Artists nationwide say they’re being put to an ideological litmus test. ‘It felt like somebody holding a gun to my head saying: your integrity or your life’s work.’
America is being run today by the ultra-progressive wing of the Democratic party. They are not your father's type of Democrat, nor are they liberals -- actually they are anything but liberal. They now run the "My Way or the Highway" wing of the party. In the 1940's Progressives were often card carrying members of the communist party and they faded away because our parents said "No" to their brand of totalitarianism. Our parents had fought a war against fascism and had just been introduced to Korea, Soviet Russia and the Red Chinese. They saw how these countries forced their views on their citizens. They saw that they held sway through shaming, intimidation and teaching children to inform on their parents. This is exactly what today's Progressives have introduced into American society. And we, a generation more educated and sophisticated than our parents, have knelt at their altar because we lack the strength to laugh them out of the public square. We are cowards and as long as we remain so, we will lose our freedoms. They've found the key to conquering America. Just play the race card and America is yours.
"...asked him to “back out” of the show because he is “not a black person and therefore should not be representing Lion King.”
Darn right. King Lion ASL interpreters have been systemically subject to the bigotry of all creatures big and small. They deserve full representation and employment. Preferably on a zebra ranch.
“mixed-race dialogues are often inappropriate for White people” and “placing White folks in interracial dialogue is like placing pre-algebra students in a calculus class.”
I know, right? White people be all stupid and shit.
About 20 years ago there was an experiment at, I believe, The Art Institute of Chicago. The goal was to show that art deciders were biased toward white males. I do not remember all of the details and am having a hard time tracking down the original story, but the gist of it was they would have a blind open call of visual artists. None of the jurors would have any insight or data as to names, races, genders, or other identifying factors of the artist submitting their work. After the selections were made and the names and other data of the winners were revealed 90+% were white males. There was obvious outrage. I wish I could find the original article, as I am sure my facts are lacking, but it seems to have been scrubbed from the internet.
Was watching a TV show last night and thinking, nope, not watching again. So openly woke and political...ugh. Storyline: 4 white men shot and killed a black family, except baby, for no reason other than the “fun” of it in 1994. Give me a break! The baby became a cop, tracked down all the men, and killed them, except one, and we’re supposed to feel sorry for her.
I demand that the NBA and NFL hire 7.2% Asians for their active player rosters, which correlates to their proportion of population in the country. If they don’t, they are violating the spirit of DEI and being racists towards Asians 😉
I have seen Wokeism and DEI bring down what was once a remarkable theatre. The politicization of the arts and the rampant empty virtue signaling have resulted in plays that have little craft, less art and negative appeal. Audiences are rightly abandoning this theater. And that may be the only way to support the once great art of theater and its allied arts: don’t go. Abandon them as they have abandoned their missions in the name of getting on a creaky, tuneless bandwagon that is headed to a muddy ditch. If they will not honor their great traditions, let them die and hope for rebirth.
In order to succeed the Arts requires the Public’s participation. Just telling someone that they should like something doesn’t make it so. In the end, if you’ll pardon the expression, cream will rise to the top.
It's time we call the entire anti-racism / DEI ideology what it is: reverse-racism. It's nothing more and nothing less, and it deserve utter condemnation and rejection. Long live individualism, objectivity, hard work, and color blindness.
It is incredibly sad to see grubby politics destroying the world of art. I do not support either inclusion or exclusion from any enterprise based on the degree of melanin one has, or what heritage one claims. I support removing actual barriers to success based upon immutable characteristics that have no bearing on the endeavor, but not to erecting new barriers. This will destroy everything good.
This has been going on for years. In Seattle, grants and studios formerly open to all artists are now BIPOC only. BIPOC people are excused from paying studio rental, etc; only white artists pay.
I dropped my memberships and reported these 501(C) organizations to the federal anti-discrimination department. That page had a conspicuous DEI motto on it so I doubt my complaint went anywhere.
It is all propaganda. Art used to be transgressive. Now it is like Soviet art.
One thing about these DEI types, they are parasites through and through, and they know how to get on boards, get grants, anything but make an honest living creating anything.
Thank you very much for this indispensable essay, Rikki.
Given the creation of various threads for conversation, it would be great if The FP also had a page with links to funding pages for the arts, or petitions concerning those unjustly wronged.
There's a lot of artists out there and we ought to stick together!
America is being run today by the ultra-progressive wing of the Democratic party. They are not your father's type of Democrat, nor are they liberals -- actually they are anything but liberal. They now run the "My Way or the Highway" wing of the party. In the 1940's Progressives were often card carrying members of the communist party and they faded away because our parents said "No" to their brand of totalitarianism. Our parents had fought a war against fascism and had just been introduced to Korea, Soviet Russia and the Red Chinese. They saw how these countries forced their views on their citizens. They saw that they held sway through shaming, intimidation and teaching children to inform on their parents. This is exactly what today's Progressives have introduced into American society. And we, a generation more educated and sophisticated than our parents, have knelt at their altar because we lack the strength to laugh them out of the public square. We are cowards and as long as we remain so, we will lose our freedoms. They've found the key to conquering America. Just play the race card and America is yours.
