Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2014/07/19
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Who the hell are WE, Mark??? This is one of the most insulting I have read on LUG. It is as if "WE" do not include the likes of me. Besides, "Asians" make up about 60% of the global population, who the heck are WE anyway? As a US resident of Japanese heritage with Canadian citizenship, I never thought of Mikado as being insulting towards Japanese any more than Madama Butterfly is, though portraiture of the Japanese culture is certainly na?ve. However, there had been (and are) movies in particular which are categorically offensive because of the intent: Breakfast at Tiffany's being one of the most egregious and best known example. Compared to this, both Mikado and Madama Butterfly are quite adorable in their misconception and misunderstanding. We do have an ugly history, and it is quite inevitable that we have things that are offensive to some. Is the "Swedish chef" in Sesame Street offensive to Swedes? Merchant of Venice to Jews? Finnish in Monty Python? Polish and Newfie jokes? Yes, but so what? I have better things to worry about. Sent from my iPhone > On Jul 19, 2014, at 2:19 AM, Mark Rabiner <mark at rabinergroup.com> wrote: > > The issue is not how WE think about it but what the Asian people want. > If Asian people in what appears to be as in some kind of consensus are > giving the show it a thumbs down than its a play which is more that dated > it > should probably not be done. I'm wondering how many if any were in the > audience. > Flower Drum Song we all thought was a great show but we started to figure > it > out earlier on realize is was more than just benignly dated and its really > no longer done any more. I just checked. > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flower_Drum_Song > I still have my LP somewhere. Its about worn out. I can sing the whole show > for you by heart every verse I'm pretty sure. But would be embarrassed to > do > it within earshot of an Asian friend. > " Chop suey, chop suey! > Good and bad, intelligent, mad, and screwy." that was me singing. > I'm going to have to stare at a whirling black cube. > As much as I hate to say or think it the same might happen with "The > Mikado" > which I have also loved for decades and have recently seen in a slick > production in Portland OR. And have often sung along to my CD's of it I > have > two different versions of much of it. And pretty much have all the lyrics > memorized. > "IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHO WE AAARE" that was me singing just now. And is as > far as I'm going to go. > We just don't get to define other peoples identity issues. Only our own. I > should speak for myself. We might decide tomorrow that "white people" is > offensive to our ears and we want to be called the "evil beige people". I'm > sure it would catch on with no controversy. > > About decade or so ago black people decided in a kind of consensus that > they > didn't what to be called black people any more. The wanted to go with the > term "African Americans" Lots of white people had big opinions about it on > tv news shows but in the end everyone knew it was just now up to us. It > was > up to them. Turns out the term is still used but way less often. Whoopi > Goldberg said she was not going to change. Nobody wants to mess with her. > That could be it. > > >> On 7/19/14 4:42 AM, "Peter A. Klein" <pklein at threshinc.com> wrote: >> >> This pair was protesting and handing out leaflets in front of the >> Seattle Gilbert and Sullivan Society's production of "The Mikado," which >> they regard as "Yellowface" and racist. I accepted their leaflets, but >> when I took out my camera, they concealed their faces. >> <https://www.flickr.com/photos/24844563 at N04/14689190055/> >> >> On Monday, a Seattle Times opinion page editor slammed the production, >> which she hadn't seen. This was followed by two radio interviews in >> which she repeated her charges of "Yellowface" and racism. An Internet >> flamefest followed, including calls for a boycott and shutting down the >> show. There were fears that the performance would be disrupted, but that >> didn't happen Friday night, and only these two showed up. >> >> If you're interested in reading more about what's going on, Google these >> words: seattle mikado gilbert sullivan. You'll find all the relevant >> stuff on the first two pages. >> >> Full disclosure: Yours truly is not unbiased. I love Gilbert and >> Sullivan, I love "The Mikado," and I played bassoon in the company back >> in the 1980s. If this were a realistic play with Asian characters being >> played by whites and/or mugging offensive stereotypes, I would be >> sympathetic to the concerns. But that's not what "The Mikado" is. It's >> Brits (or Americans) playing Brits playing dress-up, but mostly acting >> like caricatures of upper-class Brits of 130 years ago. Nobody wears >> Asian-style makeup, except for Katisha (the fearsome contralto >> character), who is made-up Kabuki-style. The G&S Society has a tradition >> of color-blind casting. No Asian-Americans auditioned for this show, >> there are 38 Caucasians and 2 Hispanics on stage. There are several >> Asian-Americans on the stage crew, one in the orchestra pit (a friend of >> mine), and one on the society's Board of Trustees. >> >> --Peter >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Leica Users Group. >> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > > > > > -- > Mark William Rabiner > Photographer > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/lugalrabs/ > > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information