I'm a big Rent fan, I watched the movies and have gone to see the broadway play. It's such a great musical, but never realized how stereotypical it could be. Take the character Mimi Marquez, she's a stripper, goes to clubs and dances for money, she is also a druggie, she needs her coke. She is a hyper-sexualized character who falls in love with Roger, the rockstar. And did I mention she's latino.
In the play she does a strip tease, and even tries to serenade Roger, who resists. He is angered for the fact that she broke into his place and claims to not wanting to be bothered. She's love sick for Roger and just wants to be his.
When she runs away the voice play call says, "Mimi chica, Donde Estas?, Tu Mama, ..." and repeats itself. We were never told that she was latino, nor the fact that she could speak spanish. But why does she have to play the stripper/druggie? Why couldn't it have been Maureen or Joanne?
As a recent RENT film fan as well ( I saw it o few weeks ago, I know, I'm late)I found my self asking the same question about Mimi. Why is her ethnicity was not acknowleged or why she was hyper sexualized. I do not know why but in looking at the film I believe every character had a counter image presented in the film.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M77R_Ow_b08
In this scene Angel's performance is countering Mimi's hyper-sexualized performance. Still some suggestivity but more playful. Angel's performance rips at the hyper sexualized image Mimi portrays. It depicts similar characters in the sense they ethnicity, illness, and love but differ in their expressions of sexuality and coping. These differences present two opposing images that balance each other and lessen the risk of stereotyping. Though not complteley error proof, it is an element that decreases the likelihood of categorizing one groups based off of one characters performance.In class we discussed the Ethical Self; doing work for not only your self but for others as well. For Mimi, it was Angel being herself to allow the image of Mimi to be interpretted alternatively.