Breaking theFourth Wall - What is it? (www.wcmt.org.uk)

Today I woke up thinking about the title of my trip to Baltimore ‘Breaking the Fourth Wall’, and felt the need to give an explanation to those reading this blog who may need some clarification of its meaning:

What is the fourth wall?
The ‘Fourth Wall’ applies to the imaginary invisible wall at the front of the stage in a theatre where the audience sees the action in the world of the play. When an actor talks directly to the audience, they ‘Break the Fourth Wall’. In the context of my trip ‘Breaking the Fourth wall’ relates to the symbolic adaptation from its use in theatre into a sociological context. For me black men symbolise actors in a piece of on-going socio-drama where they act out roles, wear costumes, with a pre-determined plot, to a society who at times pushes some of them to the margins of society. The subsequent outcome is for some of those men to break the social norms and conventions where they in effect break ‘Societies Fourth Wall’. The net result is that many black men are labelled deviant and are then subsequently punished via incarceration in both prisons and mental institutions.

It is my firm belief that there is a need to develop holistic approaches that will address the core and not the symptoms of problems that hinders the positive development of black male self-concept. It is about creating a new paradigm that will enable black men to consider new choices that could divert them away from ‘risky lifestyles’, anti-social behaviour, and criminal activity. Engaging black men in processes that will liberate them from the pain of social neglect and denied access could play a significant role in taking them from a social position of being seen as a liability into the realms of being acknowledged as an asset to themselves, their families, and in turn the community.

It is time to develop alternative masculinities that are framed within a cultural and spiritual context that enables black men to the current levels of oppression, social exclusion, and denied access currently experienced by many of us. In trying to develop a stronger sense of being, black men must learn how to organise their world, make appropriate decisions, and create new meaning and purpose from the things that affect their lives. It is my view that the challenge for black men is to tell our own story and reframe our own narrative. In critical race theory this would be known as the 'counter narrative'.  Put simply the narrative of the oppressed is not the same as a the narrative of the oppressor.

The need to tell your story:
In every community stories are hold the key to memory and purpose. Everyone must participate and submerge themselves in myth and folklore to process the world around them, and make sense of it. Stories open up our world, boost imagination and give us self-knowledge. Without stories we cannot function adequately in understanding who we are and why we’re here. Stories bind people together and allow each individual to better comprehend what their place is in the world, and how their place holds everything else together.

Cultural knowledge is derived from stories that are templates for acquiring wisdom. Retelling our story provides opportunity not just for ‘self-reflection’ but scope for transforming into a ‘new constructed self'. When one analyses the current social positioning of black men within the UK and the US it is clear that there is very little outlet for articulating the trauma of historical misrepresentation, denied access, social exclusion, and disaffection. It is therefore right to assume that the re-telling of our stories as a counter narrative can serve as a conduit by which black men can speak to the world free from the oppressive conditions that shaped their position in it. It is also about building an important legacy that will challenging the dominant narrative that continues to distort, conceal, and hide the truth about black men and who we really are.