tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12657288.post114494249257358901..comments2024-01-07T06:59:04.212-05:00Comments on The Playgoer: "Corrie" in San Diego?Playgoerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02994724588504353485noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12657288.post-1145125365856382682006-04-15T14:22:00.000-04:002006-04-15T14:22:00.000-04:00Yes, of course, a Palestinian "scarf" is literally...Yes, of course, a Palestinian "scarf" is literally a kuffiyeh, but the drunken blog guy isn't using the term literally but metaphorically. I'll go back and reread how he uses the term, but I thought he was using it as a stand in for Corrie. Calling Corrie a Palestinian "scarf" does not mean he was saying Corrie was literally a kuffiyeh. I've over stated my point, but I can't help but wonder would you call Tom Hurndall or James Miller a Palestinian "scarf"?freespeechloverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17925986545953519952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12657288.post-1145051138936477462006-04-14T17:45:00.000-04:002006-04-14T17:45:00.000-04:00Sorry, Playgoer. This is what I get for trying to...Sorry, Playgoer. This is what I get for trying to finish something when my husband is calling me to dinner. The link is<BR/><BR/>http://drunkenblogging.blogspot.com/2006_03_01_<BR/>drunkenblogging_archive.html<BR/><BR/>Drunkenblogger is either a member of or close to the BNP, best described as anti-immigrant and fascist. (Billy Bragg is involved in a campaign to oppose the BNP in the May elections.) And if you read any more of his posts, you'll be appalled. (I admit that I'm a bit odd; I read NewsMax for entertainment.) The American-flag burning is apparently what he thought was important, as it was what he chose to report. For all we know, the rest of the conversation might have been "please don't throw up on my foot" or "you've just spilled your beer down the front of my shirt".<BR/><BR/>The point I was making is that we can only hope Rickman made a better presentation to NYTW. But as I've said more than once before, NYTW had an obligation to do their own research--and not wait two months to get 'round to it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12657288.post-1145045339700062482006-04-14T16:08:00.000-04:002006-04-14T16:08:00.000-04:00A "Palestinian scarf" is no doubt a keffiyah -- on...A "Palestinian scarf" is no doubt a keffiyah -- one of those long pieces of checkered fabric (like the one Arafat wore all the time.) In Europe and the US (and elsewhere, I suppose), some peope wear them as a sign of solidarity with Palestinians (or to demonstrate how PC they are, or maybe they just like the colors .. . ) Speaking of colors, whether the keffiyah is red, black, or green (Palestinian national colors) indicates (or used to, anyway) which faction of the Palestinian movement the person wearing it is associated with Fatah, PFLP, DFLP and so on (but I forgot which color was associated with which faction).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12657288.post-1145044880058381262006-04-14T16:01:00.000-04:002006-04-14T16:01:00.000-04:00From The Village Voice, January 14, 2003:However i...From The Village Voice, January 14, 2003:<BR/><BR/><I>However icky, overdetermined liberalism still beats Jim Crow. But it also creates a conundrum for black artists who may wonder if by amplifying their militant tones they may be paradoxically selling out after all. This is especially true in the theater, where resources and opportunities for production are scarce. Here, the synergy between black attitude and Caucasian shame takes strange forms. Earlier this year, the subscription brochure for the distinguished venue New York Theatre Workshop sheepishly declared on its final page, "Our season will also include a new work featuring the urgent and contemporary voice of an artist of color." You can't help thinking that if they'd had their diversity crisis at the beginning of the programming process, they might have eliminated their perceived need for an embarrassing disclaimer. And why print that announcement anyway, except as a confession? You fear that "urgent" means an angry, slapdash production is on the way, a result of the producers' need to punish themselves for the lapse in race consciousness.</I>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12657288.post-1145043129635246312006-04-14T15:32:00.000-04:002006-04-14T15:32:00.000-04:00I don't agree with a word from that "drunken blog"...I don't agree with a word from that "drunken blog", but is "Palestinian scarf" a metaphor for a woman?<BR/><BR/>I thought that it referred to a person wearing a Palestinian scarf. They were rather popular here in Germany among both men and women some 15, 20 ago, although I have to admit that I don't know anything about the history and message behind such a scarf.