This blog is the continuing dialog between two faces of rilla (most of the time!) Rant and rave with us. Leave a comment. Click on the 'nickname' button if you don't have a Google ID already.
NOTE: All my photos and posts are copyrighted and may not be used by anyone, elsewhere without my permission.

My Pic Of The Day

My Pic Of The Day
San Francisco Cable Car

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

8 -- The Art of Farce

NOTE: This blog is a continuing dialog between the two faces of rilla. The identity crisis is explained (if such a thing is possible) in the first edition. Click here to read: 1 -- Introduction

rilla: It was Art’s Day at Crafton College. You know, the place I take the acting classes.
Rilla: Yeah? Did you participate, get involved, become part of the community yadda, yadda, yadda?
rilla: Actually, I did.
Rilla: Oh? What did you do?
rilla: Well, the topic of the festival was boundaries. I was put into a wire mesh cage along with two other actors. I did a monologue on the true story of a woman who ran away from home to escape female circumcision and all it entails.
Rilla: Female circumcision? That sounds painful.
rilla: That’s because it is, and not just physically. The emotional scars are lifelong, and yet millions of women suffer this inhumane, unjust treatment.
Rilla: So, what was the point?
rilla: The point?
Rilla: Of your cute little spiel? Were you trying to freak people out, you know, the shock factor?
rilla: Shock, yes. Shock people out of apathy and into taking action against the inhumanity and injustice in the world, to speak out against oppression, discrimination, slavery, torture…
Rilla: My, my, what high-minded ideals. All just a waste of breath, but you already knew that. So I guess what you were doing was getting in some acting practice, huh?
rilla: Acting practice? No, no, no. This is a college. These are young people, impressionable, idealistic, looking for a cause, energetic, fresh-minded…
Rilla: Tears, I’ve got tears in my eyes.
rilla: Wow! I didn’t expect to move you quite that much.
Rilla: Move? No, no, the tears are from laughter. All the nonsense you spout, really. When was the last time you met energetic, idealistic youth… the sixties? High-paying jobs, fake bodies, dropping bombs, lowering taxes and gas prices, blaming someone else when life goes wrong, taking as much from the environment as you can, while there’s still something left to be had, that’s what’s real.
rilla: It doesn’t have to be.
Rilla: Well, it is. You're the artist. Surely you recognize art in the politics of today. Maximizing wealth at the expense of anyone who gets in your way, censoring people who say or write something you don’t like, reducing civil liberties to ensure the wrong people aren’t seen or heard, buying off the press so the real news is never heard, putting your buddies in offices of power and justice so that you can never be accused of breaking the law, taking money out of the environment, education and health benefits and dumping it into arms production and oil so that those who are in these industries get even richer and there’s no one left to oppose you because nobody’s educated enough to realize just how badly they’re being had, calling anyone who does oppose you unpatriotic and whipping it into a battle cry, making sure women have babies they don’t want and stay home where they belong… family values, patriotism, democracy, that's what it's all about.
rilla: And fear…
Rilla: Yes! The fear of God. This should be a Christian country
rilla: Art is right. The Art of Farce. Those aren’t Christian values. Lowering taxes, censorship, cronyism, name-calling, bomb dropping? Last I heard, Christianity is about ‘turning the other cheek’, ‘loving your neighbor as yourself’, ‘the meek shall inherit the earth’, ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you’, ‘let he who has not sinned throw the first stone’ …
Rilla: What’s all that mumbo jumbo?
rilla: I’m paraphrasing…from the Bible? The things you mentioned…they have nothing to do with Christianity.
Rilla: Oh? How would you know? I thought all artists were atheists.




Faith-Based Fraud -- Slate

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Its a rant alright but understandable. The art of politics (or farce) is being acted out in plain view but lots of folks think they're watching a straight-up show.

Katia said...

All true, of course. But, Rilla, what strikes me is the ease with which you seem to address such serious issues in a comic way. I think you need to look seriously into this. You have a gift, my friend. This could become a one-woman-show.
Katia

rilla jaggia said...

Katia, Katia, Katia,
You have read all my postings and you still don't get it...this will never be a ONE-woman show, ha ha. Look what you've done...you've hurt Rilla's feelings. She feels belittled, left out... or is it rilla you want to get rid of?
As usual, joking about it all, but as you have pointed out, these are very serious issues that affect our lives, our futures, and the health and future of the entire planet. Now if only, as children's authors, we can get young people to get more active in taking control of their own futures and not let the old fogies in office ruin it for them before they ever get a chance to reach there.
Rant rant rant...

Anonymous said...

Rilla, I agree with your comments about what should constitute "Christian Values" but it strikes me that religion of all kinds has caused the world so much strife, we need freedom from religion, not freedom of it. I used to call myself an atheist. Now I'm antitheist!

Katia said...

Make it a two-women show, a two-headed woman show, whatever, as long as it doesn't get me in trouble with rilla OR Rilla. Love them both, do YOU(S) hear ?
Katia

rilla jaggia said...

Spot on FJS. Antitheist...I love that! It just gets me that people can continue to fall for the farce just because of the 'religious' overtones when none of the things being said or done are even remotely religious. I mean, if you're going to be religious, at least know what it is your religion actually does preach!

Katia, you'll never be in trouble with Rilla or rilla, except if you call us two-headed...