http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40244607 "Trump-like Julius Caesar play boycotted by US firms" He probably deserves (nearly ) everything he hopefully gets but is this a borderline case of what is acceptable or not? Is dramatic production to be put on hold because of the current mess or is it fair to suggest Caesar 's timeline (and fate) bear comparison with big chief Littlehands? A couple of companies have withdrawn sponsorship from the play. Is that all there is to it?
"President Trump's son, Donald Junior, criticised the production, asking whether boundaries had been crossed in what he described as art becoming political speech. "I wonder how much of this 'art' is funded by taxpayers?" he tweeted, adding: "Serious question, when does 'art' become political speech & does that change things?" Hilarious! What about churches that get political and are also funded by taxpayers?
As author Steven Brust↱ put it: Someone put on a Shakespeare play in which current political issues were reflected. WOW THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE! I AM OUTRAGED! The essence of the suicide pact is the creation of a safe space for what will destroy it and everyone within it. One side of the aisle is watching Kathy Griffin's career flame out as she either destroys herself without a clue or else destroys herself attempting a Kaufman routine that ... I don't know, I mean, yes, she can in theory pull it off, but she still destroys herself. Still, as comedy goes, it would be a feat of legend redeeming her legacy after her final curtain call. But, yeah, that was pretty crass. It didn't actually break our weird rules, though. On the other side of the aisle they even set up effigies so that people could enjoy the fantasy of committing a political murder. That actually did appear to break the rule, but they're conservatives, so in the interests of fairness we were supposed to just not worry about it. But then there is Shakespeare. Any other year, the critique against such a portrayal of Caesar would have something to do with the detachment from reality about the mafioso stereotype vis à vis the dynamic flexibility and adaptability of Shakespeare's political intrigues. No, this isn't a borderline case. Indeed, conservative outrage and corporate quaking only reiterates that most of our pretenses of propriety and dignity are fake standards; then again, in the grand scheme, this isn't exactly refusing to bury the dead. This is more about either a culture of fear the Trump administration and movement kindle, or certain wealthy players taking sides. ____________________ Notes: Brust, Steven. "Someone put on a Shakespeare play in which current political issues were reflected. WOW THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE! I AM OUTRAGED!". Twitter. 11 June 2017. Twitter.com. 12 June 2017. http://bit.ly/2rSXRLV
What a dumkopf. The whole f*cking play is about politics: every single production I have ever seen has drawn political parallels, either with the present day or with periods in history. The other thing about it of course is how nuanced it is, showing good, bad and ambiguous motivations in everyone. Any decent production would have to show glimmers of an understanding side towards Trump, in fact. Now that could be a fascinating challenge for any production.
Frankly, Trump should be flattered. Cesar was competent. This is a dangerous ride Republicans are forcing upon us. The play is the exercise of free speech.
I feel a bit stupid for asking the question now. Perhaps I was just a little ashamed of my wish to see him humiliated.
Don't. This is a period in which many basic definitions of words long regarded in stable contexts are suddenly variable and transitional. That is to say, we have stumbled into a confusing time. Don't be ashamed. It is enough to constrain ourselves to rational expectations in decision and action; the heaps and hopes of schadenfreude along the way, while a manner of human frailty, are also precisely human, and almost exactly what such clownish and even mawkish pretense of ill will as the Trump administration aims to cultivate. Call it practice. Live through this; by the time it is over, you'll be pretty good at keeping your head up, and that's bad for their outlook because what they really, really need is for everyone else to be as morbidly stupid as they are. Wrestling with our humanity is what human beings do.
Honestly, whether we're talking Plutarch or Shakespeare, Trump is just not very Caesar-like at all--apart from a few superficial similarities, which are common amongst certain brands of politician generally.
