Macaulay Seminar One at Brooklyn College

On Thursday, October 4^th we went to see the play Luz at La Mama Theater. At first I was a little skeptical about the play because it said on the website that it was an experimental play. I immediately thought about a random assortment of events that I wouldn’t understand because it was a director’s idea of an “experimental play.” However, I was glad to find out that I could actually follow the events in the play.

What I liked the most was the role of the actors in the play. The concept of one actor having multiple roles during the play at first seemed strange to me. I thought it wouldn’t work and roles would clash with each other. To my surprise, the roles flowed throughout the play. The director/writer did an excellent job of distributing the roles among the actors so that none of them would clash.

The story of Luz was also very interesting. The subject of rape is a sensitive topic that is affecting people worldwide. I like how the story ended up with the lawyer saying her own story of how she was raped. It showed that no matter what situation or social status you’re in there’s a chance that you can be raped, which is an idea that we all should realize.

Battle between AWB and police at FW meeting, Ventersdorp

The photo I picked was titled “Battle between AWB and police at FW meeting, Ventersdorp” by Graene Williams taken in South Africa. The picture was divided in two by the formation of two groups of people, the AWB and the police. All the people in the photograph are caucasian males.  You can see from the photograph the distinction of the police wearing the traditional blue coats with blue shirts. Also, you can see the sergeant rank of one of the officer’s arms. You can see from the background that this FW meeting has taken place at night. Attached at the hips of the police officers there are gas masks while they’re holding guns in their hands. We can infer this means that they’re prepared to put down a riot using chemicals and even guns to subdue the ruckus.

The other half of the picture is of the AWB, an African political group. You can distinctly see a man screaming at the police. What makes him so distinctive is the red glove he’s wearing. It sticks out against the blue of the police officers and the darkness of the night sky. It seems to be pointing to the police as if to accuse them of their wrongdoings of apartheid. There’s also a club in between his legs which may mean he’s preparing the riot against the police. There are two other men standing behind the man with the red glove.

Most of the police have their eyes locked on the man with the red glove, while other officers are looking towards the crowd. The AWB have their eyes focused upon various police officers.

This picture shows the extreme split between the people of Africa during the time of apartheid. It shows that people are willing to result to violence to get what they believe is the “proper” way of life. The pictures captures the moment perfectly because we can literally see the immense tension rising between the two factions.

I’ve been living in Queens since I was 3 years old. Since my parents worked a lot I didn’t have anyone to take me to places I wanted to go, so I had to find a way around myself. Since I couldn’t drive a car as a kid, I mainly took public transportation such as buses and trains to get where I wanted to go.

Since I mainly went to places around Queens, each city was significantly different. Flushing was where all the Asian stores were located, Bellerose was where you found countless apartment complexes and Astoria was where all the adults went to work. However there was one unifying piece of art located in each of these cities that made them cities of New York, graffiti.

Graffiti was everywhere I went. On nearly every main road or convenience store you would see graffiti. Mainly it consisted of local gang tags but every once in a while you come across magnificent pieces of art in the form of graffiti.  Three-dimensional pieces of art would spring to life on the surface of a brick wall that would seem to grab at you if you came too close.

Graffiti is a free form art. There are no rules, no procedures to follow. Just an artist, a few spray cans and a brick wall. The possibilities of graffiti were endless.  It’s amazing to see an artist’s image in their head come to life on regular pavement you would walk on everyday without noticing it.

I believe graffiti represents Queens because of the fact that it can make something so ordinary, magnificent. You’re literally walking one day not noticing anything special about the pavement your stepping on. Then the very next day you’re gazing in awe at the beauty of a graffiti artist.

Overall I give this play 4 out of 5 stars.

The Actors. There was an uneven spread of talent between the actors. The head of the law firm underwent a lot of character development in a short time an had to show many sides of himself, which he did skillfully. Luz herself was very convincing, especially when she screamed at her interrogator, and she did an accurate Guatemalan accent (my neighbors had a Guatemalan nanny). Alexandra played the part of a normally reserved person who is emotionally involved very well, sounding exactly like my introverted friend when she tells over a sad story- not all people are dramatic in their sadness, which was one of the main criticisms I heard about her and that I consider unfair. The Haitian woman had a lot of difficult physical acting to do, like dragging her friend out from under he table, giving birth, and dying, which she made appear realistic. Jesus/Alexandra’s coworker played his parts in a very one-dimensional way. The environmental activist/Haitian policeman was more convincing as an activist than as policeman, because his yelling didn’t have force behind it, but as an activist he was sort of bland with no sense of the “why” that all characters in a story need. Alexandra’s first case was also sort of “blah” as an actor.

