Zen at work

Most of the time I love my job. I’m privileged to write about entertainment, the programing I watch on my iPad, phone, movies and TV. I’ve had the opportunity to chat with some very interesting people over the years and it’s been good, mostly. But sometimes there’s a steep price for too much screen time. Right now I want to tune out, unplug, drop out and shield myself from what feels like the unraveling of civilization. Of course I'm talking about the US Presidential elections and indeed, though painful as broken glass, this is the greatest show on earth. It’s everywhere except the movies, but I’d wager the screen rights are being negotiated even now.

I seriously don’t want to watch anymore. It feels toxic. I want to shower after 20 minutes of news but there's almost nine more months to go, the span of human gestation. There’s going be a birth whether we’re watching or not.

This is one of those passages when there's nothing and everything to say. What else can be said?  Yet there’s so much at stake that silence is impossible and even irresponsible. We're at a crossroads and sure, the crossroads cliché is just that. But, clichés hold truth and another truth is that we’re speeding toward a very, very busy intersection with no stop or yield signs and no traffic light. All we can do is buckle up, grip the wheel and hang on, for unless we crash into a ditch, there's one absolute certainty; the crossroads will eventually be in the rear view mirror. Meanwhile all of the screens demand attention 24/7. There’s no escape unless we create our own, personal safe room. So I’m practicing a bit of visualization. I try to envision a diagonal, yellow road sign with a simple message - Zen at Work.

Then I breathe deep and attempt to watch and listen dispassionately and without rancor, and I can imagine these one-way conversations as I travel down the road.

If you’re a Trump supporter then enjoy the ride. You're surfing a tidal wave. Carefully evaluate the risks and reward and consider the power of all that momentum.  When the wave crashes onto the shore and into everything you loathe about the status quo, try to remember that anger very seldom accomplishes anything worthwhile, and also know that you, riding that board of anger are going to hit the shore with a lot of force. The screens are seething like a boiling ocean every time they depict Donald Trump and his supporters. Maybe it's real action and maybe it's garish and baroque theater. Only time will tell.

If you feel the Bern then you’re major optimist, probably young or at least, young at heart. Hope’s a good thing. Just try to realize the political establishment won't change overnight. It’s been around for a while. The establishment is as rock solid as Rushmore and slow to change. Be patient and stay engaged if he’s elected. But if he isn't nominated for Pete's sake, don't lose interest. Vote, don’t pout. But maybe he will be nominated. Bernie Sanders is, if nothing else, tenacious as granite. He's grounded, ground breaking and he has his head in the clouds. I’ve never seen anyone quite like him.

If you have a crush on Cruz then you're backing a very strong and forceful personality. If the screens are to be believed, he's not very well liked by his colleagues. That probably doesn't matter though. No rule says an effective leader has to be popular, but following a loner can be playing with fire, especially when they promise to bomb a desert till it glows. If President Cruz becomes a reality it's up to you to be certain he doesn't carpet-bomb the wrong desert. He thinks he’s accountable only to his constituents. He's made it clear he doesn't give a fig about his peers.

Hillary is a candidate that breathes experience. Politics and the world stage are her air. For better or for worse she's experienced a lot. An endless barrage of "gates" stormed her husband's second term and a steady drum of emails and Bengazi angst, and a fog of untrustworthiness storms her with "gates", all her own. The screens are relentless with distrust. If you like experience and aren’t especially angry, then Hillary has a lot to offer. If you want to clean house and throw the bums out, then she’ll be the first to exit the political stage.

John Kaisich is the wild card. He’s a wild card and a dinosaur, a figure that represents the GOP of days gone by. He may be gone next month or he may be president next year. Only time will tell.

All I know is that sometimes passion gets in the way. I know I can become incoherent with rage, dumbfounded by stupidity and stalled by depression if the screens get too bright and loud. Yet as a journalist, a citizen and a human being, I know this isn't the time to disengage. Nor is it the time to cave into passion. Passion leads to dogma, and we need a whole bunch of clear-headed thoughtful dialog right up to the big day, November 15.   

