Teaching "Rethinking Agatha Christie" by Sudie Hofmann

Why did I choose to teach this chapter?

    When I saw that Agatha Christie was mentioned in this text, I jumped on the opportunity to teach this chapter. This text discusses one of Christie's many offensive plays, Ten Little Indians. This play revolves around a group of strangers who are caught in a terrible storm in a shadowy estate on an isolated island. The play is tense and atmospheric, and also incredibly racist: on the mantle of the roaring fireplace are ten offensive Vaudevillian statues. Each statue falls as the characters are slowly dwindled down by a mysterious murderer. On top of this, the whole play is based off a racist 1849 song.

    I chose to teach this text because I actually performed this play in middle school. I played the part of the protagonist, Captain Philip Lombard. This character was responsible for the genocide of an East African tribe. Now I know what you're thinking. Yes, he was also the undeniable hero of the story. As explored by Hofmann, Lombard's backstory sheds light on Christie's implict --- and explicit --- biases. It also highlights the dominant ideologies and cultures in Great Britain during the 1930s.

What messages are found in Ten Little Indians?

    This chapter of Rethinking Popular Culture and Media discusses how this play is still produced across the nation. With each production, the perennial argument about cultural insensitivity follows. In these arguments, Hofmann sees the dominant ideologies of predominantly white communities who have no issue with producing the play, despite its racist origins and clear messages of genocide and anti-Semitism.  Hofmann is also met with apathy when they reach out to Christie's estate and the publishing company. Despite the publishers dragging their feet, they eventually changed the title and removed some of the offensive dialogue from the play. I believe this is actually harmful because it doesn't address the fraught and racist history of the play. If the play is based on a racist song from the 1849 and is riddled with offensive dialogue and themes, shouldn't the publisher put the text to rest? Erasing the racist themes with each new publishing cycle isn't a restorative approach to addressing the harmful history of the play.

What are Hofmann's final recommendations?

    Hofmann makes the following recommendations when dealing with problematic texts from the past:

• Address the offensive history of texts. Explore its themes of race, xenophobia, privilege, and power.
• If an educator teaches this play in schools, talk about genocide and racial tensions in the classroom.
• "Practice owning up to the racism inherent in many 'classic' works." (166).
• This is especially important because it connects back to our discussion around pleasure & critique. If for whatever reason you really enjoy Christie's work, you shouldn't be uncomfortable to critique it because we derive pleasure from acknowledging the offensive aspects of her work, and appreciating the non-problematic parts.
• Address the violence in the play, and determine whether it's appropriate for a school.
• When I did this play in middle school, there was no discussion about its racist history. We read from the 2004 edition --- the edition that Hofmann agrees is the least offensive. However, this edition still included clear displays of anti-Semitism. By failing to acknowledge the history of the play, my teachers missed out on an opportunity for critical discussions.