This weekend I went to see the independent film "Precious". During one pivotal scene in the movie the main character reveals to her teacher some dreadful news. This heartwrenching news was enough to make anyone collaspe and ball into a corner to burst into tears. However, her teacher obviously shaken and stirred by this unsettling information stood firm and told her to write. She stated "You always said you wanted to be heard, so write". Heather Raffo's nine part of desire affirmed the liberation, education and healing that takes place when one's experience can be transformed into art. No matter how painful, their is something magical that occurs when these moments can be presented in a way by vivid imagery, poetry and tangible monolouges.
As americans, we are bombarded with devasting stories on the news daily. It's so easy to become desensitized to events that are happening half way across the world. We often keep from feeling empathetic and having sympathy for foreigners hardship. One may say we subconsciously do this to block out the accountability or deal with the gruesome reality that some horrendous injustices take place in the world we live in.
Raffo's piece made me really ponder, "How would you react differently if you had family in that same area?" What is it like to go day by day and have no idea if your family is even alive? What is like to hear commentary and mass stereotypical generalization about the people who are dear to you? What does that daily burden do to your psyche?
Raffo pointed out vital information into the Iraqi woman's make up. She stated that "when an Iraqi woman trust you, it is because she has come to love you. The loved that was formed through Raffo's interaction with these women, provided the arena to let the world know of their struggle, hardships and perserverance. These stories also illuminate their will to continue on the journey of life despite the harsh setbacks and devastating circumstances.
No matter how intense or light the subject matter was in all of the plays we read this semester, one fact can not be disputed. Whether it was based on a true story or fiction, one point remains grounded. They all tell someone's story. Their is somebody in the world that has felt the deception of a mate like Medea. Their are offsprings of the Yuruba tribe that deal to this day with the effect of colonialism on their ancestors. Somewhere is a couple that has been seperated by extenuating circumstances as in Joe Turner searching to become a whole again.
I encourage everyone to write. Something has happened in each of our lives that even a complete stranger can learn from and be insprired by. Being vulnerable to share this part of you, may be the key to unlocking someone else's courage to heal, grow and move into where they are destined to be.
Tell your story.......
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2 comments:
Jackie,
Like you, this play touched me very deeply. With each character's description of the awful happenings in Iraq, I reflected on conversations with my some of my foreign exchange students from my undergrad years at Maryville College. One Armenian student, Simon Minassian, told me about the times when he would (no joke) dodge bullets on his way to school with his brother in Israel. Sometimes they would have to be late for class, because they were hiding from armed radical Muslims. Another time I hear horrific stories about wars in Africa from my Sudanese friend, Jimmi Makuach, on the very day he recieved news that his parents had been killed by machine gun fire during a village raid. Stories like these told by my friends and Heather Raffo give me a much clearer perspective about the hardships I endure in my everyday life. Although at times I find my government being run by corrupt individuals, they do not appear to be as corrupt and violent as Saddam and his Ba'athists who ruled with a blood stained iron fist over Iraq for such a long time. I hope that I will never have to experience tragedies, like those experienced by my friends and Raffo, in my country; much less in my life. However, their stories convey fascinating and enlightening insight on the cultures of the world today.
Jackie wondered what it would be like to have family that she didn’t know was alive or dead in another country. She asked, “What is it like to go day by day and have no idea if your family is even alive?” I can share my view of what that’s like, and I’m sure that there are others in the class that also can.
With my situation, I have second cousins in Italy that are my mother’s cousins. When my sister and father went to Europe, and wanted to stop by to see them while they were there, the Italian family pretended that it was a good idea until the time came. When my Dad and sister were actually in the city where they lived, the Italian second cousins wouldn’t answer their phone and never called back. This didn’t make me think that they were dead, but now that my immediate American family knows how our Italian distant relatives cut the cord to us, we don’t really care about them any more. We haven’t kept up at all with how they’ve been.
I find it interesting how during Heather Raffo’s trip to Iraq, many members of her family greeted her with open arms. They even fought over who had her over. I think that this contrast between her family and mine expresses the Iraq people. The ones that she talked to seemed to value family more than probably most. This characteristic seems to be evident in Raffo’s personality, since she too had enough love for her distant family that she could care more than other Americans about what’s going on in Iraq.
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