Skip to content
1981
Volume 15, Issue 1
  • ISSN: 1750-3159
  • E-ISSN: 1750-3167

Abstract

uses a historical reimagining of the murder of JonBenét Ramsey as a launchpad to examine what it is like for a woman of colour to be inundated in a sexist and racist media and cultural spin-cycle. The script tells the story of a young Black girl, Nancy, coming of age and absorbing these cultural messages. In Act 1, Nancy, a child beauty pageant contestant, learns about the death of her friend, JonBenét. Nancy is simultaneously drawn in, obsessed and repulsed by the media storm that follows. In Act 2, indelibly shaped by this childhood event and inspired by her role model Diane Sawyer (pageant winner turned news anchor), Nancy has grown up to be a reporter. She now finds herself peddling similarly problematic stories for ratings and clickbait. Nancy struggles increasingly with both the erasure of identities like her own and the salacious eagerness through which the media (now her job) capitalizes on violence against women in general. The title stems from ‘missing white woman syndrome’ a phrase coined by PBS journalist Gwen Ifill and subsequently adopted by social scientists to refer to the immensely uneven media coverage favouring victims who are upper/middle-class white girls/women in contrast to the coverage and framing of victims of colour. A key goal of the play is to underscore and then question the dominant media representations of women whose stories garner mainstream attention. Whose stories get told? How are they framed? Who, in turn, are marginalized and ignored? How can artists engage representational inequity without inadvertently piling more attention on the already visible? Musicals can and should tackle questions of systemic inequity and inclusion; doing so requires more than positioning protagonists of colour in a theatrical world that fails to acknowledge the systemic realities of our actual one. , a collaborative project in process, tackles these questions.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1386/smt_00052_1
2021-04-01
2024-10-16
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Appiah, Kwame Anthony. ( 1989;), ‘ The conservation of “race”. ’, Black American Literature Forum, 23:1, pp. 3760.
    [Google Scholar]
  2. Baker, Neal. ( 2016;), ‘ Sick JonBenét Ramsey conspiracy claims Katy Perry is the murdered six-year-old beauty queen. ’, The Sun, 16 September, https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/1796006/sick-jonbenet-ramsey-conspiracy-claims-katy-perry-is-the-murdered-six-year-old-beauty-queen/. Accessed 27 July 2020.
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Behar, Ruth. ( 1995;), ‘ Introduction: Out of exile. ’, in R. Behar, and D. A. Gordon. (eds), Women Writing Culture, Berkeley, CA:: University of California Press;, pp. 129.
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( 2018), National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) Coding Manual Revised, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;, https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/nvdrs/NVDRS-WebCodingManual.pdf. Accessed 10 November 2020.
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Collins, Patricia H.. ( 1986;), ‘ Learning from the outsider within: The sociological significance of Black feminist thought. ’, Social Problems, 33:6, pp. 1432.
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Cone, James H.. ( 1970), A Black Theology of Liberation, New York:: Orbis Books;.
    [Google Scholar]
  7. C-SPAN ( 2017;), ‘ Gwen Ifill coins the term “missing white woman syndrome” at the 2004 Unity: Journalists of Color conference. ’, C-SPAN, 21 April, https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4666788/user-clip-gwen-ifill-coins-term-missing-white-woman-syndrome. Accessed 9 November 2020.
    [Google Scholar]
  8. Davis, Shardé. (@BlackInTheIvory) ( 2020;), ‘ Amplifying the voices of “Blackademics” to speak truth about racism in academia. ’, Twitter, 11 June, https://twitter.com/BlackInTheIvory. Accessed 20 November 2020.
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Dickson, E. J.. ( 2020;), ‘ Pizzagate proponents latest insane theory: Ghislaine Maxwell was involved with JonBenét Ramsey’s murder. ’, Rolling Stone, 10 July, https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/ghislaine-maxwell-jonbenet-ramsey-murder-epstein-1027083/. Accessed 27 July 2020.
