University of Denver Digital Commons @ DU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies 2020 The Colored Pill: A History Film Performance Exposing Race Based Medicines Wanda Lakota Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd Part of the Broadcast and Video Studies Commons, Film and Media Studies Commons, and the Medicine and Health Sciences Commons The Colored Pill: A History Film Performance Exposing Race Based Medicines __________ A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences University of Denver __________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy __________ by Wanda Lakota June 2020 Advisor: Dr. Bernadette Marie Calafell ©Copyright by Wanda Lakota 2020 All Rights Reserved Author: Wanda Lakota Title: The Colored Pill: A History Film Performance Exposing Race Based Medicines Advisor: Dr. Bernadette Marie Calafell Degree Date: June 2020 ABSTRACT Of the 32 pharmaceuticals approved by the FDA in 2005, one medicine stood out. That medicine, BiDil®, was a heart failure medication that set a precedent for being the first approved race based drug for African Americans. Though BiDil®, was the first race specific medicine, racialized bodies have been used all throughout history to advance medical knowledge. The framework for race, history, and racialized drugs was so multi- tiered; it could not be conceptualized from a single perspective. For this reason, this study examines racialized medicine through performance, history, and discourse analysis. The focus of this work aimed to inform and build on a new foundation for social inquiry—using a history film performance to elevate knowledge about race based medicines. Equally important, this work adds significantly to the scholarship on filmmaking and argues that film performance can be utilized as both a theoretical and methodological tool. Written, produced, and directed for this study, The Colored Pill history film performance centers on concepts of monstrosity, Othering, and race specific drugs. In addition, the concept of discourse analysis was significant in analyzing the words, phrases, and sentences of eight African American focus groups that screened the 70- minute film performance. Utilizing audio recorded transcripts to analyze the production of knowledge about drugs with race specific indications; data was collected from focus group interviews and questionnaires. Deductive coding, based on William James ii McGuire’s (1985) model for sequential, information-processing, was used to analyze the data. As a result, pre-established themes of exposure, attention, comprehension, and acceptance aka yielding were utilized, because they best pointed to the advancement of knowledge. The findings underscore the potential of film performance to help overcome knowledge gaps. Focus group participants indicate history film performance, The Colored Pill, had a significant effect on the advancement of knowledge on racialized medicines. Keywords: race, medicine, African Americans, qualitative, interview, BiDil, film performance iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The last chapter in this study is called, Giving Up The Ghost. And that, I have done, though I have also kept the faith. Humbly I acknowledge that without God, this study would never have been possible. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for your goodness and mercy that follow me all the days of my life! This research, and subsequent film, has been several years in the making. The work has been long and taxing, but I devoted myself to finishing. Though the typography has been nothing short of mountainous, wrought with many unexpected twists and turns, it has also been rewarding. What a surprise it has been that this opportunity would grow my faith. I never would have made it without holding on to you, Lord. To Brian, Elijah, and Bianca—thank you! I am so grateful you were there. You guys contributed greatly to my sense of sanity in the un-rosiest of circumstances. To Brian, my beautiful rock, thank you for supporting and cheering me on throughout this entire process. I know you delayed your own personal plans to instead stay by my side during the most difficult part of this process, all while feeding me the most delicious pot roasts and spaghetti dinners known to man. I will never forget your sacrifice. To Elijah and Bianca, you never knew this but your simple encouragements, “You got this, Granny!” came at perfect times when I was feeling low. What a blessing you both are! Please refer to Appendix H for complete acknowledgements. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter One. The Horror of Race Based Medicines .......................................................... 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1 Contextualizing Race Based Medicines.................................................................. 5 Scientific Racism .......................................................................................... 6 Socio-Historical Realities of Race Based Medicines ................................. 12 Autopsy of BiDil® ................................................................................................ 14 Introducing the Present Study ............................................................................... 19 Racial Identifications ............................................................................................ 20 Preview of Chapters .............................................................................................. 22 Summary ............................................................................................................... 28 Chapter Two. A Haunted History: Literature Review ...................................................... 30 The History Film: A Historian Perspective .......................................................... 30 Challenging the Hegemony of Textualism ........................................................... 36 History and History Film ...................................................................................... 42 Film Realism .............................................................................................. 44 Film Re-Enactments ................................................................................... 45 Impact of History Films on Knowledge................................................................ 47 History Film Performance: A Communication Perspective ................................. 49 Interplay Between History Film and Film Performance ............................ 50 Consideration of New Relationships .......................................................... 52 History Film Performance: Race Based Medicines .............................................. 53 Gap in Knowledge ................................................................................................ 56 Chapter Three. Close Encounters: The Seminal Works of Performance Scholars Dwight Conquergood and D. Soyini Madison ............................................................................... 58 Methodological and Theoretical Framework ........................................................ 60 Performance Ethnography .................................................................................... 66 Performance ............................................................................................... 71 Imagining Performance as a Strategy to Challenge Textualism ........................... 74 Performance as an Inquiry into Counter-Narratives ............................................. 77 Performance as an Intervening Strategy for Knowledge ...................................... 80 Summary ............................................................................................................... 84 Chapter Four. Homo Monstrous: The Dark Performance of Horror ................................ 86 History as Monstrosity .......................................................................................... 93 Medicine as Monstrosity ....................................................................................... 97 Race Based Medicine as Monstrosity ................................................................. 100 Scientific Racism as Monstrosity........................................................................ 107 Film as Monstrosity ............................................................................................ 112 Horror Films as Monstrosity .................................................................... 114 Human Monster as Monstrosity .......................................................................... 125 Sound and Music as Monstrosity ........................................................................ 132 Film Silence as Monstrosity ............................................................................... 147 v Chapter Five. Bone Chilling: The Colored Pill Behind the Scenes ................................ 150 Contextual Analysis ............................................................................................ 161 Description of Film ............................................................................................. 169 Horror .................................................................................................................. 172 Processes ............................................................................................................. 175 Finding My