<BR/><BR/>veradeeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12657288.post-1145036342360884092006-04-14T13:39:00.000-04:002006-04-14T13:39:00.000-04:00Well, everyone, Corrie is a character in a product...Well, everyone, Corrie is a character in a production; it's a piece of theater, so those editing her words are producing a character, no? Maybe I'm wrong, but outside of the U.S., the Palestinians are considered a universal symbol of a struggle for justice and freedom. Maybe Corrie was just ahead of the curve on this, pulling the U.S., particularly its youth, toward a fairer and more balanced view of what goes on in places like Rafah. <BR/><BR/>I lived in Ramallah for a year doing research and I agree that my ethnicity has nothing to do with what I've witnessed. I do think I had to "unlearn" a lot of my political socialization as a white American. I agree that the idea that someone has to "be" Jewish or Palestinian to witness the conflict on the ground conflates "being" something with "knowing" something. Margaret Thatcher and Cindy Sheehan are both "women," but have opposed viewpoints. This is true for Jews, African Americans, etc. <BR/><BR/>I find the drunken blog comments a case of political racism and sexism rolled into one peculiar image--a Palestinian "scarf"? why didn't the drunken blog guy just call her a "militant," why "scarf"? What is it with Western women who refuse to stay put politically? Is this like calling Corrie a political whore?freespeechloverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17925986545953519952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12657288.post-1145028155058741752006-04-14T11:22:00.000-04:002006-04-14T11:22:00.000-04:00Re: the Rickman storyHaving trouble finding the st...Re: the Rickman story<BR/><BR/>Having trouble finding the story or the photo on your "DrunkenBlogging" link.<BR/><BR/>I'm interested in any and all anecdotes that flesh out this story. But honestly nothing about this changes my mind. Rickman naturally wants to downplay the more militant side of Corrie to bloster his heroine as a wide-eyed optimist. Fair to balance that with facts about the real Corrie. But not surprising the artist would do that.<BR/><BR/>As for burning the flag... The irony of course is that would the least controversial thing about her! In fact I bet a play about burning the flag on stage would have much more support in the NY Theatre than "Rachel Corrie"Playgoerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02994724588504353485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12657288.post-1145014997389266532006-04-14T07:43:00.000-04:002006-04-14T07:43:00.000-04:00I blew my comment two above by not including the r...I blew my comment two above by not including the rest of the comment I ran across. Sorry. Here it is:<BR/><BR/>"Alan coming into the pub was a class moment. Hes a member of the hollywood elite and luvvie crowd so would always have been the consumate lefty. I mean his mate rocking up with the palestinian scarf said it all. But kudos to you for going up to him and tackling him verbally. He left shortly after that!"<BR/><BR/>Please do remember though that these folks read "little green tomoatoes."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12657288.post-1145005331099663062006-04-14T05:02:00.000-04:002006-04-14T05:02:00.000-04:00The workshop saying they are in contact with many ...The workshop saying they are in contact with many Palestinian-American artists, as well as prepared to stage a Palestinian play, is reminiscent of their announcement some years ago that their season would include 'a play by a member of a minority community' (or whatever the appalling phrasing was).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12657288.post-1144984558666904212006-04-13T23:15:00.000-04:002006-04-13T23:15:00.000-04:00First, as I said before, I think the issue died as...First, as I said before, I think the issue died as far as the mainstream press goes when both NYT/NPR, and then the Washington Post, said their piece. But I've been wrong before...<BR/><BR/>I hope that you all and Playgoer will forgive me for putting all of these comments here, but I've been meaning to comment on a few things related to the Rachel Corrie discussion, but got caught up in reading a lease printed in 6pt type and other tasks even more mundane.<BR/><BR/>Those of us who work in the soical justice nonprofit sector actually look longingly at the incomes of arts organizations. The corporate world is far more likely to fund the arts than it is to fund organizations that threaten their power as corporations directly.<BR/><BR/>But almost all nonprofits face some of the same problems. First it's become amazingly expensive to support even small nonprofit groups. The cost of space and basic infrastructure has more than doubled over the last 10 years. And we can't pay employees what we paid even five years ago; they wouldn't be able to afford housing. And I won't describe the wailing every time I open our health insurance bill...Any labor-intensive organization has to raise huge sums every year.<BR/><BR/>At the same time resources outside the corporate and philantropic sectors have disappeared or become much more difficult to access. My organization does relatively little grassroots fundraising, simply because the return is so small for the labor involved. Foundation fundraising is hard work, but getting a $50,000 grant takes much less time and effort than raising the same sum from our organizing base.