Or what we write when
the contemporary world gets F-ed
Hey hey!
We’re back! Kind of! I’m so happy to engage with you all again! You can tell
this by my exclamation points! There are so many! Yay!!!!
So, here
we are. Metaphorical shit has metaphorically gotten weird. None of us are allowed to congregate in
public spaces, the theatres are dark, the federal government is a rudderless
ship of ineptitude, our neighbors are dying of disease like its 1605 and King
Lear is being written (or pirated, depending on who you ask), and my
asthmatic bahookie is afraid to go outside. The state of the planet is, in a
word, terrifying. At least, it is for us Democrats, ‘cause apparently believing
in the horrifying destructive power of respiratory illness is uniquely a
liberal prerogative (see Liberty University attempting to reopen last week: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/29/us/politics/coronavirus-liberty-university-falwell.html?action=click&module=News&pgtype=Homepage).
Ahem. #WorldWarC
Fear. That
is broadly what I would like us to meditate on this week when it comes to the
corona crisis. But hopefully not in a terribly anxiety generating way.
Hopefully just a cathartic way. Fear is one of the most fundamental of human’s
instinctual responses, and it drives us to all forms of self-preservation.
Without diving too deeply into definitions (yalls know what fear is), I would
loosely classify fear into two categories. I would say there are big F fears
that generate an immediate fight or flight response and little f fears that
wheedle away at you, generating anxieties and stress over the long term. I
would also argue that we are in a period where both are highly acute right now.
Just two weeks ago I had a big-time fight or flight response to the way
Louisiana was handling Covid-19 and drove 18 straight hours back to MN. Now
every night I fight the little f fears of catching this disease, wondering what
it will do to my asthma, wondering how much of a pain in the ass it’ll be to
study acting over Zoom, wondering when we will be able to get to campus,
wondering if my parents will get it, etc. I assume you are familiar with these
fears and face your own versions of them as well.
Just as there are many types of fear, there are many
responses to fear. My own personal favorite is sardonic humor. I’ve generated
some of my best one-liners before going under the knife, after getting violently
beaten and left in the street, being on the receiving end of three car crashes,
etc. But there are many other responses to fear as well that we have seen in
the last couple weeks in response to the Covid-19 crisis. Like all the assholes
hording toilet paper and chicken. An increase in the purchasing of guns. That
one NBA player, Rudy Gobert, coughing deliberately over reporters microphones https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/rudy-gobert-touched-every-microphone-at-jazz-media-availability-monday-now-reportedly-has-coronavirus/.
I think it is safe to say that fear brings out the absolute damned
worst in some people. I think it’s safe to say that fear brings out the best in
others. These are not new thoughts. I am just bringing them up because right
here, right now, in this time, there is a metric forkload of fear going around
and it is generating some really interesting responses in people.
And so, without further ado, your subject matter for this
week’s critical-theory blogosphere:
Performing Quarantine.
Look around you, whatever that means to you, and find ways
that quarantine is being “performed” right now.
If you were a theatre historian, fervently taking notes on the
zeitgeist, the mood of the times, the pulse of the people, in what ways do you
see performance coming to light right now? What are the boundaries of
performance spaces in this quarantine? Is the internet, for example, a vast and
metaphorically infinite space where one can be ceaselessly entertained? Or is
it a trap where people brag about quarantine productivity? Over what mediums do
you see performance? Performed actions? Performed citizenry? Society Performed?
What is the relationship between the personal and the collective? How does fear
play into how we perform the Self? You can grapple with some of these
questions, you can grapple with none of these questions.
But we are still in the early days of this crisis in the
United States, and I want you to be the historiographer of these plague-times.
When it comes to crafting the historical narrative or performance during
Covid-19?
Some images, articles, and memes to get your brain in gear:
1)
John posted an interesting Foucault piece that
talks about heterotopias of crisis. Could be one route to examine these
questions. Check Moodle under “Space” week.
2)
https://secretnyc.co/empire-state-building-shine-red-covid/?fbclid=IwAR0FPjhQzxxd243xnwz1Z6ZBWAQFINXfAdK-_PI9D50tgxBB9IoeRobu5TU
3)
4)
8)
11) And
My Personal Favorite https://www.facebook.com/MarybethVitaEdwards/videos/10220574127777488
This week I read something in Kaitlyn's blog something that stuck with me during the week, commenting on her concern for folks who are trying to just "pick it up and keep going." This made me think about how I have noticed that there seems to be a lot of division amongst my friends and family who are handling this pandemic in different ways, similar to how everyone handles grief differently. Some are handling it by mostly resting and focusing on self-care. Others are staying busy with projects or continuing work as normal. And then there are those who are not commenting at all on the whole thing and are just as absent on social media as always. All of these reactions are equally valid and have their own merit.
ReplyDeleteSome folks go as far as to shame other people's reactions to the pandemic or make this time into some sort of "productivity competition" or a "resting competition." I feel that these are both disappointing responses to a global crisis. Shaming anyone's reaction to a crisis is unnecessary and only serves to cause more division among people. The only reaction that really deserves any shame is folks who think that the virus and the pandemic isn't real or is an overreaction and some sort of government ploy or conspiracy. That's just an ignorance to reality.
To those who want to continue to create, stay positive, and work, they should feel free to do so while also not shaming anyone who chooses to watch Netflix, snack, surf the internet, and relax. And the opposite is true. Some people handle crisis by pressing through it, finding silver linings, and staying active while others need to slow down, steady themselves, meditate, or simply be still for a while and lighten the amount of work they're doing. Neither is better than the other, they are both valid responses and I wish more people would accept that.
After reading my colleagues' blogs I reflected on Victoria's post. She remarked about being a part of the Generation who would tell their kids about how the world was dying and what we did to save it. I appreciated how she highlighted the importance of artists during this time when the world is on lock down. Even more so the way she highlighted creativity. It's possible that creativity will become more of a part of everyone's lives not just artists.
ReplyDelete