It’s a fascinating journey, the likes of which I have never seen. Lots of forces are in play but despite the blaring and blinding light show, the crossroads are in sight. Thank goodness I saw the traffic sign.  I feel more prepared knowing Zen is at work. Maybe I'll turn off the news and listen to music, just for a little while.

There's an awful lot to consider.

This review was originally posted 5/3/2013 on SDGLN.com 

House of Cards

Good writing can improve a silly plot, but writing alone can’t save a series from bad casting or acting. Nothing torpedos a production quicker than actors you simply don’t care about. Love them, hate them; do anything but be indifferent to them. Actors who don’t register with the audience kill a film project quicker than a 32 round magazine in an assault rifle. 

There’ve been countless big and small screen productions of great ambition, productions with fabulous writing and directing that have fallen flat because the audience didn’t give a rat’s posterior about the players. No amount of special effects or writing wizardry can save those theatric efforts.

A certain prequel to the movie, Alien comes to mind as an excellent, recent example.

Happily that’s not the case with Netflix’s first venture into original programming.  It’s not possible to be indifferent to the denizens of House of Cards. Indifference isn’t an option. Love them or loathe them, one can’t ignore Frank and Claire Underwood.

 Sympathetic villains and flawed heros are hybrids. They’re interesting and the most skilled leave you wondering, “Do I sympathize with this person?”

Kevin Spacey stars in and produced House of Cards.  His acting, as always, is effortless. Spacey’s portrayal of U.S. Representative, Francis “Frank” J. Underwood is riveting, horrifying and complex. Frank’s wife Claire is a Washington insider and another frightfully complicated spirit. Claire’s day job is Executive Director of the non-profit Clean Water Initiative. But behind that altruistic self is a more important vocation, the formidable task of portraying Congressman Underwood’s loving wife and “the woman behind the man”.

The public persona of the Underwoods is that of a well-oiled charm machine. Yet in a short time, it’s clear that the bigger truth is the blunt force of a heterosexual Washingtonian power couple and the symbiotic, reptilian nature of claiming and holding onto power.

One of the more effective devices in House of Cards is that Kevin Spacey often steps out of character and addresses the audience directly, looking straight into the camera and peeling away the superfluous to reveal the real issues, the real meat.

“People in this place are too taken by money,” the Congressman drawls to the camera in that smooth, oily southern manner that Spacey does so well.  “They’re taken by money and they overlook the real objective: power.”

“Money is a mac-mansion in Sarasota that begins to fall apart in 10 years. Power is a stone monument, built to weather the centuries.”

One way the congressman manages his power is of course, via the media. Congressman Underwood utilizes a young reporter as his mouthpiece, a third person to herald the third rail issues of the Underwood agendas.

Zoe Barnes is a talented writer and unflinching proponent of the Internet. She is a standard of her generation, for hard copy is dead to her eyes and unyielding temptation to adhere to that half-truth earned her the undesirable nickname, “Twitter Twat” among her peers.

Zoe serves the Underwoods well.

 In one of many subplots, Frank Underwood must respond to a teacher’s strike, a very delicate situation for the Congressman, for Underwood is a Democrat and must be seen as being supportive of the teacher’s union.

In private, he is not.

 He merely wants to be rid of a nettling situation and it falls to Claire to plant a phrase in the media, via Zoe.

“Disorganized labor”.

The phrase catches like wild fire, torching every talking head on every network.

Much like the current use of the expletive, “Look”, which is over-used to initiate every talking head’s point as of late, and much like the greatly unpronounceable “rapprochement” of the last decade, “disorganized labor” is a media echo-chamber phrase that knocks the wind out of the teacher’s union.

The Congressman’s objective is served, his hands are clean and Zoe, the tool to do so. Young, naïve and earnest Zoe is utilized as simply one more player in the House of Cards.

