Y Zed: It's a Revolution...

@Barefeet Theatre #Revolution

Before you panic, remember though TIA (This is Africa), we are talking about Zambia. We pride ourselves on being a peaceful nation, so the likelihood of you needing a gas mask, as the forces of liberty battle those of enslavement, are slim to none.  No you shouldn't have built that bunker and shopped for supplies to go underground for months for the apocalypse either.  Seeing a makishi dancer in a mask however is no cause for alarm though.  If you are already in conniptions, sorry for the angina, we were going for the dramatic, not histrionics, with this beautiful poster.  Plus it does actually indicate what it is for so really...

It's that time of year again, and this time I am blogging in realtime about the Barefeet Festival, not months after the fact he he he.  This year the theme is #Revolution!

I am so excited to be helping out this group of mischievious performance artists again.  I continue to be inspired by the fact that these young men and women turn their lives around by turning their backs on the street and put their youthful energy to good work in their communities and around the world, utilising the inherent power of art to transcend boundaries and limitations, so their spirits and souls are free to connect with others.

I will blog more about the Festival over the coming weeks and of course, follow me on Facebook and Twitter to keep up-to-date with live tweeting and photo posting.  In the meantime here is a sneak peek at what Barefeet have in store for you:

Post by Barefeet.

Yes that's South Africa's Freshly Ground :)!

Beginnings of our giant giraffe puppet (minus head) made with trainees @BarefeetTheatre @barefeetadam @PuppetPlace pic.twitter.com/Yvp2g07jBo
— Rowan Watts (@VIPPuppets) August 6, 2014

Excited coz they are making an elephant puppet too!

To find out about tickets and the full schedule of festivities, like Barefeet Theatre on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

For more on the blog about Barefeet, read about last year's Festival: ROAR in these posts: Part I and Part II.

Are you a young person looking to do something during the holidays, a student looking for social media and web experience, or are you a professional with time to spare to help Barefeet with their online activities?  Contact Communications Manager Andrew at andrew@barefeettheatre.com or drop by their premises in Thorne Park to lend a hand.

Directions to Barefeet Theatre: 

At the Great East-Makishi Road traffic lights turn onto the Wimpy side of Makishi Road.  

After the Petroda Station on your left and the hump take the next left onto a dirt road.  

Take the first left indicated by an Airtel credit hut.  

As the road bends to the right you will see a tree in front of you: take the turn into the small lane behind the tree to your left and follow the lane over the bridge.  

You will see a yellow wall fence with Barefeet in huge letters in front of you to your right.

Peaceful Protest No More

Unfortunately, after President Mubarak's speech yesterday, in which he asked for stability and talked about how Egyptian he is and how much he loves his country, today the once peaceful protests have taken an ugly turn.  Even though the internet and the banking system have been restored, people are not satisfied with Mubarak stepping down until September and the opposition have called for him to step down on Friday.  I have been gripped to this story all day, hearing how men on horses and camels have led those in support of Mubarak to clash with those who have been protesting for the last week.  And now Cairo is ablaze :(.  Why have these guys suddenly come out of the woodwork? Is this a clever political ploy as many of the protesters fear? Is Mubarak trying to swing public opinion to make him seem less like an autocrat and more like a benevolent dictator who is trying to make a dignified exit? Is he afraid he will have to live out his days in exile like his Tunisian doppelganger?

I am sad that unlike in Tunisia, where the power shift was quick to let the country make a peaceful transition, Egypt has turned violent.  One lady, who was interviewed by the BBC in the thick of things at Tahrir square, said she was fearful as even though the world thinks of Egypt as a moderate place with apathetic citizens, once Egyptians make up their minds they are stubborn.  She called for compromise and for people to see that they had won: Mubarak has stepped down and all they have to do is wait a couple of months for the election.  She could see no one who has enough support to go on TV and talk down the protesters and felt that the situation will only get worse if people do not see this victory for what it is.  I really hope that Mubarak did not pay people to start the fighting. And I hope that even though the West has a vested interest economically, politically and militarily that they do not interfere.  It will only make things worse.  We have to let the Egyptians come to their own truth otherwise if things further deteriorate Western intervention will be blamed and people will not take responsibility for their actions.

