TIME Magazine Person of the Year

Mohamed Bouazizi's mother holds a picture of him in memoriam

 

I was very excited to read who TIME Magazine announced as their Person of the Year: The Protester. Author of the TIME article Kurt Andersen was interviewed on why The Protester was selected, to which he replied that for years he thought “Protest had fallen out of fashion as an effective political tool.” After the Vietnam War, groups were no longer mobilizing in acts of resistance. But in recent years, a combination of growing public dissatisfaction and the availability of technology has contributed to the increased number in people joining a cause. He described protest as being something of a contagion, which is becoming more and more influenced by global events. Protestors are not just gaining support on a local level, but the movements are also garnering large-scale attention and can become models for other demonstrations. Andersen noted how protests happening in one part of the country were influencing the development of protests on the other side of the globe. For instance, Wall Street protesters modeled aspects of their structure after Spain protesters who were staying and refusing to leave their locale.

Technology has played a major role in propelling this forward with protests in Tunisia and Egypt utilizing Facebook, Twitter, email to get news out as to where demonstrations were going to take place. The ways in which social media has given people information has empowered many to act immediately and to organize in ways not previously seen. When visiting protesting groups in Egypt, Andersen was shocked at the infrastructure set in place, comparing the demonstrations to municipalities or small governments.

In addition to sharing best practices, technology has also helped to support the spirit behind the protest in a very unexpected way.  Common reasons for sparking the protest, such as corruption in governments, politicians, and corporations have a strengthening effect on transnational protests if they are paralleled in the news media. By knowing that there are multiple pockets protesting similar if not the same issues, people’s resolve is strengthened in their power of affecting change. With that said, the hope is that the spurt in protest demonstrations will not be “fad for 2011” but instead will continue to gain strength a have a long-term impact on shaping national politics. The notable examples that set this in motion are 26-year-old Mohamed Bouazizi, the Tunisian fruit vendor who set himself on fire as a protest to the bureaucratic loopholes implemented to trap citizens, and the mobilizations in Egypt to contest the fraudulent election and protest the entire governmental structure. From there, protests have erupted globally and in large scales; Greece’s number of protesters in Syntagma Square grew from 100,000 to 500,000 in one week. George Anastasopoulos described that event as “overwhelming” and said after seeing the number grow, “That enthused us so much, and we started dreaming really big.” Another protester in Madrid beautifully described what he saw during those protests, “It was marvelous to see people become the actors in their own lives… You could watch them breaking out of their passivity.”

As our class is coming to a close, I found this article particularly moving. The many images surrounding murders in Juarez, the Dirty Wars, tortures in Cambodia, and massacres in Peru to name a few, all for the acquisition of some form of power over an oppressed people has been disheartening. But the performed acts of resistance in these protests is a reminder to the illusion of power many of those regimes operate under. I am reminded of a quote by Diana Taylor in The Archive and the Repertoire in which she states, “Performance carries the possibility of challenge, even self-challenge, within it. As a term simultaneously connoting a process, a praxis, an episteme, a mode of transmission, an accomplishment, and a means of intervening in the world, it far exceeds the possibilities of these other words offered in its place.”

 

Sources

Andersen, Kurt. The Protester. TIME Magazine. December 14, 2011.

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2101745_2102132_2102373-4,00.html

 

Taylor, Diana. The Archive and the Repertoire. Duke UP. Durham. p. 15.

‘Race’ Opening at the Goodman Theatre

After reading 101 Reasons to Get Past the Headline, humorously I almost named this post My 3 Reasons Why I Can’t Get Past The Title…

‘Race’ is the latest play by David Mamet that opens at the Goodman Theatre in January and is hailed by the Chicago Tribune as “intellectually salacious.” The play originally debuted on Broadway in 2009 to mixed reviews, but most of the critiques focus on the flaws in the plot and dramatic build as opposed to the approach to the subject of race. Although I have never seen the play and I usually support the Goodman’s commitment to multi-cultural, multi-ethnic productions i.e. Ruined by Lynn Nottage, El Noglar by Tanya Saracho, and the Latino Theatre Festival, I have some concerns about the production.

