39 pages • 1 hour read
Trouble in Mind
A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Racism in Art
One of the primary themes of Trouble in Mind is racism in art. There are three specific ways Childress addresses this theme in the play: through the racist stereotypes in art, through the justification of racism as an artistic choice, and racism in the artistic workplace.
The first way Childress addresses racism in art is through the stereotypes the Black characters are asked to reinforce through the roles they portray in Chaos in Belleville. Millie tells the cast that she is embarrassed to keep playing the same stereotypical roles. She says, “Last show I was in, I wouldn’t even tell my relatives. All I did was shout ‘Lord, have mercy!’ for almost two hours every night” (16). The roles that are written for the Black actors, by white writers, are inauthentic to the people they claim to portray. The characters end up being more caricatures than people. These portrayals reinforce racism because the only Black stories on stage or screen are inauthentic, which impacts both the audiences that consume them and the actors who are kept from developing and enjoying their craft.
The second way racism seeps into art is through the justification of racist portrayals in the name of art. When Judy doesn’t want to say a racist word her character says, Manners says, “The time is now, down South in some remote little county, they say those things…now. Can you object in an artistic sense?” (30), to which John jumps in to reply, “No, I don’t object. I don’t like the word but it is used, it’s a slice of life” (30). This one is more nuanced, for, as Millie mentions at the end of the play, if you try to tell someone what to write, that is censorship. However, there is a way to responsibly use the freedom to write what you want in a way that does good, not harm. In Chaos in Belleville, Judy’s character is allegedly advocating for the Black people in the play. For her character to use a racist word to describe Black people is communicating that this is acceptable behavior.
The final way Childress addresses racism in art is in the artistic workplace. Directly after Judy objects to using a certain word in the script but Manners overrules her, the following exchange happens:
JUDY: Please, Papa, I gave my word. I ask one little thing and…
EDDIE: All right! Before you know I, them n-----s will be runnin’ me!
JUDY: Please don’t use that word!
MANNERS: Oh, stop it!
WILETTA: That’s her line in the play, Mr. Manners, Carrie says…
ALL: Please don’t use that word (31).
Manners is clearly irritated by Judy’s earlier comment, in which she expressed a legitimate concern, and now he is jumping to the assumption that she is making a similar statement in this scene. For a moment, he forgets the play is supposed to be “anti-racist” as well, and in doing so exposes his true feelings about the matter. Another example of racism in the workplace is when Bill refuses to sit with any of the Black actors because he doesn’t like being stared at when he does. Finally, the microaggressions made by each of the white people in the company demonstrate a more hostile work environment, which, again, makes it more difficult for the Black actors to find the joy in the craft of their art.
Power Dynamics and Art
Much like racism in art, the theme of power dynamics and art is prevalent in Trouble in Mind. Alice Childress uses the setting of the theater to address three different power dynamics in art: racism, sexism, and ageism. Perhaps most important is the way she demonstrates the intersectionality of these prejudices, which is why the character of Wiletta (who experiences all three) is the central character in the play.
Racism is the first power imbalance that Childress explores in Trouble in Mind, and arguably the most important one. The specificity of racism in art is important here, as this field in particular can be one of the slowest to evolve. When Wiletta first meets John, she tells him, “You look bright enough to be a doctor or even a lawyer maybe…You don’t have to take what I’ve been through…don’t have to take it off ‘em” (11). She actively discourages a younger Black actor from following the same path she has taken, because she understands the impossible standards that white people have for Black artists. She tells John if he is to make it in this business, he will need to learn to adapt to whatever the white director needs. When John questions this, Wiletta replies, “You either do it and stay or don’t do it and get out. I can let you in on things that school never heard of…’cause I know what’s out here and they don’t” (13). Wiletta decides to take John under her wing when he insists on staying in the entertainment industry, because there is a different level of racism in it than John has likely encountered before.