 Easy as it would be to revile Frank and Claire Underwood, and as repugnant and cruel as they seem to be to others and to each other, there is an undeniable undercurrent of love. Amidst all the complexities of their professional life, despite the infidelity and manipulations, Frank and Claire are joined at the hip by something far greater than mere power.

And that’s the complexity that makes for rare drama.

As so much network television dies a slow, spiraling and agonizing “reality based” death, we’re going to have to look to HBO and Showtime, the BBC and AMC for real, grown up entertainment.

With the success of House of Cards, Netflix has proved be yet another player and source.

Weiner Gate: America, get a grip!

New York Representative Anthony Weiner’s sex scandal du jour was already way too tedious. The full spectrum of political punditry just couldn’t get enough as another high profile politician withered in titillation-fueled media glare. Way too familiar, it was deja vu all over again and yet another lesson in lessons unlearned.

Even Bill Clinton’s enormous shadow of resurrection and post presidential good deeds couldn’t protect Congressman Weiner from the heat. There was no peace for him and for the rest of us until the next sex scandal nudged this one out of the spotlight that is, until June 16, 2011. The congressman resigned, and progressives lost one of the loudest and most successful voices in DC.

His resignation made a certain amount of sense. Not only did his tweeting scandal serve as a distraction for this tremendously valuable politician but the monotony of this, the same old tired dance, was reaching its limits. And, the background percussion of high decibel hand wringing and tongue clucking from the Democratic Party only added to the din.

But this could be an opportunity. Wiener Gate is another chance to have a dialog about America’s schizophrenic and unhealthy preoccupation with the sex lives of others and especially, the sex lives of our elected leaders. But even more importantly it’s a chance to look in the mirror and admit that Americans, like everyone else, love sex. We just pretend to be appalled.

According to some of the press and some of those political pundits, we’re collectively sickened and repelled by the Congressman’s behavior. It’s aberrant and immoral, and it couldn’t be tolerated. Yet for some reason, the first hit on Google is not Congressman’s record or biography or history as a political force. Instead, the first outcome as of June 15 was “Anthony Weiner lewd photo.” It seemed the public just couldn’t get enough of the battle of the bulge.

There were other factors at work though. Titillation sells news and news makes money. Not only did Weinergate sell papers and timeslots for advertisers, it gave the moralists among us something to feel good about. And furthermore, it was a big boost for those who hustle professional services to the sexually addicted.

Timothy Lee, a licensed clinical social worker, runs New York Pathways. Mr. Lee is quoted as saying,

"He didn't wake up and just start sending pictures. I assume this is some type of voyeuristic exhibitionism type behavior. But it does show how delusional one must be to engage in this behavior. To think that the person on the other end is going to get off on it?" *

To that, the obvious response is yes. In all likelihood, that other person was indeed, getting off on it.

People, like it or not are fascinated. Whether in the quicksand of a computer generated porn cycle or simply out of curiosity people do indeed, “get off”. The proof is in the number of google hits for, “Anthony Weiner lewd pics,” and to this there’s an argument to be made.

Perhaps in a healthy, well-adjusted society, people would simply shrug their shoulders in boredom. One would hope so. But unfortunately, that’s not the case in today’s America, as evidenced by the Congressman’s resignation press conference.

Benjy Bronk, a staffer for Howard Stern shouted out, “Were you fully erect? America wants to know. Fully erect, are you more than 7 inches?”

Words are inadequate, and to describe Bronk as a journalist is an insult to journalists. And the irony is, it’s the Congressman who was tried and executed for acts committed in privacy while Bronk and his boss Howard Stern only benefit from public, lewd and lascivious behavior. But despite the height of impropriety, Bronk may have a point. A large slice of America does want to know. They just won’t admit it.

Interestingly enough, the pundits laid the blame on Weiner for the press conference spectacle. They were shocked he didn’t simply offer a written resignation and slink off to the shadows.

