Reconstructing Blackness in Select Jamaican Theatre through Modern Blackness

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the ways in which select Jamaican theatre acts actively to reinterpret and redefine notions of Blackness in 3 Jamaican Plays: A Postcolonial Anthology. The objective of this study is to examine the role of Modern Blackness expressions like Jonkonnu, Dancehall, Ghetto Feminism, and Creolized language in shaping the Jamaican theater in contemporary era through resistance and redefining cultural identity. Deborah A. Thomas's idea of "Modern Blackness," in Modern Blackness: Nationalism, Globalization, and the Politics of Culture in Jamaica, serves as the theoretical foundation for this qualitative study. The study proposes that these theatrical strategies will show how Blackness is actively re-imagined and enacted in different settings, transcending traditional outlooks. By providing fresh perspectives on the plays of select Jamaican playwrights and their vital significance in advancing an in-depth knowledge of Blackness and cultural resistance to historical legacies. The findings are anticipated to declare that these contemporary cultural expressions revolutionize select Jamaican theater.