The Plot. I found it overstuffed, like the playwright was trying to address too many issues in too short a time. The connection between the 2 stories was weak at best. If you think of it as 2 separate plays, one about rape and one about soulless corporations destroying the world through pollution, then it starts to make more sense.

The Scenery. Very good. The background of paperwork worked beautifully for the Guatemala City dump and for the law firm, because both of these environments are very cluttered. The boxes added a perception of depth by seeming to extend backwards forever, and help to illustrate how much work goes into getting just one person into this country.The table centered the stage and worked well with every scene. The white rug under the table also helped with focusing on the sage and gave the lighting something to bounce off of. The lighting added to the mood of whatever was going on.

The Puppet. A dramatic and original idea. It also brought out the symbolism of birds, which is mentioned throughout the play, so it kind of tied things together a little bit.

We first visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial; a memorial tucked between two large buildings on the southern tip of Manhattan. It was a memorial that I, quite frankly, never even knew existed. When we first entered the plaza in which the memorial was situated, we were met by a large map that detailed landmarks and major locations and battles of the Vietnam War. We then continued down The Walk of Honor. Along this walkway that lead to the memorial, on either side, were listed the names and ages of the 1,741 New Yorkers who died in Vietnam. After proceeding to the end of the walkway, we finally arrived to the memorial itself.
I found the memorial to be quite interesting. Firstly, there was the ability to actually walk through the memorial. There were two rectangular arches that allowed passage from one side to the other allowing quick access to and views of both sides of the memorial. The materials used for the memorial were also interesting, namely the glass blocks. These glass blocks were in essence individual units that came together to make a larger, singular memorial. Also, the glass used was not transparent. Rather, the glass was a very opaque green; almost giving the sense that it was hiding something deep within it’s confines.
The part that I found the most interesting, however, were the actual letters written between soldiers in Vietnam and their families back home etched into the glass of the memorial. Many of them spoke of the horrors of the war, the terrible sights, sounds and smells, the constant fear, and confrontation with death. But one letter stood out the most to me. Or rather just one phrase: “Don’t be a hero.” It’s a phrase I’ve heard from my dad so many times used in so many scenarios that it almost seems like a joke when he says it sometimes. But to see these words used in such an extreme context- a mother whose beloved son is thrown into the clenches of a gruesome and deadly war- really struck me. It made me think of how lucky I am, living safely as I do, and not fighting in a terrible war with my life on the line, as did so many young men, many even younger than me, did before.

We then visited the 9/11 memorial. It was interesting to immediately see the contrast between the two memorials, the first a seemingly abandoned plaza hiding at the shy edge of the city between buildings, a highway, and a heliport, and the second bustling with activity of those coming to pay their respect, the intense security, and the bustle of the city that surrounds the memorial. Once we past security, though, the atmosphere was much more calm and quiet. And very somber. People walked around slowly and quietly around the plaza and memorials. To add to that feeling, it was a particularly grey day.
To juxtapose this silence, however, was the roaring of the water flowing from the two pools. I found this quite remarkable. The water that started at the top of the pool seemed so placid, yet as it trickled over the edge the splashing sound resonated quite loudly. It then fell into what seemed like a bottomless pit, as the angle of the viewer cut off the pit that lies in the center of the pools, and throws off any perception of its true depth.
The pools themselves are also quite large, and I find that their size and placement in accordance to the two towers is very impactful. I can’t honestly say that I remember the twin towers, but this representation clearly implies that they were quite massive. In addition, the name of every person who perished in that terrible tragedy is etched deeply into a sheet of thick metal. To see name after name after name, of every man woman, and even unborn child going on for what seemed like forever, with the occasional flower placed here or there was deeply moving. I can’t say I really remember the twin towers as they stood, nor do I have any personal relationship with anyone involved in the terror attacks of 9/11, but I still felt a sense of loss; a terrible pang deep within my heart.
But despite this loss, hope was still alive. I thought this was well personified by the survivor tree. Although damaged in the attacks, the tree survived, and was nursed back to health. I had previously visited the 9/11 memorial, and the survivor tree seemed to be terribly damaged, held together by ropes and cables. Yet on this day, the tree seemed vibrant and full of life, and a shining symbol of the future.