It’s hard to say if Americans will ever grow out of this. America was in large part, founded by Puritans, and the stigma of Puritanism is so deeply ingrained in American culture that it may be a permanent affliction. Yet the true affliction is hypocrisy.

Toddlers and Tiaras will continue to sexualize post infants, sex will sell everything from shampoo to car wax, teenage boys will wear their pants around their knees and teenage girls will shop at the Hooters outlet store but still, we’re outraged when private acts become public and stunned that the perpetrator would feel compelled to lie about it.

Two things need to change, socially and technologically. One’s an easy fix: Put the “Send All” button on all smart devices as far away as possible, and insert a “are you certain you want to send all?” warning while you’re at it.

The second is not such in easy fix. We suffer a glut of moralists. Social Conservatives have the nation by the throat and that is not going to change anytime soon. But someday, perhaps our culture can admit that smart people do stupid things when it comes to sex and at the end of the day, those stupid things are a bedroom discussion between that smart person and that smart person’s wife, husband or partner.

Cheating on one’s partner is not an excuse to make hay for political gain or for cheap entertainment. We’re better than that, and we have far more important fish to fry.

*http://www.masslive.com/politics/index.ssf/2011/06/experts_anthony_weiners_behavi.html

Interview with Director Kate Davis: Stonewall Uprising

The Roots: Stonewall Uprising

by Kurt Niece

On June 27, 1969 an east village gay bar in Manhattan “Just said no” to same-sex coercion. Patrons of the Stonewall Inn successfully fought off a public morals police raid in what’s considered by most, the birthplace and anniversary of the American gay rights movement.

PBS and American Experience present the drama of this pivotal and historic event in Stonewall Uprising on Monday, April 25.

1969 was a very different world. Homosexual acts were illegal in every state except Illinois. Public Service announcements warned young people about predatory homosexuals. Arrest for simply being in a gay bar could destroy a life. Teaching, law and medical licenses were revoked. Even in Greenwich Village, a destination for thousands seeking relief from the tyranny of small minds, gays and lesbians had grown accustomed to police raids.

But 1969 was also the summer of love. Social change was in the air and the Stonewall riots were the beginning of the end for socially and legally sanctioned homophobia.

“I felt really lucky to have met with so many people who were present,” recounts Kate Davis in a phone interview. Davis, who directed and produced the Emmy-nominated film, Southern Comfort, directed Stonewall Uprising with fellow director, David Heilbroner.

“The Stonewall participants still felt much of the emotional excitement. They recalled the days that led up to the riots and why they would be willing to join in with remarkable acuity and emotional presence. I didn’t expect that, and I think that’s what made the film.”

Viewers should be forewarned that this is not an easy film to watch. It’s difficult to not feel the rage and relive the humiliation. It’s hard to not wince at the vitriol and hatred directed at homosexuals in those dark days.

“It felt almost medieval at times,” says Davis. “Making and looking at the footage of institutionalized homophobia

felt like the 1800’s, the slavery days, but it was only forty years ago.”

Davis continues, “I think we risk not understanding our own past as a country. We’ve all been taught the Rosa Parks story and Martin Luther King and all these seminal people and events: power movements that shifted the course of the world, but not the galvanization of gay people which was the beginning of humanizing the gay rights struggle. This has been terribly overlooked. There’s a whole generation of young gay people, even politically active gay people who don’t know the story. I talked to a young gay kid in his 20’s when I was making the film who said, ‘Oh yeah, I’ve heard of Stonehenge.’”

Prehistoric, medieval dark ages: these were indeed perilous times for the enchanted.

Gays were subjected to lobotomies, electroshock therapy and aversive conditioning reinforced by electrical shocks and pharmacological torture. The medical community almost universally agreed that homosexuality was a mental disorder that could not be tolerated by a healthy society. That’s what it was to be homosexual before there was gay.