The second type of power imbalance in Trouble in Mind is sexism. This is experienced by both the Black and the white women in the play. Manners inappropriately leers at Judy when all of the cast members gather close to look at the scenic design for Chaos in Belleville. The stage directions read: “Judy is very close, and Manners looks down at her hair and neck which is perched right under his nose. Judy can feel his breath on her neck. She turns suddenly and Manners backs away a trifle” (21). Manners immediately tries to defend his actions and tells Judy he wasn’t going to attack her. This is but a tiny glimpse of the sexual harassment that actresses have experienced historically from male directors, who are responsible for giving them jobs. This is another way that Alice Childress was ahead of her time, as this play was written approximately 60 years before the Me Too Movement that exposed such inappropriate behavior in the entertainment industry.
Finally, ageism is another power imbalance in the workplace. This is seen clearly with the demeaning way Manners treats Henry when he brings the jelly doughnuts instead of Danishes during the coffee break. He grumbles after Henry leaves, “Where do they find these characters? All right, he’s old but it’s an imposition…he’s probably ninety, you know” (34). Wiletta tells him that they will all be old one day, though this comment is more to herself than it is to anyone in particular. Throughout the play, she grows more aware of her age, and the years that are passing her by without her finding joy in what she does anymore. She confesses to Henry, “I want to be an actress ‘cause one day you’re nineteen and then forty and so on…I want to be an actress! Henry, they stone us when we try to go to school, the world’s crazy” (45). Wiletta has lived long enough to experience plenty of racism, sexism, and ageism in the workplace, and knows that there is a time limit on how long she will have any respect in this industry. However, more troubling is that as she is getting older, life is getting harder for the Black children. She starts to see that the problems she faces in the industry are also growing outside of it. It is the accumulation of these power imbalances that pushes her to accept that she does mind it all after all, and that she needs to speak up against it.
The Relationship Between Stereotypes and Representation
Wiletta’s main conflict in Trouble in Mind is choosing between further perpetuating stereotypes by playing her role in Chaos in Belleville as written, or fighting to change it. Childress sets up the stereotypes that the Black actors have had to play their entire careers from the beginning.
Millie, who in real life prefers to dress lavishly, says, “Only chance I get to dress up is offstage. I’ll wear them baggy cotton dresses but damn if I’ll wear another bandanna” (16). She and the other Black actors always play characters that dress poorly, react to crises by praying or singing spirituals, and (most egregiously) are helpless without white people, and dedicate their lives to thanking them.
Sheldon, who has been in the business the longest out of all of them, argues that they should be grateful for the job. The fact that there is a show that features Black actors at all, even in a negative light, is in and of itself a rare thing. He says, “Do, Lord, let’s keep the peace. Last thing I was in, the folks fought and argued so, the man said he’d never do a colored show again…and he didn’t!” (17). The representation for Black stories is so scarce, and the opportunities to work as an actor equally scarce, that he will take what he can get.
When Wiletta is asked to justify her character’s actions, she turns to her neighbor, Miss Green, for advice. The next morning, she comes into rehearsal and nervously tells Manners, “Miss Green says, now […] her exact words was ‘The third act is not the natural outcome of the first.’ I thought, I thought she might be right” (53). For the first time, Wiletta is speaking up against the story she’s meant to tell on stage. The costumes and mannerisms are one thing, but for her character to turn in her own son to be lynched is beyond reason. It reinforces the white savior narrative and places the blame for the lynching back on the Black characters in the play.
Manners brushes Wiletta off the first time, which allows her anger to build until the end of the play, when she lets him know exactly what she thinks about stereotypes. Manners tries to play the ally by saying he worked hard to make sure Wiletta wasn’t playing a “mammy” part in the film they shot together. Wiletta replies, “And when you got through, dammit, it was still a mammy part. Character part! Lemme tell you ‘bout them character parts” (79). She then proceeds to perform every stereotype that she’s ever been forced to play on stage, breaking character between each of them to remark on why they’re racist. She concludes by pointing out that white people have their own stereotype. She says, “Shootin’ and kissin’, that’s all you know… how big is your bust and murder, murder, murder. Yes indeed, that’s your stereotype. Suit yourself, but I’m sicka mine” (81). At the end of the day, Wiletta knows that art has the power to influence society, and can preserve history as it really happens, or how a certain demographic wants it to be recorded. By refusing to participate, she is attempting to break the cycle of Black people being portrayed as stereotypical caricatures and arguing for a more crucial story to tell: the truth.
Unlock all 39 pages of this Study GuidePlus, gain access to 8,800+ more expert-written Study Guides.
Including features: