1978. I still remember the day. It was vabbulous for no other reason than it was so culturally validating and affirming, especially compared to the original. The 2024 stage version was no different in wow-ness than the film all these years later. What changed was me. I sat there wondering if a remake of a white play/movie, no matter how good it is, was simply culturally generic or even worse “Blumenbaching”. Or is it culturally authentic as we define by our CLR Cultural Authenticity Framework? Another play that raised the same question for me was “Hamilton.” But Hamilton was obviously culturally generic once you take a deep dive. The Wiz is a tougher call so I left the theater undecided. What are your thoughts about The Wiz or other books, films, or plays? Question is culturally authentic or culturally generic? Shoot me a message on Discord.
I believe that most plays and musicals can be viewed as culturally generic. To me, I think the viewer is the one who gives meaning to whether or not the play or musical is culturally generic or culturally authentic.
For instance, as a person of Scottish descent, I see the Disney movie Brave as culturally authentic because the movie features multiple Scottish cultures and clans. Another person might not see the movie that way because they are not of Scottish descent.