But there’s a flip side, a reason to celebrate and a purpose to the suffering of generations.

With will and by example, people can change.

Seymour Pine was a police inspector who served the NYPD from 1941 to 1976. He led the raid on the Stonewall Inn. His was the face of bigotry and intolerance, yet in his later years he saw the light and according to Davis, he lived long enough to see the error of his ways.

“This is a generation that we caught just in time and on tape to tell their story,” says Davis, “so there’s an archive in that sense. He (Seymour) had a change of heart. He regretted. He was just a pawn in the game, following orders because that’s what was done. I often tell audiences who want to blame that it’s really not him. He was just a guy out to do what was right in the world because that’s what he was taught from day one. For the power structure to change, everyone has to change.”

Seymour Pine did change before he recently passed at age 91.

Stonewall Uprising is an incredibly important film. People have short memories, revisionism happens and history has the unfortunate tendency to repeat itself.

There are politicians and religious crazies that in a heartbeat would take us back to those bad old days. For that reason alone, it’s essential to keep the memory and the struggle of the not too distant past alive. It’s incumbent that each and every gay person and each and every person who cares about dignity and human rights see this film.

This is our history. This is Pride 101 and certainly, we don’t want this part of our history to repeat itself.

Q and A with Director Kate Davis

How did you become involved?

WGBH and American Experience came to me. I’m pretty well known for doing films on the LGBT community. They thought I might be an appropriate director for this. It was their idea and in a sense, long overdue. But they felt that for a fairly mainstream series that they could handle a gay topic and make the Stonewall story a part of American history, not just gay history.

Were you surprised by the extent of Institutionalized homophobia, especially in medical facilities like California’s Acastadero State Hospital?

Oh yeah. I didn’t know anything about routine lobotomies. I was naïve going into this. I didn’t know there were all these laws, like the masquerade law in NYC to wear gender appropriate clothes, and that there were routinely, thousands of arrests, or that you couldn’t serve two gay people a drink in a bar because gays couldn’t congregate.

Why do you make these films?

I went to a fairly conventional prep school and witnessed a lot of homophobia and I found it really offensive. I saw people suffer, both gay and straight. I think looking that square in the face as part of our cultural history is important.

Was there a personal story that stood out while making this film?

Each person had their distinct story and personality, but what struck me the most was how they were all parts of the same puzzle. Each stood out. Each reinforced the next. Everyone told the same story and they all played an essential role. I was surprised at that. Going in, I expected to find the many factions that you find in any community. But here they were all singing the same song, and you needed each note to make the song from all the different players.

Thanks Kate

A few months ago I was privileged to preview Stonewall Uprising and interview the director, Kate Davis. Kate also directed Waiting for Armageddon, a chilling but light-handed film about American Christian Fundamentalist's preoccupation with Israel, and the desire to see biblical prophesy fulfilled. I'm glad I met Kate. I admire her work greatly.

When we meet others that share unpopular or uncommon beliefs it's a time to celebrate. It's gratifying to find that yours may not be a voice in the wilderness. Thank you Kate.

"Kurt Niece's book is a wild ride where joy jostles with horror. Written with a sure hand and an sharp ear for humor, The Breath of Rapture depicts a world some 70 million Americans believe is an indelible part of our history, though it will take place in the future. Sounds nutty? This is reality for many, holding deeper truths than our scientific texts. And Kurt suggests the profound,disturbing implications of apocalyptic thinking while crafting a thoroughly entertaining journey."

Kate Davis

--Kate Davis

Director –

Stonewall Uprising

Waiting for Armageddon

Tucson Ribbon

Here it is, the first twitter-like response: The presence of the Tucson Ribbon: Stop the Violence.

Even before the Presidential address, the White on Black Ribbon has been on the lapel of several, key people on location. (reported by MSNBC)

The White represents hope for a peaceful nonviolent society. The Black ribbon is in remembrance of all who have died as a result of violence.

Homicide Survivors Inc.

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