I was struck by a number of photos in the apartheid exhibit at the International Center of Photography two weeks ago. I felt they really captured the essence of a rather tumultuous movement in history and were successful in depicting its progression (or in some cases, regression) over time. The photo I chose to describe was taken by Margaret Bourke-White in 1950, and its caption read “Carpenter Phillip Mbhele wearing “We Don’t Want Passes” tag.” It is of a single black man whose mouth is wide open, with a double chin framing its round shape. His eyebrows are furrowed, nostrils are flared, and eyes appear slightly squinted as he looks out toward the left of the frame. He has a thin mustache, but no hair on his head. There are gaps in his teeth of the top row, and about 4 teeth are visible in the bottom row. His shoulders are at an angle, with the right shoulder slightly behind the left one. He is wearing a button-down shirt with a vertically-knit sweater on top, as well as a light grey suit jacket with a dark grid-like pattern. On the left side of this jacket, there is a slightly bent piece of paper that almost appears to be stapled on; it reads, “We Don’t Want Passes.” The letters are all capitalized, with the word “passes” bigger and bolder than the other ones. The viewer is able to see all of the man’s upper-right arm, but the frame cuts off his left one at the shoulder. The bottom of the frame also ends about halfway down the man’s torso. The background appears to be a grey, cloudy sky and is only visible in the top half of the photo. Finally, one of the most important details of this photo is the angle at which it was taken. The viewer is looking up at the man, indicating that the photographer was way below his eye level, possibly even at ground level. This certainly gives the man a sense of authority and conviction as he passionately speaks out against the injustice of the time.

The second half of our evening was spent at the performance of Luz at LaMama Theater. Overall, I thought the play was well done; it conveyed a very serious and relevant message that the violation of human rights is rampant around the world. The victims, however, are essentially silenced and ashamed to tell their stories as the rest of us simply turn a blind eye, refusing to acknowledge and thereby act upon this injustice. I felt this was reflected in the set, there being a large and rather obvious mountain of disorganized paper in the center contrasted with the orderly file boxes on the sides. I also enjoyed the playwright’s juxtaposition of stories; I believe she was successful in weaving them together in such a way as to reflect off of, rather than take away from, one another. It would have been less interesting (at least in my opinion) had she chose to focus on any of the stories individually. Overall, it was a rather enjoyable Thursday evening in the city 🙂

There were many photographs in the gallery that were very powerful and meaningful. However, the one photograph that immediately caught my attention is the “A black protest is chalked on wall outside the Johannesburg city hall by resentful Native.” 

In this picture there is a white man with his back turned to a wall that says “God is Black.” These words are handwritten in white chalk and boxed in. The wall seems to be in the center of the town as there are many buildings surrounding the wall. No one seems to be disturbed by these words or seems to take any notice of it.  There are many people out on the streets but no one seems to take notice of the wall. However, the people out on the streets all seem to be white, educated, wealthy upperclassmen that have no concern for the black minority. The man with his back to the wall seems to be headed somewhere a he is carrying what seems like a piece of paper in his had. He is right foot is forward as if he is walking away from the wall. Furthermore, the man’s attention is somewhere else as he seems to be looking into the distance opposite of the wall. The man is well dressed and seems to be very young. On the other hand, the wall may be old as it is slightly chipped and worn down. The wall on which the words are written on look somewhat like a tombstone.

The picture depicts the disregard for the blacks during the time period. The statement on the wall is such a bold statement and yet no one seems to paying attention to it. The man having his back turned to the wall is s a symbol of how the blacks were treated with disrespect.  The voices of the blacks were ignored and were not heard and therefore they suffered discrimination. The way the man is walking away from the wall could represent him walking away from justice.

Hey guys, I chose the “A mother mourns the death of her United Democratic Front-supporting son” painting to write about at the ICP. Here is my description:

There is a woman with her entire body covered by a cloth. She is next to a striped sofa where there is nothing but a piece of clothing. Next to the sofa is a small chest-like object also covered with a cloth that has a kind of flower design. Next to that is a chest with three drawers. The drawer on the far right (in the corner) is slightly open. On the chest is: a can with a picture of a man, multiple chains with white beads, a broken mirror, and two other structures. On the wall is nothing except four pictures: three on the back wall, one on the right. The far left has the crucifixion of Jesus. The next has a woman praying and a man next to her. The one after that has a dead naked man with three women surrounding him. The last picture on the right has a woman, with cloth covering her hair, holding a child. The wall is mostly white with a dark shade above the chest and in between the chest and sofa. There are a couple of black marks and cracks on the wall.