Goodman Theatre advertisement for 'Race'

The play synopsis describes the plot being about two lawyers “one black, one white” who are defending a “wealthy, white man accused of raping an African-American woman” but who find “a complex case where blatant prejudice is as disturbing as the evidence at hand.” Though there are clearly multiple themes i.e. sexual assault, distribution of wealth, potentially flawed legal system, but the main thread being pulled out and highlighted in the title is race. Not knowing the play but inferring from this synopsis, race is being defined in the context of racism. As has been stated in previous posts, I believe this immediately sets up race as being a problem, a means of dividing and separating people. Also, the idea of race has an immediate implication of Caucasian being the Subject, and all other races the Other. This binary model is clearly established in that all the characters within the play only represent two races: Caucasian and African-American. Not only is there a gaping absence in the representation of multiple races, this model and play synopsis seems to set up a _____ vs. _____ opposition to explore the ambiguous term “race,” which already has its own implications.

Cover of play

My next point of contention is with the marketing of the play. What is represented in the advertisement picture is part of the body of an African-American female. Apparently only her chest was worth presenting, as her head and rest of the torso has been cut out of the frame. Another picture that shows the lower half of an African-American woman in a red sequined dress (apparently an important plot point) sitting invitingly on a bed. Not only does this reinforce the idea of Black as the representation of race, and in some minds a representation of Other, this also reduces a whole woman into body parts. This is equally disturbing since the play is focused on themes of sexual assault. Also noteworthy is the sexually suggestive depiction of the woman pressing the charge of rape. Besides this reinforcing the archaic notion that suggestive clothing is linked to and compromises the credibility of the accuser, this is also problematic layered onto the female body in a play called ‘Race’ thus leaving a very distorted lens of how to view women of color.

For my last concern, I have to start out by making it known that I do not hate David Mamet. I have found the ideas behind some of his pieces to be thought provoking and relevant, combined with sharp dialogue. Also, for better or for worse, he leaves an impression as a playwright, which I can respect. With that said, I have often found myself shaking my head in disgust at the negative portrayal of women within his plays. Case in point, one of the most obvious examples I believe is the character of Carol in ‘Oleanna,’ who is only marginally developed in contrast to the opposite character John. This seems to be replicated again in ‘Race’ with the only female character presented onstage (not the female accuser) is in a position of submission to the central character, Jack, and at one point is subjected to re-enacting the sexual assault/consensual encounter in the courtroom. Wearing a red sequined dress. And she is African American.

Again, I have not seen the production, and perhaps it is a riveting look at the complexities of ‘race’ and if it is, I will eat my blogged words and buy a ticket to the January show.

 

Sources

Ng, David. David Mamet’s Race on Broadway: What did the critics think? The New York Times, December 2009.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2009/12/david-mamets-race-on-broadway-what-did-the-critics-think.html

 

CPDRC Inmates Dance to ‘Thriller’

In 2007, the Cebu Provisional Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) maximum-security prison in the Philippines implemented dance classes for all of its inmates to participate in daily as part of their rehabilitation program. Each month, dances that feature all 1500 inmates are performed free to the public, which seem to be an uplifting experience for both the performers and the audience. In addition to the Thriller dance, the prisoners also have performed dance routines to the Black Eyed Peas, which contained a dance combination of drill and Cha Cha, We Built This City by Starship, and Low by Flo Rida.

Since the program’s beginning, its popularity has grown and it has become a sensation on You Tube. I saw this video a year ago, and was completely stunned that prison inmates would collaborate together to rehearse and perform a choreographed dance routine. Having little exposure to prison life other than what is depicted by the media, rehearsing Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” is not what I expected to see from convicted inmates in a maximum-security prison. But as the dance progressed, it became apparent that there was a high level of commitment invested to the technical dance moves and characterizations. The audience reception was just as surprising as most of the public cheered and applauded; temporarily forgetting that approximately 70% or the inmates were convicted of murder, rape, or drug trafficking.

As CPDRC has gained more attention, it has also received an increase in criticism. Rumors circulating have suggested that the rehearsals have reached upwards of 10 hours a day, and prisoners have no choice but to participate or run the risk of “disappearing.” Byron Garcia, prison security advisor, denies that the inmates are forced to dance and defends himself by saying, “My fellow citizens of the world, cruel and violent forms of punishment are a thing of the past. If we make jails a living hell for the prisoners, then, we might just be sending out devils once they are released and re-integrated to society.”1

According to the National Institute of Justice website (NIJ), a 1994 statistics tracker of parolees found that 52% were arrested again and placed back in prison within three years of their release. In looking at how the prisons themselves impact inmates, NIJ researchers had surprising results.

