Deck 9: Racism in the Arts and Cultural Production

Question 1

_______ is the central mechanism through which the dominant group reaffirms itself through image and representation, and it is the vehicle through which marginalized groups are excluded.

A) The Canadian state
B) Pluralism
C) Appropriation
D) Denial
E) Culture

Answer 1

Culture

Question 2

Cultural ______ is one way in which society gives voice to racism, recycling ideas, images, and discourses about Canada's people of colour and Aboriginal peoples.

A) Absolutism
B) Eurocentrism
C) Relativism
D) Production
E) Imagination

Answer 2

Production

Question 3

Cultural production involves

A) The elimination of racial ideologies in the realm of arts and culture
B) A process where minority actors are trained exclusively in the Shakespearean tradition
C) The re-establishment of production agencies specifically geared towards the histories of different cultural groups
D) White and visible minority communities coming together to produce cultural artefacts that are reflective of Canada's diversity
E) An interaction of values, ideas and organizational practices shaped by concrete social and historical conditions

Answer 3

An interaction of values, ideas and organizational practices shaped by concrete social and historical conditions

Question 4

The case study analyzing an exhibit that opened in 1989 at the Royal Ontario Museum highlighted issues such as Eurocentrism, misrepresentation, and power relations. What was the name of this controversial exhibit?

A) "Enlightened Europe"
B) "European Colonialism and the Rise of Civilization in Latin America"
C) "Into the Heart of Africa"
D) "Missionaries and Other Church Success in the New World"
E) "Columbus: Everybody's Hero"

Question 5

What has been identified as an important source and site of struggle against a dominant culture significantly influenced by the legacy of its Eurocentric heritage?

A) Essentialization
B) Cultural production
C) Cultural appropriation
D) Cultural stability
E) Artistic freedom

Question 6

The arts, the music industry, theatre, and literature (among other things) provides a society

A) With a lens through which people view themselves and the world
B) With various forms of innocent entertainment
C) Opportunities to make huge financial profits at the expense of the most marginalized members of society
D) Material in which to justify their superiority over other nations
E) Narratives that are reflective of the ethnic and racial make-up in that particular populace

Question 7

Which of the following IS NOT considered one of Canada's mainstream cultural institutions?

A) The Royal Ontario Museum
B) The Stratford Theatre
C) The Toronto Sun
D) The National Art Gallery of Canada
E) The Toronto Symphony Orchestra

Question 8

A _________ provides the lens through which White decision-makers in Canadian cultural organizations and institutions filter their view of the world, establish priorities, assess the quality of art forms, and determine who will be the audience or consumer for their cultural products.

A) Code of Ethics
B) Checklist
C) Multicultural approach
D) Eurocentric bias
E) Diversity panel

Question 9

In the arts, cultural racism is an ideology that perpetuates which of the following discourses associated with democratic racism?

A) Discourse of Multiculturalism
B) Discourse of Binary Polarization
C) Discourse of Equal Opportunity
D) Discourse of Colour-Blindness
E) Discourse of Liberal Arts and Values

Question 10

In Case Studies 9.1. and 9.2, what subject was central to the debate and controversy surrounding these two cultural events?

A) Cultural genocide
B) Manufactured cultures
C) Monolithic cultures
D) Cultural appropriation
E) Cultural extremism

Question 11

______ racism in the arts is the marginalization of the cultures of "others", so that the dominant group's cultural images, symbols, and norms remain intact.

A) Individual
B) Aversive
C) Collective
D) Everyday
E) Cultural

Question 12

When members of the dominant culture benefit materially from the production and dissemination of the history, traditions, and experiences of other cultural groups, it is referred to as:

A) Cultural appropriation
B) Cultural racism
C) Cultural superiority
D) Cultural relativism
E) White-collar crime

Question 13

Which of the following is an example of cultural appropriation in Canada?

A) The Santa Claus parade
B) The Caribana parade
C) The Canadian Football League
D) The Festival of Lights
E) Christmas

Question 14

Which of the following cultural organizations have instituted guidelines around cultural appropriation that have not been well received by many mainstream writers, such as June Callwood?

A) The Women's Press
B) The Ontario Commission into the Arts (OCA)
C) Arts 'R Us
D) The Canadian Actors Guild Exchange (CAGE)
E) The Equity Office in Arts and Culture

Question 15

Concerns over cultural appropriation are part of a broader struggle dealing with issues of ____.