That was just what I observed from the painting (without making any assumptions or inferences). After looking at all the details, I assumed that many of the pictures hanging on the wall were of Jesus and the Virgin Mary. It was obvious from the emptiness of the room that the woman’s family was very poor. There was not a lot of furniture and many of the objects that were present were either keepsakes or were there for religious purposes. Also, the fact that she is praying so close to the sofa and chest shows that the room is very small. It is not only lacking in furniture, but is also very cramped. It’s also interesting how the woman is entirely covered while praying – no portion of her body can be seen.

Two Thursdays ago I was able to see the play Luz Catherine Filloux. The play portrays the social issues present in developing countries. A major social issue the play highlights is the struggle of women in poor families. The play portrays three women that were victims of rape. The two main characters are Luz and her human rights lawyer, Alexandra. Luz is a young woman that grew up by the garbage dump of Guatemala city with her grandmother. After she began working, Luz was abused by her employer. She kept quiet and was not served justice until Alexandra brought the issue to court.

Overall, the play had a interesting plot and portrayed many important issues facing the world. However, I believe the many story lines made the play hard to follow and somewhat confusing. Also, the side story regarding the businessman and environmentalist was not necessary and did not seem to have a purpose in the play other than present class distinctions. The playwrights purpose in including this story seemed unclear throughout the play. Furthermore, the fact that each actor/actress had multiple roles also made the story line somewhat difficult to follow. However, once the dialogue started it was much easier to identify most of the characters. Despite the confusion, the symbolism of the bird and the symbols of light during a dark time added a great touch to the play.

Overall, the play was interesting and very different from many other plays. The director and producers did a good job on the set as it portrayed both the chaos and the order in society. Furthermore, the actors did a good job in presenting the central idea of the play and making it somewhat realistic.

The photo I chose to analyze was one of the Soweto Uprising. It was taken by South African photographer Peter Magobane on June 16, 1976.

There is a dirt road. Litter made up of crumpled pieces of paper lies on either side of it. In the center of the road lies a solitary crushed soda can. On the sides of the road grass grows out of control. It’s clear thats it is unkept. The grass is dotted with the litter that was previously mentioned and with a large metal can.

In the foreground of the image there are four male figures in the center of the road. The man on the left has clenched fists. He seems to be advancing in the direction of the cameraman. He wears pants and a shirt with what seems to be a suit jacket. His face seems to be contorted with rage, likely this anger is directed at  his oppressors.

The second male seems more boyish. He wears pants and a shirt. He is armed with a trashcan lid in one hand, and a large stone in the other. There is a cloth wrapped around his the bottom part of his face, making it look like he is wearing a half balaclava.

The third male is slightly behind the two. He’s wearing a shirt and pants. He is slightly hunched over. He is cringing as though something might hit him at any moment. He is holding an open wooden crate and is raising it slightly, as if to block something.

The forth man has his back to us, but is looking in the direction of the camera. He is wearing pants anda suit jacket. Judging by the way he’s standing, it looks as though he’s running away from something.

The background of the picture is blurry. There are more figures in it, but they al have their backs to us. It’s unclear whether or not they are trying to get away from what the four men in the foreground are looking at.

Trip to see Luz at La Mama

Overall I really enjoyed Luz. I think it was great that the author chose to center the play around violence against women. I think its something that’s not discussed enough, especially in theater. I liked how the playwright Catherine Filloux was able to weave this theme into the narrative and have it connect such diverse characters. It speaks to the fact the violence against women is everywhere and transcends economic and country lines.

I liked how the author used dream/past sequences to reveal certain plot points. I think it was an interesting choice that highlighted the facts revealed during those particular sequences and helped aid in characterization. I also liked how the lighting and music changes helped emphasize the shit in tone during this scenes.

My only complaint with Luz would be the integration of the tangent story line featuring the other members of the law firm and the environment activist. While I enjoyed these sequences and the occasional comedy relief they brought to otherwise serious subject matter, I feel as though I missed their larger relevance to the story.