Talking About Race

Chuck reconsiders musicals and racial discourse after watching Hairspray

By Chuck Nice

I really don't like musicals. I just don't get them: One minute, the characters are bantering, and then before you know it, they're breaking into a song, replete with chorus and choreography. I'm unable to suspend my disbelief and enjoy the spectacle. All I can think while watching the routine is this has never happened to me in real life...ever. I've never been at the DMV and seen everyone break into a song about bureaucracy and then dance their way out of the building with renewed licenses and new leases on life. Have you?

So, considering my bias against musicals, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed the movie Hairspray. The movie stars John Travolta as a porcine housewife, whose daughter (Nikki Blonsky) lands a spot on a popular Baltimore dance show. The show serves as launching pad for the exploration of a number of social issues ranging from racial segregation to the ostracizing of anyone who is different or "other." The reason I liked the movie is because the singing actually made sense. I could almost envision the musical numbers working in real life. (The fact that I feel this way means that the movie was either really well done or I'm turning more metrosexual -- if that's even possible.)

Now the subject matter of the movie is something that I don't really want to address here because I'd have to write a book not a blog post, but I will say that it's something that I've experienced first hand: Racism, bigotry, prejudice and social injustice are all things that I have dealt with in one way or another. I could share myriad stories and experiences (everything from being pelted with eggs to being called a word that is very popular in the hip-hop community), but I think what's more important is the fact that I have not allowed those experiences to shape or define who I am; instead, I've strived to become a better person by overcoming them.

One of the chief reasons for my liking this movie is that it's very hard for people to talk about race relations, and the movie manages to approach the matter with a light-hearted humor without diminishing the subject's importance. In many instances, race is the most sensitive subject you can broach because people tend to only look at it from their perspective.

I'd love to have more conversations about race, because I believe that the road to understanding travels straight through the heart of discourse. But true discourse can only happen when people are listening -- and most people who want to discuss race want to be the only person talking. I try to listen and ask questions. I'm sure you're thinking that my just listening will do little to change things and that I'm a little naive or just plain stupid, and you may be right on both counts. But I think this movie may have found an approach to addressing these issues that I've never considered. If we can't talk about race in meaningful discussions that lead to understanding and change, then maybe we should sing about it.

Oh hell, who am I kidding? That wouldn't work; most people are tone deaf.