A) Fairness
B) Equality
C) Equity
D) Power
E) Recognition

Question 16

White artists and writers who attempt to speak on behalf of the "others" or who believe that they can interpret their experiences are actually perpetuating

A) Alternative viewpoints of historical experiences
B) Colonialism all over again
C) The Discourse of National Identity
D) Anti-racism strategies that have not yet been fully implemented
E) Their own positions of power and dominance

Question 17

All cultural criticism is ________.

A) Theoretically grounded
B) Methodologically sound
C) Objectively tested
D) Ideological
E) Fanatical

Question 18

A 2003 survey by ACTRA's Diversity Committee found that Canadian theatres are

A) Doing a commendable job recruiting people of colour into the acting profession
B) Lacking the individual commitment to make systemic changes across the industry
C) Leaving minority actors 'waiting in the wings' at an alarming rate when it comes to lead roles
D) Putting too much emphasis on employment equity legislation in an effort to ensure mandatory quotas are met when it comes to hiring practices
E) Forcing seasoned white actors out of the business because of equity demands

Question 19

One of the barriers to more inclusive casting in Canadian theatre productions is

A) The belief that minority actors will be more demanding compared to white actors
B) Trying to keep minority actors here in Canada as foreign production companies try to tap into the countries diversity
C) The unwillingness of minority actors to audition for mainstream productions or roles
D) The myth that there are very few trained minority actors
E) The difference in wages that continues to see white actors being better financially compensated when compared to those from visible minority backgrounds

Question 20

The stereotyping and _______ of minorities in a narrow range of roles tied to the colour of their skin and perceived cultural background continues to happen in Canadian theatre.

A) Regulation
B) Typecasting
C) Selective placement
D) Invisibility
E) Marketability

Question 21

______ are based on the assumption that a body of universal criteria and standards can be applied to all literary and art analysis.

A) Cultural sensitivity
B) Cultural criticism
C) Cultural racism
D) Cultural creativity
E) Cultural programming

Question 22

Funding organizations have tended to view Black, Asian, and Aboriginal Canadian artists and cultural companies as ______.

A) Uninspiring
B) Equal partners
C) Exotic
D) Radicals
E) Community historians

Question 23

It has been extremely difficult for writers, artists, musicians, directors, producers, and performers of colour to receive grants from arts councils and government agencies because

A) They usually don't submit their applications in a proper or timely manner
B) Usually have very little to contribute to the larger Canadian society in terms of cultural knowledge or value
C) They tend to focus exclusively on minority issues that are not appealing to mainstream Canadians
D) They are perceived to be unable to meet Eurocentric aesthetic standards
E) Of the lack of diversity on funding boards in these same councils and agencies

Question 24

Cultural authorities within the ROM and the literary establishment in Canada have vigorously and continuously denied the possibility that racism is entrenched in their cultural institutions and individual practices. Another commonly used discourse of democratic racism includes:

A) The Discourse of Moral Panic
B) The Discourse of White Victimization
C) The Discourse of Equal Representation
D) The Discourse of Intolerance
E) The Discourse of Political Correctness

Question 25

Arts funding is premised on two notions of cultural that are mutually exclusive: one views culture as art, to be funded by arts councils; the other understands culture as an anthropological phenomenon that should be funded primarily by agencies such as ________ at the federal level.

A) The Attorney General
B) Trade and Enterprise
C) Multiculturalism and Citizenship
D) Diversity Affairs
E) Education and Foreign Affairs
True & False Questions:

Question 26

In the realm of arts and culture, cultural production and creative processes define and structure "maps of meaning".

Question 27

Cultural products and practices mirror the larger social processes; cultural representations echo social realities.

Question 28

Due to the overwhelming success of the ROM's "Into the Heart of Africa" exhibit, the tour across North and South America was given a three-year extension by organizers.

Question 29

Cultural appropriation occurs when people of colour try to imitate or mimic culturally creative expressions developed by members of the dominant group in Canada.

Question 30

Canada has yet to produce any outstanding literary contributions from writers of colour.

Question 31

In a study entitled 'Theatre in Canada: Preservation of White Culture', the researcher found that during the 2003 season, slightly less than 20 percent of the cast at Stratford were racial minorities (not including the chorus of children from the 'King and I').

Question 32

When it comes to funding arts and culture in Canada, it has been thought that the work of Black, Asian, and Aboriginal artists should be supported through multicultural finding agencies rather than expect to share in the limited resources of arts councils.

Question 33

Racism in the arts is like racism in other Canadian institutions. It is ultimately about the power of the dominant group to control cultural forms of expression.

Question 34

The discourse of liberalism, such as freedom of expression and universalism, are frequently used by cultural institutions and organizations to silence dissent by minorities.

Question 35

Cultural racism works to divide society into "in" and "out" groups.