Global SeXXX-ism
As I’ve written elsewhere, Global SeXXX-ism not only has a baroquely faux-pomo title, but it is pedantic, pretentious, and awful. It is, allegedly, a series of “cycles” that “examine” global sexism and racism, but it simply patronizes its audience with characterless, plotless vignettes of, say, men being shitty to women. Or a girly-boy getting called a fag by his macho uncle. Just miserable moment after miserable moment without an ounce of analysis, depth, or complexity. It pisses me right off, not only because this kind of vacant, smug bullshit gives theater a bad name but because the Conciliation Project (the production company) got a $13,000 grant from the city’s Neighborhood Matching Fund to mount this crap and bring it to Seattle schools. Local artists should subject themselves to the show and then beg - beg! - schools to keep SeXXX-ism as far away from students as possible. Kids don’t need any more evidence that theater is for shit. (Want kids to see a play about sexism and racism that doesn’t suck? Mount a touring production of Fences.)
Think I’m crazy? Read this letter by a reader who stumbled into the show and then read the review:
Bless you, in the name the sweet baby jesus ~ BLESS YOU.
I sat through this thing, and I am still huddled in the fetal position in the shower crying, and hoping to get the stink off me. I can’t believe you let them off so easily~ you didn’t even mention the fact that this is the SECOND RUN the show is having. The last one was like 6 months ago ~ same exact play, same theater.
Nor did you mention the forced “discussion” we all had after the show… where we all “opened up” and “shared our feelings about the “intense experience” we just had together. Don’t know if you know this Brenden, but the healing can’t begin until we have an overpriced, awkward, forced dialog with strangers.
I agree with the premise that we need an open and honest dialogue to begin the healing… THE HEALING OF A DYING ART FORM.
Steve Wu
Anybody else see this show? Any horror stories> Anybody out there who actually liked the damned thing?
Granted, "Global SeXXX-ism: unwrapped" fell short of my expectations, I would like to point out that I've seen all of the other projects. This is the fifth in a series. And the others really do have fathoms to offer. While this the fifth fell short, I hope it will not make audiences short sighted in respects to the project as a whole. If you have witnessed "uncle tom: deconstructed" or "Genocide Trail: a holocaust un-spoken," you know how powerful what they do can be. That grant was won on the basis of what these forerunners did. If they can turn out work like that, there's hope they can again.