It seems that in Yemen things have gone smoothly, and surprisingly in Jordan, there have been protests to oust their Prime Minister! I am shocked as I think of Jordan as like Egypt.  It is crazy how Tunisia has created such a domino effect in such a short period of time.

You can watch a live feed and get regular updates from the BBC here.

Here is a transcript of President Mubarak's speech yesterday.

Here is video of the clashes today:

Salt: A Spy Movie Full Of Women's Issues

After Inception, I do not expect to be wowed by what Hollywood is offering, and I haven't.  I'm expecting to be entertained and I was watching Salt.  However, there was something lacking in the movie.  Was excited to see Angelina Jolie in a role originally intended for a dude, in a Mission Impossible-esque fashion.  Kind of like when back in the day Will Smith getting the lead role of in Enemy of the State was a big deal as it was originally written for Tom Cruise and everyone was wondering: Could a black person carry such a film and be believable?  Well as they say art imitates life and vice versa ala Barack Obama becoming the first black president.  Now that we have proved that a black man can do what a white man can do in America, it is only a matter of time before the same is done for women.I love how Hollywood underestimates the audience and our intelligence and always finds ways to perpetuate stupid and discriminatory conventions.   Craziness that this sort of thing still goes on in our world....

The film was good. It has the twists and turns to keep you intrigued, although the beginning is a little slow, but purposefully so, though you only become aware after the fact that it makes sense to be  like that.  The action is great. Enough plausible moves to make the implausible believable.  The script however needed to give us a bit more exposition and the little that was there was disjunctive and/ or inadequate. I was unable to really emotionally attach and really root for Salt.  Instead of thinking about being clever, all the way down to the spy being name being Salt, a wink at the SALT, the acronym for Strategic Arms Limitations Talks between the US and Russian during the Cold War, they should have been thinking about how to beef up the dialogue and story. At least the movie has served a higher purpose - go to school, study International Relations, and you'll be able to spot random stuff like that like my little ones! ;}

Chiwetel Ejiofor, a Naija-Brit actor, also features. LOVE HIM!  I don't think I have ever seen him act badly, even if the film was suspect like, ahem, Four Brothers. He is so talented and his roles are so diverse and intriguing.  Such a chameleon.  He makes me happy.  His role was limited in this installment, but if sequels are on the cards, it is clear that he is going to have more screen time and that is absolutely fine with me he he he.

Speaking of African connections, in the funeral scene how did I know there were Africans? This is the third film this summer, after STC2 and The A-Team, that I have seen that has some sort of African clothing in them with the big head wrap and the hat on the guys head and things and looking very Nigerian to show Africans are about.  Not hard to spot amongst the people who they are sitting with due to the fact that everyone else is wearing black and they are situated right bang centre in the middle of the shot! These guys need to take a lesson from Inception, or forget about us all together. It's ok, we are quite happy to be invisible if you are going to keep making us caricatures of ourselves.

After the movie, had a very intense conversation with my movie buddy for the night, a "proud" Canadian with whom I see eye-to-eye on a lot of things in the world, especially the illusions and the nonsense.  Having read an article about Salt in Entertainment Weekly, I was aware that they had the scene where her husband saves her at the beginning so as not to emasculate him.  The man has bigger problems if he is not able to relinquish power to his significant other when they are the more qualified in the situation.  Perpetuating these archaic beliefs that a woman has to temper herself so that lesser men can feel they are more is nonsense.  Or that even if the guy is all together you still have to.  If men's egos are so fragile then something needs to be done about it.  It is stifling always having to be around 60-80% of yourself for fear of hurting some dudes feelings or making him feel less of a man.  A real man assesses the situation and allows the right actions to take place for a positive outcome. Even if that means letting a woman take the lead. Jeez!

