Thursday, May 31, 2018

Don’t Believe Everything You See or Think You Know

Pondering my thoughts for what I might have interesting to say or what might provoke other folks to talk about. I was sitting in a staff meeting (yes I was paying attention) but we were discussing and planning programs that would be exciting, fun, educational, and informative for our patrons. My Secret Life of Walter Mitty popped up and has been swirling through my mind.

From The New York Times:
“It begins with a film ‘The Red Chapel,’ the name of a small experimental theater troupe from Holland that was formed by a pair of Danish performers of Korean descent (Simon Jul and Jacob Nossell). Or at least that's what the North Korean government was led to believe when they gave them permission to do a vaudeville performance tour of the country; in truth, ‘The Red Chapel’ was formed by a pair of improvisational comics (who are in fact of Korean heritage) and a radical journalist, director, and filmmaker Mads Brügger who traveled to North Korea in hopes of using subversive, satirical performances as a commentary on the nation's oppressive policies and lamentable human rights record. This was all done as a cultural exchange between North Korea and Holland.”
Movie poster for “The Red Chapel”

The interesting fact is that one of the performers has a disability and exaggerates his condition as a way of throwing those around him off track. One of the “The Red Chapel” pranksters, Mads Brügger, brought along a video camera to chronicle their journey through Korea, and “Det Rode Kapel” (aka “The Red Chapel”) is a documentary offering a glimpse of their performances and the often surprising reactions they receive. It’s like telling bad jokes that no one gets, but people laugh anyway.

The disabled performer in “The Red Chapel” stands beside the wheelchair he uses throughout the film.

The most poignant question the person with the disability asks their cultural attaché Ms. Pak (who is benevolent and kind) is “where are all the people with disabilities?” to which she replies “we send them away.”

Ask yourself: how do different countries including the USA help or deny humans with disabilities, and where do they get sent?

Here at VSA Texas we are launching a quarterly film screening series about and/or by people with disabilities and we would like your input as to what kind of films you would like to see or that you think would spark engaging discussions around disability issues (like “The Red Chapel,” for example). Please leave your suggestions in the comments below or email them to me at lynn@vsatx.org. We look forward to hearing from you!

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