It’s been called the Super Bowl of chicken beauty pageants. Pint-sized cocks and hens face off in a matchup that measures beauty and talent.
“You couldn’t do this with a regular Old English bantam,” Jerry “Chicken Man” Schexnayder said in the documentary “Serama Serenade.”
He explains the South Louisiana folk practice that is the centerpiece of the 20-minute ethnographic documentary produced by Centenary College’s Biedenharn chair in communication Michelle Glaros. She started working on the project in 2010 and held her first screening of the documentary at American University last August.
Glaros’ setting is an annual festival, the Cajun Classic, where the Malaysian bird breed, Serama, is judged like dogs at Westminster Dog Show.
“What they’re looking at is: Are they holding their tails in a particular way? Are they puffing their chests out? Are they holding their heads up? It’s more like a model on a catwalk,” Glaros said.
Glaros explores themes of immigration and assimilation as the birds are carefully bred and trained to perform in a certain way. Glaros says the first flock had a difficult entry into the U.S. They were on a flight to South Louisiana on 9/11. Glaros says the birds were diverted to Chicago.
“They were left sitting on the tarmac there as the airways were cleared. They had a harrowing trip. Finally, someone found Jerry’s name and number on one of the crates and called up and said, I have a bunch of chickens here, what should I do with them? It’s an interesting story of immigration and the tricky path they took to come into the country,” Glaros said.
“Serama Serenade” screens Thursday, Feb. 25, at the Meadows Museum of Art, 2911 Centenary Blvd., Shreveport.
The event begins at 4:30 p.m. with an introduction by Glaros. The documentary will be screened at 5 p.m. The Cajun Classic will be held in Gramercy, La., in early April.
