Chasing Mehserle Character Analysis

Midterm Exam

Short Answers:

A. This writer will use Chasing Mehserle as his first choice to determine the role of the hero in performance, contributing to or detracting from the racial formation in America. For the purpose of this writer's first choice of a hero, we will focus on the character of Watts. Watts is a young African American male who is struggling with agoraphobia. This condition came about ever since Watts witnessed viewing the Rodney King beatings as a child. He has not visited nor traveled anywhere besides the neighborhood, he resides in Oakland. Furthermore, he also mentions that due to his condition he has not left his block/neighborhood since the early nineties.

In addition, Watts makes following statement is describing "well not in the real world"(Hodge 84). Additionally, he mentions that he is cart-orgrapher and that he studies and makes maps. This demonstrates that Watts is using Cartography as a practice of spatial representation. Furthermore, the evidence from the play suggests that Watts mapping skills are ultimately laying down the performance and the foundation aspects of racial formation in America. From what this writer has gathered

From what this writer can gather from reading Chasing Mehserle it is a performance piece that maps out the city of Oakland's changing demographics. Hence, this play also speaks to a morphing culture, the gentrification process, and the collective response to the real-life tragedy of Oscar Grant. Moreover, Chasing Mehserle takes a look at how race, class, gender and privilege , plays out through the lens of the fictional character Watts, who has been agoraphobic since viewing the Rodney King beatings as a child. Additionally, the mental illness that Watts has to live with resulted in creating a void in his social well-being. Finally, one can argue that his anxiety disorder has created a cultural deficit in his