So I am an unapologetic fan of Dan Savage. I was corrupted into his column at a very young age. I have many a found memory of 8th grade where we went into Mickey's and read Savage Love awkwardly out loud. I was a bad ass and in 8th grade.
As I got older and more sophisticated I started listening to the Savage Lovecast. Needless to say Dan Savage has saved my life. He has changed my views on monogamy, transgender, and sex negativity in general. I truly, honestly believe that Dan has helped make me a more open- minded person. His activist work especially It Gets Better Project is an inspiration for me and what I believe is a life line to LGBT youth in hateful America.
Dan has a very important sex-positive message for America's youth. I can't believe I am saying this, but MTV is good for America. The launch of Dan's new show: Savage U is a positive fight in the media war attempting to roll back the gains of the sexual revolution. America needs this message to break its horrible Puritan roots. So without further wasting of your time please enjoy the premiere episode of Savage U!
Central Theater Touring
So I saw an incredible piece of theater today. I am taking a class right now called Social Justice Theater. It is a little three week class where we do a lot of Augusto Boal and theater of the oppressed techniques. At the end of this class we will in theory have a piece of work of our own to present.
The woman driving this entire process is Jan Mandell. The methods and process we are learning in class is the same methods she has been teaching at St. Paul Central High School for 30 years. She uses art and Social Justice theater to give students in dire academic and economic situations a chance to find their voice and express themselves. Her work has help kids not only find a passion for art and theater in their lives, but help them find motivation and drive to pull themselves out of their situation and push to reach their full potential. We need 1000's of Jan Mandells all across the country using art to break the achievement gap we have in our country.
The message of living up to one's own potential is the major theme of Central Touring Theater's 2012 piece: "Wake Up." This piece addresses a wide range of social issues very personal to these kids. Sweatshops, gun violence, relationships, and body image issues are just a short list of the many issues this theater company took on.
Now we have all seen social justice theater. More than likely you saw bad preachy social justice theater and therefore have a very negative opinion of the art form. I am an artist and I dislike bad art. Just because I have seen bad social justice theater does not make the art form bad.
This piece was powerful and moving because the stories were so clearly personal to these kids. They weren't talking about issues far removed from themselves that they didn't have to deal with. They chose issues that they deal with every day in their personal lives.
The piece that stood out to me the most and I want to highlight was a piece written and performed by a young Muslim woman. In this piece the girl defends why she wears her Hijab ( head covering). This piece was so effective because it showed racism and closed minds on both sides. In the beginning of the piece the girl dealt with comments and teasing about her Hijab. Then a girl walked up and legitimately wanted to understand. She attempted to bridge cultural gaps and the Muslim girl was very closed off and aggressive. Eventually they broke down that barrier together and they came to an understanding of each other. This is just one example of a very long list of powerful pieces.
Central Touring Theater takes their piece all over the state. It goes to high schools, colleges, and education conferences. This company and program is a testimony of how vital arts eduction is in schools. In a time where the national dialogue is so focused on cuts, cuts, cuts I feel it is important to highlight programs that are doing good work. I encourage everyone to see this fantastic piece of theater if you have the opportunity to.
Here is a little snippet of some of the things Central Touring Theater does. It of coarse as all recordings of live theater does not do the work justice:
Sunny
So it has come to my attention that I am a dumb ass. One of the greatest sitcoms of all time. has been going on for seven seasons now and I have not given it a chance. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia has filled the dark sick twisted hole in my heart and my soul I didn't even know needed filling.
I love this show because it is balls to the wall unapologetic humor. The writers and actors are not afraid to go anywhere and it is very clear they will not submit to the concept of political correctness. Normally something I look for in a good sitcom is people I can relate too. I am going to be spending a lot of time with these characters so they need to be people I want to hang out with. That is why my favorite sitcom: How I Met Your Mother is so successful. Not only do I see myself in virtually every character, but over the years I have developed a very strong bond to these characters. This is not the case with Sunny.
Sunny is as close as I get to understanding why America is fascinated with watching Jersey Shore. All the characters on Sunny are horrible disgusting human beings with almost no redeemable qualities. The show is like watching a train wreck. It disgusting to watching, but how could I possible look away and stop masturbating (little sunny style humor for those concerned). The reason Sunny is good art not vile and repulsive like Jersey Shore is it is satire. It is absurd and over the top, but is does it to makes it point.
Tonight I watch an episode where Danny DeVito was literally water boarding another character in a urinal with the set-up and punchline being "Frank does that work" "I got her to admit to things she didn't even do. It works." So I will end this post with maybe of the greatest things I have ever seen on Television. I of coarse cannot find the real deal, but this is an interesting behind the scenes and a deleted scene. Please if you do nothing else before you die seek on the Sunny episode: "The Nightman Cometh." You do not need to see the show to find this amazing and hilarious, but it definitely will help because this scene is laced with inside jokes. Without further adieu The Nightman Cometh:
That is just a small sample. You should watch the full episode to glean the full value and awesomeness.
Gnite y'all
Will
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