Author :
Abstract
Bellek sadece toplumun değil aynı zamanda bireyin de önemli bir parçasını teşkil etmektedir. Birey kimliği sayesinde topluma aidiyet hisseder. Bellek devam eden bir sürecin sonucu olduğu için tarihsel ve kültürel deneyimlerin izini taşır. Bu bağlamda bellek, kimlik olgusu ile yakından ilişkilidir. Kimlik inşası bir bakıma bellekte saklı olan geçmişi hatırlama manası taşımaktadır. Bu bildiride bellek ve kültürel kimlik arasındaki ilişki, Wilson’ın ‘Aunt Ester’ karakteri aracılığıyla incelenmektedir. Amerikan tiyatrosunun Afro-Amerikalı sesi olan August Wilson, geçmişin ve kültürün önemle üzerinde durmaktadır. Yazar Yüzyıl Serisi olarak adlandırılan ve 20. yüzyılın her on yılına denk gelen on oyun yazmıştır. Gem of the Ocean, bu serinin açılış oyunudur ve 1900’lü yılların kültürel ve tarihsel atmosferini yansıtmaktadır. Ana karakter, Aunt Ester, hem bu oyunda hem de Yüzyıl Serisinin genelinde önemli bir rol oynamaktadır. Afrika tarihi ve kültürünün yaşayan belleği gibidir. Wilson Afro-Amerikalıların geçmişlerini, acı verici deneyimlerini dahi hatırlayarak kimliklerini inşa edebileceklerini ve koruyabileceklerini göstermektedir.
Keywords
Abstract
Memory is not only a significant part of humanity but also the individual. The individual feels belonging to the society through his identity. As memory is a result of ongoing process, historical and cultural experiences engrave on it. In this respect, memory is closely related with identity. The construction of identity means in a sense to remember past that is implicit in memory. In this paper, the relation between memory and cultural identity has been examined through Wilson’s character, ‘Aunt Ester’. August Wilson, as an Afro-American voice of American theater, put a significant emphasis on the past and culture. He wrote ten plays for the each decade of the 20th century, which is called as Century Cycle. Gem of the Ocean is the opening play of that cycle and it reflects the cultural and historical atmosphere of the 1900s. The main character, Aunt Ester plays an important role both in this play and in the Century Cycle as a whole. She is like the living memory of African history and culture. Wilson shows that Afro-Americans can construct and preserve their identity by remembering their past even their painful experiences.
Keywords
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