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Forsgren, La Donna L.. ( 2019;), ‘ The Wiz redux: Or, why queer Black feminist spectatorship and politically engaged popular entertainment continue to matter. ’, Theatre Survey, 60:3, pp. 32554.
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Galella, Donatella. ( 2019;), ‘ “Superman/sidekick”: White storytellers and Black lives in The Fortress of Solitude. ’, in S. Whitfield. (ed.), Reframing the Musical: Race, Culture, and Identity, London:: Palgrave Macmillan;, pp. 316.
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Green, Kitty. ( 2017), Casting JonBenét, USA:: Forensic Films, Symbolic Exchange and Meridian Entertainment;.
    [Google Scholar]
  13. Hoffman, Warren. ( 2014), The Great White Way: Race and the Broadway Musical, New Brunswick:: Rutgers University Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  14. hooks, bell. ( 1990), Yearning: Race, Gender, and Cultural Politics, Boston:: South End Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  15. hooks, bell. ( 1992), Black Looks: Race and Representation, Boston:: South End Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  16. Horschler, L. B.,, Mace, Dave, and Weresow, Alex. ( 2017), The Disappearance of: Natalee Holloway, Los Angeles:: Brian Graden Media;.
    [Google Scholar]
  17. Human Rights Campaign Foundation ( 2018;), ‘ Dismantling a culture of violence: Understanding anti-transgender violence and ending the crisis. ’, https://assets2.hrc.org/files/assets/resources/2018AntiTransViolenceReportSHORTENED.pdf?_ga=2.92936094.229383255.1559748303-1715817850.1559657610. Accessed 27 July 2020.
  18. James, Robin. ( 2020;), ‘ Music and feminism in the 21st century. ’, Music Research Annual, 1, pp. 125.
    [Google Scholar]
  19. Johnson, E. Patrick. ( 2008), Sweet Tea: Black Gay Men of the South, Chapel Hill, NC:: University of North Carolina Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  20. Johnson, E. Patrick. ( 2010), Sweet Tea: The Play, Chicago:: Viaduct Theatre;.
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Kay, Stephen. ( 2011), Justice for Natalee Holloway, USA:: Louisiana Entertainment Screen Services, Frank von Zerneck Films and PeaceOut Productions;.
    [Google Scholar]
  22. Keating, AnnLouise. ( 1995;), ‘ Interrogating “whiteness”, (de)constructing “race”. ’, College English, 57:8, pp. 90118.
    [Google Scholar]
  23. Lacan, Jacques. ( [1966] 2002), Écrits (trans. Bruce Fink.), New York:: W. W. Norton & Company;.
    [Google Scholar]
  24. Langston, Donna. ( [1988] 2000;), ‘ Tired of playing monopoly?. ’, in M. Adams,, W. J. Blumenfeld,, C. R. Castañeda,, H. W. Hackman,, M. L. Peters, and X. Zúñiga. (eds), Readings for Diversity and Social Justice: An Anthology on Racism, Antisemitism, Sexism, Heterosexism, Ableism, and Classism, New York:: Routledge;, pp. 397401.
    [Google Scholar]
  25. Lapeyre, Jason. ( 2016), Who Killed JonBenét?, USA:: Brightlight Pictures and EveryWhere Studios;.
    [Google Scholar]
  26. Liebler, Carol M.. ( 2010;), ‘ Me(di)a culpa?: “The missing white woman syndrome” and media self-critique. ’, Communication, Culture and Critique, 3:4, pp. 54965.
    [Google Scholar]
  27. Lorde, Audre. ( [1988] 2017), A Burst of Light: And Other Essays, Ithaca, NY:: Ixia Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  28. Lucas, Edward. ( 2000), Getting Away with Murder: The JonBenét Ramsey Mystery, USA:: Fox Studios;.
    [Google Scholar]
  29. Mills, Davis,, Taylor, Janet,, Bryant, Elaine Frontain, and Fleury, Laura. ( 2016), The Killing of JonBenét: The Truth Uncovered, USA:: Mills Productions for A&E;.
    [Google Scholar]
  30. Peirce, Kimberly. ( 1999), Boys Don't Cry, USA:: Hart-Sharp Entertainment;, IFC Films; and Killer Films;.
    [Google Scholar]
  31. Petrosky, Emily,, Blair, Janet M.,, Betz, Carter J.,, Fowler, Katherine A.,, Jack, Shane P. D., and Lyons, Bridget H.. ( 2017;), ‘ Racial and ethnic differences in homicides of adult women and the role of intimate partner violence: United States, 2003–2014. ’, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 66:28, pp. 74146.
    [Google Scholar]
  32. Salomon, Mikael. ( 2009), Natalee Holloway, USA:: Sony Pictures Television and Lifetime Television;.
    [Google Scholar]
  33. Schiller, Lawrence. ( 2000), Perfect Murder, Perfect Town, USA:: Chautauqua Entertainment and Fox Television Studios;.
    [Google Scholar]
  34. Schiller, Lawrence. ( 2016), Overkill: The Unsolved Murder of JonBenét, USA:: Weiner Schiller Productions;.
    [Google Scholar]
  35. Schmidt, Eddie. ( 2016), The Case of: JonBenét Ramsey, USA:: Critical Content;.
    [Google Scholar]
  36. Short, Rex. ( 2016), JonBenét: An American Murder Mystery, USA:: Jupiter Entertainment;.
    [Google Scholar]
  37. Smith, Barbara. ( 1979;), ‘ Toward a Black feminist criticism. ’, Women's Studies Inetrnational Quarterly, 2:2, pp. 18394.
    [Google Scholar]
  38. Snorton, C. Riley. ( 2017), Black on Both Sides: A Racial History of Trans Identity, Minneapolis:: University of Minnesota Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  39. Sommers, Zach. ( 2016;), ‘ Missing white woman syndrome: An empirical analysis of race and gender disparities in online news coverage of missing persons. ’, The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 106:2, pp. 275314.
    [Google Scholar]
  40. Speer, Annika C.. (script and lyricist) and Arespacochaga, Chari. (dir.) (unpublished), Missing: A Musical Dramedy, score .
    [Google Scholar]
  41. Stillman, Sarah. ( 2007;), ‘ “The missing white girl syndrome”: Disappeared women and media activism. ’, Gender & Development, 15:3, pp. 491502.
    [Google Scholar]
  42. We See You ( 2020;), ‘ BIPOC demands for white American theatre. ’, We See You White American Theatre, https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5ede42fd6cb927448d9d0525/t/5f064e63f21dd43ad6ab3162/1594248809279/Tier2.pdf. Accessed 29 July 2020.
    [Google Scholar]
  43. Wikipedia ( 2020;a), ‘ Disappearance of Natalee Holloway. ’, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Natalee_Holloway. Accessed 27 July 2020.
  44. Wikipedia ( 2020;b), ‘ Joran van der Sloot. ’, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joran_van_der_Sloot. Accessed 27 July 2020.
  45. Wolf, Stacy Ellen. ( 2011), Changed for Good: A Feminist History of the Broadway Musical, New York:: Oxford University Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  46. Wolf, Stacy Ellen. ( 2018;), ‘ Hamilton’s women. ’, Studies in Musical Theatre, 12:2, pp. 16780.
    [Google Scholar]
  47. Speer, Annika C., and Arespacochaga, Chari. ( 2021;), ‘ Missing: A Musical Dramedy: Engaging with the missing through the perpetually present. ’, Studies in Musical Theatre, 15:1, pp. 523, https://doi.org/10.1386/smt_00052_1
    [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1386/smt_00052_1
Loading
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a success
Invalid data
An error occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error