Conflict and Identity

Subject: Fires in the Mirrow
I trust that I am not alone in saying that this play was very difficult to read. Initially, I was reluctant to pick it up simply because of the manuscript’s thickness. The reading moved pretty quickly once I got started, but the battle in my heart had only just begun. Anna Deavere Smith has shaped a history of the Crown heights incident that allows spotlight to the many sides of the conflict. The reader is constantly torn on where to focus their sympathy and sometimes their anger. I understand how one can easily reduce this situation to black and white, right and wrong, saying that you must choose a side in order to act. I personally try not to restrict myself to such narrow-minded thinking, but it does exist and thrive in this world (just look at the current Administration). Fires in the Mirror ignites that eternal passion that arises when fellow human beings suffer but with a hint of caution.
Anna Deavere Smith has given herself over to us as a mouthpiece from which everybody is allowed a bit of time to speak their piece. She has created a collage of human experience that allows one to see the forces that tug at our souls. I was also amazed at Smith’s ability to weave seemingly unrelated things into her tapestry, such as Reverend Al Sharpton’s hair. After coming away from the experience, she does not intend for one to choose a side. Rather, she wants you to realize that in this world there as many sides as there are identities.