Thank you. And they call us fascists when they are the ones directing the dialog and restricting those that they do not agree with.
These blackmailers want everybody to be their lemmings. Time for more people to stand up and be heard.
"...asked him to “back out” of the show because he is “not a black person and therefore should not be representing Lion King.”
Darn right. King Lion ASL interpreters have been systemically subject to the bigotry of all creatures big and small. They deserve full representation and employment. Preferably on a zebra ranch.
“mixed-race dialogues are often inappropriate for White people” and “placing White folks in interracial dialogue is like placing pre-algebra students in a calculus class.”
I know, right? White people be all stupid and shit.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OvrwhZUHaKg
About 20 years ago there was an experiment at, I believe, The Art Institute of Chicago. The goal was to show that art deciders were biased toward white males. I do not remember all of the details and am having a hard time tracking down the original story, but the gist of it was they would have a blind open call of visual artists. None of the jurors would have any insight or data as to names, races, genders, or other identifying factors of the artist submitting their work. After the selections were made and the names and other data of the winners were revealed 90+% were white males. There was obvious outrage. I wish I could find the original article, as I am sure my facts are lacking, but it seems to have been scrubbed from the internet.
Was watching a TV show last night and thinking, nope, not watching again. So openly woke and political...ugh. Storyline: 4 white men shot and killed a black family, except baby, for no reason other than the “fun” of it in 1994. Give me a break! The baby became a cop, tracked down all the men, and killed them, except one, and we’re supposed to feel sorry for her.
I demand that the NBA and NFL hire 7.2% Asians for their active player rosters, which correlates to their proportion of population in the country. If they don’t, they are violating the spirit of DEI and being racists towards Asians 😉
I have seen Wokeism and DEI bring down what was once a remarkable theatre. The politicization of the arts and the rampant empty virtue signaling have resulted in plays that have little craft, less art and negative appeal. Audiences are rightly abandoning this theater. And that may be the only way to support the once great art of theater and its allied arts: don’t go. Abandon them as they have abandoned their missions in the name of getting on a creaky, tuneless bandwagon that is headed to a muddy ditch. If they will not honor their great traditions, let them die and hope for rebirth.
DEI IS racism.
BLM IS a racist organization.
Progressivism has run its course and in its extremes has become a mental disease or disability.
We need to start locking up and treating these people to prevent the disease from spreading.
In order to succeed the Arts requires the Public’s participation. Just telling someone that they should like something doesn’t make it so. In the end, if you’ll pardon the expression, cream will rise to the top.
It's time we call the entire anti-racism / DEI ideology what it is: reverse-racism. It's nothing more and nothing less, and it deserve utter condemnation and rejection. Long live individualism, objectivity, hard work, and color blindness.
It is incredibly sad to see grubby politics destroying the world of art. I do not support either inclusion or exclusion from any enterprise based on the degree of melanin one has, or what heritage one claims. I support removing actual barriers to success based upon immutable characteristics that have no bearing on the endeavor, but not to erecting new barriers. This will destroy everything good.
This has been going on for years. In Seattle, grants and studios formerly open to all artists are now BIPOC only. BIPOC people are excused from paying studio rental, etc; only white artists pay.
I dropped my memberships and reported these 501(C) organizations to the federal anti-discrimination department. That page had a conspicuous DEI motto on it so I doubt my complaint went anywhere.
It is all propaganda. Art used to be transgressive. Now it is like Soviet art.
One thing about these DEI types, they are parasites through and through, and they know how to get on boards, get grants, anything but make an honest living creating anything.
Thank you very much for this indispensable essay, Rikki.
Given the creation of various threads for conversation, it would be great if The FP also had a page with links to funding pages for the arts, or petitions concerning those unjustly wronged.
There's a lot of artists out there and we ought to stick together!
Sophia
David Byre, We're On A Road To Nowhere sounded very different in the 80s or whenever that was, driving down the PCH with my brother looking for surf,
Than it did last fall sitting in an entirely masked darkened theater, deafeningly triumphant.
I could not stop crying. No one noticed, or pretended not to.
My only comfort was, the tepid audience response when he called out the Say My Name litany of chosen martyrs.
the first "woke" litmus test of the 21st cn was support for the Palestinians (at the height of their suicide terror jihad).
“the Palestinian cause has become the universal litmus test of liberal credentials.” Ian Buruma NYT 2003.