“The theory is that differential placement may affect post-release crime rates (recidivism) but not necessarily as intended. Higher security prisons are more punitive and, therefore, should decrease recidivism among inmates who have equivalent propensities to commit crime. Research shows, however, that being exposed to inmates who have higher propensities to crime may increase criminal behavior or reinforce antisocial attitudes.”2

Finding similar evidence for Philippines’ prisons is challenging, but in a New York Times article, one of the inmates does note the decrease in drugs and alcohol. Another inmate commented, “I like dancing. It is a way we get to show the world that even if we ended up in prison, we are not totally damaged people.”3

In this sense, the monthly performances could potentially create an unexpected connection from the public to the inmates by removing social stigma and re-humanizing the inmates in the perception of society. As the NIJ research supports, the U.S. prison system that is intended to be rehabilitative is more often a demoralizing experience that leaves those who are paroled without tools to reacclimatize into society. According the NIJ research, the dehumanizing effect of prisons and the lack of true community connections are the contributing factors in recidivism. This increased antisocialism in turn, makes prisoner reentry back into the community more challenging and creates an almost inescapable cycle of crime.

This leaves me wondering: are these monthly performances beneficial for the inmates and the public who sees them? During the dance performances, the inmates continue to wear their prison jumpsuits, serving as a constant reminder to the audience of their place in society. However, by linking the prisoners to a popular, recognizable form of entertainment in mainstream society, is the identity of the inmates being reconstructed or are they just being exploited? Many of the inmates seem to enjoy the attention, and the public is willing to travel to the prison to watch them dance. But in doing so, are the inmates being reduced to a superficial form of entertainment, contained within a large, barred space that could possibly be read as a human zoo? It is difficult to know if the prisoners are truly operating within their own will to willingly perform for the public or if this is being used as a tool by the prison administration to garner public attention and solicit for donations. I want to believe that this kind of program is edifying for both the inmates and community alike, but without knowing what really goes on behind the prison walls, I’m not so sure.

 

Works Cited

[1] CPDRC maximum-security prison in the Philippines has 1500 inmates who enjoy its dance exercise program. Could this work in America? November 2009.

http://www.mahalo.com/answers/cpdrc-maximum-security-prison-in-the-phillipines-has-1500-inmates-who-enjoy-its-dance-exercise-program-could-this-work-in-america

[2] National Institute of Justice: Impact of Prison Experience on Recidivism.

http://nij.gov/nij/topics/corrections/recidivism/prison-experience.htm

[3] Seno, Alexandra. Dance is part of rehabilitation at Philippine prison. The New York Times. January 15, 2008.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/15/world/asia/15iht-inmates.1.9223130.html?pagewanted=2

 

 

A Broken System?

School closings, turnaround list draws protests

Thank you for your post ‘On Boldness in the Humanities’ Rohinic. Originally I was planning on writing a response, but instead it has turned into it’s own post. In reflecting on our class discussion on the humanities and higher education, it made me think of the work I was doing just prior to going back to grad school. I managed afterschool tutoring and enrichment programs for low-performing, inner city Chicago public schools that were in danger of becoming charter or turnaround schools. For those who may not be familiar, charter and turnaround schools are public schools deemed to be ‘failing’ according to standardized tests and are either then closed or ‘gutted’ of its staff and taken over by another entity. In Chicago’s case of assessment testing, students ranging between 3^rd-12^th grades take the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT).

To briefly detail what I believe are some inherent flaws with standardized testing, I will share an example ISAT writing topic given to inner-city Chicago 3^rd graders: Write a full-length essay about penguins as birds (I believe full-length was considered to be 3 pages, but I may be mistaken). Keeping in mind that writing topics were typically not allowed to stand on their own and instead paired with other subjects i.e. Science or History to deem it ISAT worthy, that writing topics were (and still are) sometimes irrelevant or culturally biased, and that other than reciting the movie plot from March of the Penguins, I’m not sure that I could even write a three page essay on penguins—the Writing section was not graded on a scale, but as a Pass/Fail. For a school whose very existence is dependent on the scores of each of its students, this is very problematic. But the reality is that despite many imbedded challenges for students and their families, schools are being required to either push their students to pass these tests or face the possibility of being shut down or taken over. As a result, teachers are discouraged from spending too much time teaching ‘unnecessary’ subjects like Social Studies, Music, Art, Gym etc. and concentrate on teaching the ISAT tests for Math, Reading, and Science from the beginning of the school year in August until the time of the ISAT, which is typically the first week of March.

