www.wave3.com: Jefferson County Public Schools issued a response after posts on social media claimed a production by duPont Manual High School’s Youth Performing Arts School was canceled.
A video posted on TikTok by the page “SaveRagtime502” claiming the production had been canceled has received more than 231,500 likes and 11,100 shares. The video claims the cast and crew received word from JCPS that the production was canceled because the “material would offend too many members of our community.”
2 comments:
I'm happy to hear that the people of Jefferson County and the greater Louisville community are able to have a chance to see this high school's production of Ragtime. I feel that this is a prime example of the ridiculous power and influence social media can have on society. Additionally, this example highlights how social media can completely blow out of proportion an apparent miscommunication.
The fact that I saw this on my social media page 400 miles away from where it is happening makes me consider if the information I am consuming is actually relevant to my life. I'm happy TikTok can connect high schoolers with Broadway actors such as Sarah Jessica Parker, but it's just hard to see that this connection happened because of a miscommunication blown out of proportion.
This incident also opens up a conversation about the importance of clear communication. In this case, a simple miscommunication has caused way more time and effort to correct than it would have taken to clearly communicate in the first place.
In my opinion, the situation surrounding this school’s production of Ragtime shows how important clear communication is. I had a similar experience during my sophomore year of high school, in which our school district threatened to cancel our show due to the sensitive topics discussed in it. I understand why the district may have wanted to carefully consider how the musical’s difficult themes would be presented, but the way that this district communicated with students created unnecessary confusion and made them fear that their production, and by extension, their voice, was being taken away. I think challenging material should not automatically be avoided simply because it could make people uncomfortable. Theatre has constantly been a way to provide an opportunity to discuss difficult parts of history and encourage audiences to think critically about the world around them. Ultimately, this situation demonstrates that schools should support students in engaging thoughtfully with meaningful art.
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