Sunday, February 17, 2013

Small World (Theatre Play by Oostpool)


I've never been a good liar, and in this case I can't lie either. I guess I'm supposed to amazed by a shocking show where I see "unusual" things such as a woman dressed as a man with a fake penis splattering water all over another scantily dressed woman. Or a "supposedly dead" Snow White getting her face thrusted into another woman's boob after having been showered by a bottle with "blood". Or maybe the seven dwarves watching this dead woman in a sort of "Oh, dead person, what do I care?" sort of behavior. Or maybe even the little kid humping a fence while the music that's blasting through the speakers goes: "Here's a party! There's a party!" 


Whereas there were some interesting touches throughout the play, most scenes appeared to me as non-sensical retardation. The best scene for me was the monologue, which stated outright what their issue with Disney was and why they felt the need to criticize the world as a theme park (aside the fact that they probably knew this standpoint and theme would be an eye catcher for the public, and as such, would earn them money).  At the same time however, I caught someone actually thinking that the monologue was too over the top, and that they should have kept the message mysterious and quizzical, so that the public had the freedom to interpret this play on their own terms.

Let's start with the actual meaning of the play. According to the monologue, their main issue was Disney's motto: "If you can dream it, you can do it." This dreaming gives people hope, an unrealistic hope to a life where they'll live happily ever after, and where they'll get exactly what they dreamed about, as long as they dream hard enough. Unfortunately, as they probably discovered themselves (since they're the ones stating it), reality doesn't have any happy endings. Nor does reality make dreams come true. Walt Disney is hiding the shit of the world, instead of throwing it in our faces. He should've thrown it into our faces, and by doing so, making that shit acceptable within our society. Really Walt, how can you tell us to dream when you know how disappointed we will be when our dreams don't come true? How can you give us that fake hope to a happy ending!? (Because let's face it, nobody's had a happy ending).

A philosophical thinking that came to mind was Stoicism, founded in the early 3rd century BC which stated that a person of "moral and intellectual perfection" would not suffer from negative emotions. Disney is clearly giving us a fake hope, that will bring us to disappointment. Oh woe is me, how bad this disappointment is! All of it created by Disney's far-too-perfect fairy tales. My parents never taught me that life isn't a fairy tale, how was I supposed to know that I wouldn't marry a prince and live in a castle one day!? Nobody tells me that the world is filled with shit, and nobody helps us accept this shit, so the shit may become a true part of life and will bother us no longer. Dammit Disney! Do NOT hide the shit!

Please.
Disney is not responsible for morons who believe that shitting is a disease that needs medical attention, nor is Disney responsible for people who lost their touch with reality. I mean, what's the job you carry as a parent anyway? Also, did anyone notice the word "can" and "do" in Walt Disney's quote? "If you can dream it, you can do it." You can. If you get up from that lazy ass and stop complaining, you can. It doesn't say you will, it says you can, in other words, you have the possibility to. Walt Disney is trying to stop you from thinking within borders: exactly the same thing they teach you at an art academy.


For my second point, the worth of art being based on it's quizzical meaning, I just want to say that - if that's the case - modern artists sound to me like a bunch of cowards who don't dare to state things openly. The idea behind a modern artist is that he/she carries the ability to stand outside society and reflect back on it with an artwork that either shows current issues, or criticizes them (preferably the latter). Oh, this scratched piece of rock here? It stands for whatever you think it stands for, yeah. This is so useful that the government really needs to spend more money on the artistic development of this country.

I've had it with "modern" art for today. Entertainment for the sake of entertainment appears to be the devil of Dutch Art Academies. I agree there's some good modern art out there, but it sure is a rare thing. By all means though, if thrusting your crotch against a fence in order to portray your criticism is making you happy, do it. After all, I'll be doing my own thing too.

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