Lions Essay

    No matter what, there are always people who promote rumors. There are always people who promote stereotypes. These stereotypes become what groups are known for, and without the proper representation, the group will fall into a black hole that swallows up any sign that they are more than simple, gender dominated underdogs, whose work is a variation of simple tasks. Which are stereotypes of both men in the theater and the Ibo people of Africa. These kinds of negative stereotypes are just fuel to the fire for people like Chinua Achebe, who wrote Things Fall Apart, and Ryan Murphy, who co-created Glee. Their work strives to add to the stereotypes of the people they represent so that the single story becomes a complete story. Murphy and Achebe use their works to properly represent their groups so that they are seen through a more accurate scope.

    Nobody wants to be called stupid. Even if it isn’t directed specifically at them, but at a group they belong to. Murphy and Achebe wanted to make sure their people aren’t seen as simple, so their works reflected the fact that their people may have some who aren’t the sharpest knife in the drawer, but there are also people who show promise. In Things Fall Apart, the Ibo people are portrayed as intelligent, while the white missionaries ignorantly assumed that they had nothing important to say. When Ajofia expresses his opinions about the white missionaries, he shows the Ibo’s intelligence and their opinion on how the white men treat them. “We cannot leave this matter in his hands because he does not understand our customs, as we do not understand his. We say he is foolish because he does not know our ways, but perhaps he says we are foolish because we do not know his.” Similarly, in Glee, nobody has faith in the Glee club because it is made up of outcasts who are stupid and worthless in their eyes. Achebe and Murphy include these details and work them into their pieces because they show how people make assumptions about them based on the stereotypes that have been put on the characters. However when attention is paid to these groups, it is evident that there are methods to the madness. Such as when Achebe writes about the marital process in chapter 8. The same point is proved when Finn, the Glee clubs football player/ singer takes charge of the Glee club in Mr. Schu’s absence, giving everyone a job that fits them. As a result, Murphy and Achebe mold their reader’s or viewer’s opinion of Africans and theater people.

    Another main topic that Murphy and Achebe chip away at is the fact that Africans and thespians are underdogs. The concept of being an underdog brings in worlds more assumptions racing through other people’s heads, such as feeling bad for said underdogs, thinking they need help, and thinking they want to be helped, along with wondering why they need help and answering that question on one’s own. Things Fall Apart and Glee show that they don’t need to be helped. Achebe goes out to show that the Ibo people are happy with what they have. They dont want to be helped, as Ajofia proves when he says, “We liked his brother who was with us before. He was foolish, but we liked him, and for his sake we will not harm his brother.” He speaks about how he liked Mr. Brown, the first missionary that came to Umuofia. He likes Mr. Brown because although he did make changes to the community, he didn’t frce it down their throats like Mr. Smith. Murphy, on the other hand, shows another side. When Artie, the Glee member who is in a wheelchair, is locked in the porta potty and the football players want to tip it, Finn says that although they are “losers”, he has come to terms with it and is happy with himself because of it, so they don’t want to be helped or changed either.

    One of the biggest issues that Things Fall Apart, and Glee take on is that both realms are gender dominated. The Ibo people are massively masculine, and are seen as such,  having routine wrestling matches, focusing on big achievements like killing five men in the last battle, and relying on their title and farm to show their status. Achebe uses Okonkwo’s values  to deliver the message that even with Okonkwo being an extreme, the Ibo are more masculine than most civilizations. This is shown when Achebe writes about how Okonkwo “...brought honor to his village by throwing… the great wrestler who for seven years, was unbeaten from Umuofia to Mbaino.” This shows the extent that masculinity controls the Ibo’s lives, because they gain honor simply in a competition of brute strength However, theater guys are a different story. There is a sense of pride in what they do, they are vastly competitive, and they are always working on bettering themselves and their craft. However despite this, they are seen as feminine. Glee highlights these traits in the show and therefore promotes a more accurate view of their masculinity.

    Yet another subject that is challenged by Murphy and Achebe is the fact that their works are about people who are assumed to not have to work in life. People think that their work is easy and anyone could do it. Both Achebe and Murphy prove that their characters have a hard life. Murphy tries to disprove the stereotype that actors don’t have to work a day in their life, and Achebe makes an effort to disprove the assumption that all African people do is sit around and look sad. Achebe tackles this issue by showing what the Ibo people have to do to thrive, and that farming yams is not only just a part of their life, but their entire life. A moment where this is shown is when he talks about the year when Okonkwo borrowed 800 seeds from Nwakibie. “ The year Okonkwo took 800 seed yams from Nwakibie was the worst year in living memory. Nothing happened at its proper time; it was either too early or too late. Murphy tries to show just how hard it is to be successful in theater by showing all the drama and work and sacrifices that went into winning competitions. Like when Mr. Schu, the Glee club’s teacher, took the club to another schools performance to see how good they were, and was blown away by the talent. They then knew just how hard they had to work in order to be successful.

    Finally, Glee and Things Fall Apart, try to show that theater people and the Ibo people aren’t just good in their element. Achebe includes multiple times where the Ibo people show that they can accel even at things that we would call impressive, like being a judge and deciding the punishment for crimes committed. Murphy uses characters to show that theater people are multitalented, like Finn, who is the starting varsity quarterback at his high school while still participating in Glee club.

The fact that Murphy and Achebe can effectively show that Africans and thespians are people like us makes it hard to pay much more attention to stereotypes that people have placed on them. However, all they really did to show that they weren’t all that different was add to the stereotypes already in place and correct inaccuracies. All it took was the right presentation of the people. By using this method, Murphy and Achebe successfully show the Ibo people and thespians through an accurate scope.