The Arts in New York City

Monday evening at the Metropolitan Opera House was supposed to be a night celebrating Russian opera, with a performance of Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin.” While it was just that, the gala did face a sizable speed bump: angry protestors. In fact, the first voice that was heard by the audience was from a rioter, criticizing the newly established Russian antigay law. This law bans “propaganda on nontraditional sexual relationships.” It’s been common knowledge lately that Russia is very anti-gay, and with the Winter Olympics coming up, this has been a topic of discussion for many people.

Four people were required to leave the show and they complied – having already succeeded in making their point. However, these were only 4 out of the many protestors who were outside the opera house; according to the article, there were tons of picketing and chanting, along with a 50-foot rainbow banner declaring the message “Support Russian gays.” The idea for the protest stemmed from Andrew Rudin, a gay composer. Rudin created an online petition insisting that the Met dedicate the performance to Russian gay rights. The petition, signed by over 9000 people, stated that Tchaikovsky – who is ironically, gay – was going to be performed by artists who supported an antigay Russian government. While it seemed only right – at least to me – for the Met to fulfill the wishes of so many people, they could not. General manager of the Met, Peter Gelb, stated that, although he didn’t disagree, he felt it would be inappropriate if the opera house made a dedication based on a political cause. He continued by explaining that while “Russia may officially be in denial about Tchaikovsky’s sexuality, we’re not. The Met is proud to present Russia’s great gay composer. That is a message in itself.”

I found this article very interesting and relevant – especially considering the fact that Ed’s recent article was related to homophobia in the hip hop community. In his blog post, which could be found here, he asked readers why they personally feel homophobia is so prevalent in the hip hop world. I think it’s very thought provoking to see that the mere hint of something perhaps being antigay is being protested in the art community – a society where you would never expect there to be an issue with homosexuality. Although this Metropolitan Opera protest is indisputably minor compared to the problems in the hip hop community, I still think it’s crazy to see this. It’s also unsettling to see that the problems in Russia could influence people here.

Although somewhat irrelevant to this article, I remember finding out about the antigay feelings in Russia and I strongly felt that our country should’ve decided to boycott the Olympics. However, after realizing how hard our athletes trained, I thought it just wouldn’t be fair to them. So, I’m asking you all because I’m curious: how do you feel about the Olympics being in an area of antigay government? What does it say about our world, that we’re allowing this to happen? Does this tiny protest at the Metropolitan Opera House symbolize something larger?

Source: Cooper, Michael. “Gay Rights Protest Greets Opening Night at the Met” New York Times. 23 September 2013. Web. 25 September 2013.

In James C. McKinley Jr.’s article, “Giving Drug Advice Along With Music”, he discusses the new approach being implemented at the TomorrowWorld festival that begins this Friday, September 27. A nonprofit drug education group will be holding sessions on controlling drug usage and preventing over doses. This is a response to the recent deaths that occurred at Electric Zoo and other dance festivals.

We’re living in a generation where concerts are associated with such intense drug usage, and it’s producing “negative publicity” that is potentially hurting the industry, which makes me personally wonder… Since when has doing drugs become such a crucial part of the concert experience?

The article mentions that these safety measures are something that has already been commonplace for some time in Europe, which proves that once again, America lags behind in caring for the health of its youth. The reason for that probably has largely to do with the “zero tolerance for drugs” policy at these events. Obviously, they don’t do an efficient job of enforcing that policy, so I think the important aspect to focus on is accepting the wide range of drug use and working to regulate it and educate the youth on how to minimize putting people’s lives at risk. It’s too late to be in denial and more effective to provide resources, such as rehabilitation centers that will benefit those who have been harmed. Obviously hearing “drugs are bad… don’t do drugs” hasn’t stopped many. The effective solution is to start saying “ don’t mix drugs with alcohol… don’t do more than this amount… etc.”

In the article Missi Woolridge, the president of the DanceSafe Board, mentions that providing information on drugs can save lives, just like providing information on sex has prevented many from STDs and AIDS. I think it’s important to look at the analogy of the promotion of safe sex. No one says “don’t have sex”, but instead we are educated to have safe sex and take precautionary measures. Much like this, we need to start having informative drug sessions across the nation. Lack of awareness is one of the issues raised and the deaths at Electric Zoo finally caught the nation’s attention. We all heard about those losses, but this isn’t the first time people have died from overdosing at concerts. We only hear about the big news and the big festivals, but this actually happens from time to time at smaller concerts as well.

I’ve personally witnessed our generation give in to the trap of not only substances that alter your state of mind, but also deteriorate the brain. These drugs can cause irreparable damage and because many kids have a false sense of invincibility they refuse to accept that, so they end up engaging in behaviors that can potentially end their lives. Most kids  have lost motivation to work hard and be productive, slimming their chances of graduating high school, getting a college degree, and ultimately finding a job.  So I fully support these information sessions and even if they only change a small percentage of minds it will make a difference.

Source:

McKinley Jr., James C. “Giving Drug Advice Along With Music” New York Times. 25 September 2013. Web. 25 September 2013.