Introduction

Reanimating Shakespeare’s Othello’s introduction draws together and defines the concepts at the heart of this project: racial representation, Shakespearean reanimation, post-racial America, and race/racism. On the surface, the associations with resistance to authority commonly attributed to reanimating Shakespeare—bringing his plays back to life—combined with post-racial America’s dream of racial equity suggests that post-racial Othellos would be fertile grounds for ethical racial representation. This introduction explains, however, that such a vision does not align with reality. Instead, contemporary reanimations of Othello are not post-racial but either antiblack or antiracist. Distinguishing between these two stances entails identifying how post-racial attitudes and ideologies, especially what scholars have termed “colorblind” racism, are either reinscribed or contested when Othello is reanimated in modern America. Ultimately, then, this introduction explores the use of Shakespeare to shape and challenge America’s “racecraft,” the term Karen E. Fields and Barbara J. Fields employ to articulate the folk ideologies and strategies circulating in America that prop up racial inequality. By drawing on cultural studies, media studies, Critical Race Theory, ethnic studies, and Premodern Critical Race Studies, this introduction ultimately contends that scrutinizing reanimated Othellos provides vital insight into America’s racial habitus.