This movie also brought up the issue of women being "men" - as in doing a job as well as a man can.  Emotions are not the devil, they are part of human nature.  Men are forced to bury theirs and most of the time they feel caged and unable to express themselves for fear of being a pansy.  Being in control does not mean acting like a robot - that is what robots are for. It is about being aware of oneself, the good and the bad - and emotion can be both.  To their credit, they did a couple of laudable things to show that women can do spy work and gave it a womans touch.  They didn't thankfully make Salt ugly and unfashionable because those are the only kind of women that are smart and can act like men as they have nothing better to do.  She used feminine items to help herself out in tricky situations. The fact that they show that she has a deep love for her husband and will do anything to save him shows that emotion in a woman can propel her to do amazing things rather than being self destructive or debilitated when men and/ or love are in the mix.

However, after certain things occur in the movie, Salt is not allowed to grieve.  When we are first presented with the situation, it is clear why she cannot.  But in the aftermath, I'm sorry, if she really feels the way we are led to be believe before embarking on her revenge, she would have taken a moment in the bathroom to cry and regroup.  I know a lot of strong women whom many believe never cry, but they find their moments where no one can see to let go.  This sort of twisting of how a woman should act if she is going strong is erroneous and perpetuates the myth that strong women are not women and/ or have no feelings. We always either have to be overly-emotional or completely stone cold.  But is ok for Maximus in Gladiator to take a moment to cry when he finds his family slain and for him to cherish their wooden figures and use his emotion to avenge the emperor.  Because that kind of love and honour and sense of justice is only for men.  Women are just there to bring it about.  DRUGS I TELL YOU DRUGS!!!!

This made me think of my love of Jane Austen, and how I really relate to her characters need to fight to be a woman free to be who she is, love as she pleases and pursue her goals without stereotype.  Most of her heroines were fighting to be able to marry for love, without monetary considerations usurping the choice to marry freely.  Now it seems we are fighting to be able to have a head and a heart.  It seems right now we are being forced to chose between one and the other.  Salt was set up to be a sequel, this is evident from the ending. They have a good enough base to build on. I hope that Angelina Jolie takes the opportunity to use her clout further to really make sure that the script is the shiznit and that Salt has an emotional core that doesn't hinder, but enhances her abilities.

Mostly Nonsense...

I have not watched this much tv in a long time.  Was going to watch a new Current TV doc about exploitation of West African boys eager to join European club football but didn't feel like being depressed.  Decided to wait until the end of the World Cup to deal with that.  So I just watched tv.  First I decided to watch All About Steve and now am wondering why I did.  My love of all things film trumps all sense.  But in my defence I wanted to see what all the hoopla was about and whether Sandra Bullock really deserved her Razzie.  My God do she and Bradley Cooper have some explaining to do.  You star in The Proposal and The Hangover respectively and follow it up with All About Steve????!!!!  Supposedly my roommate says that the original script was better, having interned at the place who represent the writer but I don't believe her quite frankly.  There was nothing in that film that proved that there was a great base that was smashed to smithereens by the big bad Studio.

It is always better to learn from others, than to make the mistake yourself and wonder why...

Then to my chagrin they have changed the Orbit Gum Lady.  The new woman may be blonde too but she looks weird and its not the same.  They should just change their advert style altogether if they no longer can get the woman they had before.

Channel surfing led me to Lopez tonight and the cast of the A-Team were on the show.  Sharlto Copley talked about how he had a Mr. T cake for his birthday and how even though it was surrounded by the old Apartheid flag, he had a cake with a Big Black Man on it.  The show was able to transcend racial and cultural backgrounds.  That's what I love about the media.  That power.  Even the most trivial things can have the most profound effect.  Entertainment is the one of the best ways to bridge gaps I think :)