<BR/><BR/>So while it would be wonderful not to be dependent on foundation funders (corporate funders won't even look at us), I don't see many other options given the economic realities. There are no longer any shoestring operations, simply because no group can survive on a shoestring today.<BR/><BR/>And with the consolidation of funding sources, it's not likely that artists are going to go to the mat over one small play, any more than I'd be likely to tell any foundation funder what I thought of the way they'd gotten the money they were granting. That it's cowardice goes without saying, but it's not surprising, given the political economy.<BR/><BR/>What is always surprising, of course, is the cowardice of people who could speak up, but don't. I'm amazed that those with the most security are often the most cowardly.<BR/><BR/>Next, Playgoer noted a while ago that it would have been politically advantageous for Katharine Viner to let her interviewers know that she is Jewish. While I agree that it would be politically advantageous, I can understand why she didn't.<BR/><BR/>The arguments I would make in the Israel/Palestine debate aren't particularly informed by my Jewishness. I don't think my arguments with respect to the existence of Israel, its relations with its neighbors, and the establishment of a Palestinian state do not depend on my identity. (I would contrast this with the discussion of racism in the United States, where African Americans have an experience of racial discrimination that informs their arguments--and contrasts directly with the obliviousness of white Americans on the issue.) This doesn't mean that anti-Semitism doesn't exist--it pops up in the oddest places--but that my experience of it does not directly inform my arguments on Israel/Palestine.<BR/><BR/>I ran across the following a couple of days ago and, while it may be apropos of nothing, I thought I'd pass it along.<BR/><BR/>I also met Alan Rickman in the pub! Had a 5 minute conversation with the guy about a play he's directing about Rachel Corrie. I was a little worse for wear, but I told me a porky that Rachel Corrie never burned the American flag... which is bollocks because here's a picture of her burning... a homemade US flag.<BR/><BR/><BR/>http://drunkenblogging.blogspot.com/2006_03_01_drunkenblogging_archive.html<BR/><BR/>While I've said before that I don't think Alan Rickman's discussion with NYTW is relevant, I do hope he did a better job in New York than he appears to have done here.<BR/><BR/>For those of you who are weak in British English, a "luvvie" is a derogatory term for a gay man (Rickman is gay) and a "porky" is a trivial lie. Now both he and Vanessa Redgrave and representative of Hollywood.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12657288.post-1144956321295010582006-04-13T15:25:00.000-04:002006-04-13T15:25:00.000-04:00Yesterday, I argued that James Nicola should eithe...Yesterday, I argued that James Nicola should either plead guilty to having allowed artistic concerns to be trumped by the desire to avoid offense--or step down. But this article illustrates why, six weeks in, conceding a mistake will be no small task: <BR/><BR/>NYTW has invested an enormous amount of energy, these last few weeks, in trying to walk back its own, publicly-stated reasons for pulling the production. So conceding error will <I>involve</I> conceding that all the PR-driven jazz about lighting design and visas was (to put it charitably) obfuscatory.<BR/><BR/>In other words, admiting the truth will require some courage, and it will open NYTW up to more criticism.<BR/><BR/>My own feeling, though, is that if Nicola <I>truly</I> reverses himself, people will be more than happy to forgive him and NYTW for the diversionary PR strategy: He got caught with his hand in the cookie jar; his first instinct was to massage the facts to make himself look better; all of us can relate to that.<BR/><BR/>The truly dangerous strategy, in the long term, would be for NYTW to hunker down, and let the PR flunkies continue to push false and diversionary stories. If that approach continues, the NYTW leadership will come to be seen in the arts commmunity not only as moral cowards, but as liars as well.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12657288.post-1144948772116404982006-04-13T13:19:00.000-04:002006-04-13T13:19:00.000-04:00Hat tip, yet again, playgoer. I heard you and Geo...Hat tip, yet again, playgoer. I heard you and George Hunka on BU's radio station. I told my husband, who is a NYU grad, that you were the Seymour Hersh of the Rachel Corrie controversy. I said that the reason the mainstream press tries to ignore you and George is that you guys are better than them, and they know it, so they'd rather just pretend you don't exist, unless they're forced to. The signs of their insecurity are fairly transparent and a bit pathetic.freespeechloverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17925986545953519952noreply@blogger.com