The aim of this book is to explore digital media and intercultural interaction at an arts college in Tanzania; through innovative forms of ethnographic representation. The book and the series website weave together visual and aural narratives; interviews and observations; life stories and video documentaries; art performances and productions. It paints a vivid portrayal of everyday life in East Africarsquo;s only institute for practical art training; while tracing the rich cultural history of a state that has mixed tribalism; nationalism; Pan-Africanism; and cosmopolitanism in astonishingly creative ways. While following the anthropological tradition of thick description; Digital Drama employs a more artistic and accessible style of writing. Dramatic; ethnographic details are interspersed with theoretical reflections and postulations to explain and make sense of the unfolding narratives. The accompanying website visualizes and sensualizes the stories narrated in the book; unfolding a dramatic world of African dance; music; theater; and digital culture.
#1815784 in eBooks 2014-04-24 2014-04-24File Name: B00IAQJLMY
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Positive side of the grimy castBy CustomerJohnsons riff is a trashy crew who reveal noble thoughts even in feeling forced to bad ends or less than positive decisions to be made. Both in fiction and plays; youll find this. It should make you feel better about your growth past your own poor decisions; and empathy with others. He comes up frequently with character monologues that are so grabbing; youll hear them in your head for days; even though youd find it difficult to explain why to your friends. Check out the woman marrying up from her class describing her upbringing.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Not so greatBy Nuri KThe plays in this book are more effortless/streamlined; and more fun than the two in Soul of a Whore/Purvis; and clever/witty in the way Johnson almost always is; but read a little confused as to the overall organization/conclusion.As a devoted fan of Johnson; I would say that if youre looking to get into his work; start with the novels (my fav.s being Angels and Already Dead; which two are way more brilliant IMO than the more famous story collection of his); and save his plays for later.3 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Second-Rate Sam Shepherd--With PromiseBy T.S. PeoplesYou have to hand it to the author; hes found a rich vein of critically acclaimed theater to ape in his debut as a playwright. These two plays; with shared characters between them; pluck some of the most pleasing tropes of Sam Shepherds more cogent writing (criminal brothers; abusive mothers; emotionally paralized fathers; powerless clergymen--heck; almost all of Buried Child; though in this case it would be Flattened Child) and make them more amusing than mysterious. However; while the elements are often unoriginal and somewhat out of date; Johnson has a knack for understanding what makes a scene dramatic. His characters almost always want something and take risks to get it. As a result; the plays are conflict driven and offer actors meaty motivations to chew on. Thats more than what often passes for playwrighting today; so theres promise here. Like the writers novels; the tone is Western noir; with some biting wit carrying the banter. The reader; like the performer; will certainly be amused; though may not find that the works create any lasting impact. Hellhound; the first play; is a series of mildly absurd two-person scenes that reveal their interconnections gracefully if without surprise. Shoppers; the second play; hews more strictly to unities of time and place; but erupts in a more theatricalized style (subverting stage realism with an invisible dog and a television that interacts with the "real" world--a device that even the characters remark upon for its novelty). Stage directions by the author insist on only the music he indicates and realistic set pieces. Thats a shame; because Johnsons at his best when he takes off on original; unrealistic flights of fancy--finding his own dramatic style and inching beyond realism; Shepherd; and watered-down cultural criticism. The strength here is in images; particularly in unusual juxtapositions. Sample these for the potential hinted at; and lets hope that the author has more dream-poetry-drama to come; particularly in the third play in this series; which centers on a character oft-mentioned but not seen in these works. Act one of that work; Soul of a Whore; is published in the latest edition of McSweeneys.