On a side note, the imbedded challenges facing these Chicago students include poverty, neglect, or threats of gang violence to name a few…but schools often have neither the staff (because of budget cuts) or time (because of standardized test deadlines) to effectively deal with these greater issues because they are so daunting and, you know, students need to learn fractions. But I digress…

The focus on producing a product in the form of passing ISAT scores, rote methods of ISAT drills, and elimination of time wasters in class i.e. Art already implies a business model that is not only being used to achieve test scores but is continuously being ingrained into the framework through which students view the world. I find the fact that schools are adopting these business methods to keep from being taken over by other entities, which are consequently profit and non-profit organizations, sadly ironic. And I have to wonder what is the consequence of emphasizing to students that this is the way to learn, to achieve? When these students grow up, how will this impact our work force or education system? And of course, I ask, what will happen to the humanities? If students have been taught their entire lives that the humanities are secondary and unnecessary, will funding those fields also eventually be seen as unnecessary?

Fortunately this is not happening to every school across the U.S. Also, my purpose is not to denounce the value of all charter and turnaround schools, or to be a Debbie Downer. However after our discussion in class yesterday, it’s easy to see how a constricting model that is enclosing is currently impacting education in every facet. It’s also easier, and scarier, to see how this has the potential to only get worse.

This takes me back to Rohinic’s post on opening both our work and voices to the public, at the risk of upsetting peers or employers. In doing so, I see this as an act of resistance against a business model that is structured for an end product i.e. tenure and instead demonstrates the spirit of the humanities by vocalizing critical observations of the world around us. Unfortunately, the school highlighted in the Tribune article, Pablo Casals Elementary, is one of the schools I worked at last year. And after initially reading the article, I felt powerless to effect change for the school. But looking at the picture and seeing children and parents, who have had far fewer advantages in their lives than I have, not silencing their voices, I am inspired and convicted by their call to action in the hope of igniting change and not resigning themselves to a potentially flawed system.

Work Cited

Ahmed-Ullah, Noreen S. “School closings, turnaround list draw protests.” The Chicago Tribune. Dec. 2, 2011.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/education/ct-met-cps-school-closings-rally-20111202,0,6001759.story

Dirty Jobs

The latest issue of Bloomberg Businessweek entitled “Why Americans Won’t Do Dirty Jobs” looks at the semi-unexpected consequences of the immigration law HB56 recently passed in Alabama. Already known is that immediately following the passing of HB56, thousands of legal and illegal immigrant workers left Alabama in fear of prosecution, resulting in the opening up of their jobs in a state where parts of the unemployment rate is as high as 18% and 211,000 people are out of work. The impetus for the bill was to ‘Stop immigrants from stealing American jobs’…which has become a battle cry to urge lawmakers to adopt tighter immigration policies. So from the vantage point of those unemployed Alabamians trying to find work during a recession, this immigrant exodus would be a win-win for both would-be American employees and employers, right?

Not so much. The results being seen in Alabama are what my restaurant manager told me back in 2008 when Arizona began restricting the hiring policy for immigrants, thus eliminating their employment for the back kitchen positions—“Nobody else will do these jobs.” This fact is at the heart of “Why American’s Won’t Do Dirty Jobs” and how this leaves thousands of American employers in a lurch. As described in the Businessweek article, “In their wake are thousands of vacant positions and hundreds of angry business owners staring at unpicked tomatoes, uncleaned fish, and unmade beds. ‘Somebody has to figure this out. The immigrants aren’t coming back to Alabama – they’re gone,’ Rhodes says. ‘I have 158 jobs and I need to give them to somebody.” However, to the surprise of politicians and employers alike, very few people are taking them.

In 1990 only 1.1 percent of Alabama’s population were immigrants, but that number grew to 4 percent by 2010 due in large part to the growth of the state’s agricultural industry. With many people seeking higher education or better wages, there was a push to find labor that kept costs low. As the positions in the field and food plants became more and more filled by immigrant workers, the work itself became identified with the people who performed it, dubbing it “immigrant work” which now makes it less enticing to American workers. Doug Massey, a Princeton sociologist who studies population migration says, “Once an occupational category becomes dominated by immigrants, it becomes very difficult to erase the stigma.” A combination of this ‘stigma’ and the working conditions that are below most company standards is causing these businesses to lose money and cut their exports, which now leaves Alabama politicians in the ironic position of having to re-seek immigrant employment if American workers continue to pass over these jobs.

