2.5 Remix Practices in 'Moby-Dick: Then and Now'
Pitts-Wiley was inspired by a diverse range of artistic and media forms including hip hop, traditional Christian hymns, architecture, step dancing, thrift store costuming, and digital visual projection. Not only did he include these in the play, but he also let the characteristics of each inform his storytelling, thus creating a multi-layered historical and contemporary work of art. Ricardo Pitts-Wiley, his cast and crew mirror a mode of reading that is at once intensive, looking closely at Melville's text, and extensive, searching constantly for the wider contexts in which Moby-Dick operates, the sources it drew upon, and the more recent texts that have reacted to its provocations and inspirations.
The Cetology Scene in Moby-Dick: Then and Now suggests just how complexly Pitts-Wiley’s remix practices operate in relation to the dramatic structure of the play. The scene involves Alba, the young Asian-American woman who stands in for Ahab in the contemporary setting, and her younger brother, Pip. The opening sequence of the play tells us that Pip has been killed in a drive-by shooting. As the story unfolds, we learn more about the circumstances leading up to his death.
In this scene, two worlds come together: Pip's bookishness is suggested by his excitement over learning about cetology (the study of whales) at school, and his sister's destructive environment is suggested by his repeated questions about why she locks him away in the house rather than letting him participate in the gang.
The exchange between Pip and his sister about cetology compresses the dense and detailed description of whale biology found in Moby-Dick into a few paragraphs. At one point, Pip interrupts his lecture with "Am I boring you?," a playful acknowledgment of the frustration some contemporary readers feel with the level of detail found in such passages. Pip's interest in whaling lore suggests a disconnect between the contemporary and historical does not actually exist for it serves an important sturctural purpose of drawing parallels between the dangers confronting the gangs and those confronting the ship's crew.
For further reflection on Ricardo Pitts-Wiley’s inspiration for designing, writing and directing the theater performance of Moby-Dick: Then and Now, please visit Path 5.
The Cetology Scene in Moby-Dick: Then and Now suggests just how complexly Pitts-Wiley’s remix practices operate in relation to the dramatic structure of the play. The scene involves Alba, the young Asian-American woman who stands in for Ahab in the contemporary setting, and her younger brother, Pip. The opening sequence of the play tells us that Pip has been killed in a drive-by shooting. As the story unfolds, we learn more about the circumstances leading up to his death.
In this scene, two worlds come together: Pip's bookishness is suggested by his excitement over learning about cetology (the study of whales) at school, and his sister's destructive environment is suggested by his repeated questions about why she locks him away in the house rather than letting him participate in the gang.
The exchange between Pip and his sister about cetology compresses the dense and detailed description of whale biology found in Moby-Dick into a few paragraphs. At one point, Pip interrupts his lecture with "Am I boring you?," a playful acknowledgment of the frustration some contemporary readers feel with the level of detail found in such passages. Pip's interest in whaling lore suggests a disconnect between the contemporary and historical does not actually exist for it serves an important sturctural purpose of drawing parallels between the dangers confronting the gangs and those confronting the ship's crew.
For further reflection on Ricardo Pitts-Wiley’s inspiration for designing, writing and directing the theater performance of Moby-Dick: Then and Now, please visit Path 5.
| Previous page on path | Appropriation and Remixing, page 5 of 13 | Next page on path |
Discussion of "2.5 Remix Practices in 'Moby-Dick: Then and Now'"
Add your voice to this discussion.
Checking your signed in status ...