Although it is intended to convey the seriousness of the situation through the perspective of the employers, I am reminded of an earlier blog post which focused on the 2004 mockumentary A Day Without A Mexican, in which both the title subject is absent from his/her own narrative and the value of an immigrant is reduced solely to the utilitarian purpose of being a working body.  Despite the article painting the story of Juan Castro, one of the few migrant workers left at his employment, and the grueling workdays he faces to support his three children; 11 hour work days with no breaks, $5 per hour, and back injuries from the labor intensive work, Juan’s story is described to illustrate the reasoning for Americans not wanting to work these jobs. “For decades many of Alabama’s industries have benefitted from a compliant foreign workforce and a state government that largely looked the other way with wages, working conditions, and immigration status. With so many foreign workers now effectively banished from the work pool and jobs sitting empty, businesses must contend with American workers who have higher expectations for themselves and their employers—even in a terrible economy where work is hard to find.” The viewpoints of three different employers are detailed and their challenges of hiring quality employees, keeping workers for more than a week, and the complaints they receive about the minimum wage pay. The idea that perhaps the “immigrant work” is not fit for anyone is briefly explored, but the glaring message is that with recent developments the majority of Alabamians are wishing the ‘dirty jobs’ would go back to the people who are quietly willing to do them; immigrants. Instead of asking about the ethical implications of delegating work to minorities on the grounds of their need-based willingness and the obvious contradictions in benefits/expectations for different groups of workers based on ethnicity, instead the main point of concern is how the business model is being affected by the elimination of bodies performing dirty jobs that no one else will do.

Works Cited

Dwoskin, Elizabeth. “Why Americans Won’t Do Dirty Jobs.” Bloomberg Businessweek, Nov. 14, 2011.

The Naked Body

http://news.yahoo.com/robbery-motive-mexican-women-killings-225836437.html

After previous books and articles we’ve read in class explicitly describing the dismemberment and defilement against victims, I was bracing myself for the worst when I saw this article. Ileana Rodriguez’s descriptions of the brutal rapes and killings of the women in Juarez and the graphic use of them in snuff films, and Carolyn Nordstrom’s depiction of the animalizing and slaughtering of humans in Mozambique are images that have remained with me despite my attempts at removing them from my consciousness. So when I read “Mexican women killings” in the title of this article, those thoughts immediately flooded my mind.

However, the article on the robbery of two women in Mexico City is succinct and with few details. It’s easy to glance over without much thought, especially in comparison to the number of violent crimes that Mexico sees yearly. The description of the attack is straightforward: 2 women, both labeled as former journalists although one of them was co-founder of a political magazine, were robbed, bound, and murdered for one million pesos ($71,800) and two men have been detained. Their bodies weren’t mutilated, and the fact that in my mind I silently added “at least” before typing the rest of the sentence isn’t lost on me. The women weren’t reported as being raped or beaten, and despite one woman’s connection to the political magazine, there is no evidence of any other motive besides robbery.

However, even with the lack of blood and gore, I was still almost as disturbed as when I read the Rodriguez or Nordstrom pieces. Because unlike with those depictions, this time my uncomfortability came from what was not being said. This article appears to gloss over one detail regarding the state that the bodies were found; naked. Perhaps because there was no further evidence of assault, there wasn’t a pressing need to give additional attention to this point, but I found the dismissal to this unsettling. It wasn’t stated if the victimizers removed the women’s clothing before or after the murders, but the fact that the women were left naked to be found in a park says something.

In trying to understand why the clothing would need to be removed from the victims of a cash robbery, I remembered Tamara Underiner’s description of La Malinche, a symbolic figure in Mexican history that “continues to serve as a paradigm for female images in Mexico, for the ways men and women relate to each other.” This mother of Mexican nationality is often viewed as “the violated mother, her descendants are born into a country whose very existence is rooted in rape-conquest as violation.”1

Is this so imbedded into the Mexican psyche that even in a crime of robbery, which typically is devoid of sexual reference, the impulse to commit an act of degradation against the female body must still be committed? Although these victims were not raped, the stripping of their clothes from their bodies is a violation and an assertion of power. For these men, murder wasn’t enough, they also needed to layer their crimes with humiliation. Equally disturbing to me is the lack of attention given to this, which I perceive as a subtle, underlying acceptance of violence against women and the objectification of their bodies. It seems to me that whenever a murdered woman is found naked, the tendency is to either overlook that detail in light of the ‘bigger’ story, or to fetishize the nudity, instead of probing deeper and asking the question of why was it done in the first place?

1. Underiner, Tamara. Contemporary Theatre in Mayan Mexico: Death Defying Acts. University of Texas Press. 2004.

Additional Sources:

Rodriguez, Ileana. Liberalism At Its Limits. University of Pittsburgh Press. 2009.

Nordstrom, Carolyn. A Different Kind of War Story. University of Pennsylvania Press. 1997.