The BBC still like to favour the old traditional patriarchy.

It is not surprising that when the BBC attempt to create a modern message using Shakespeare it ultimately fails, and conforms more to traditional values than new. The entertainment and novelty value of the whole production is terrific but when tackling a problematic play like The Taming of the Shrew it leaves one feeling ambiguous about the intentions behind the remake. Many modern adaptations using Shakespeare’s language or not, have shown the two lead characters (Petrucio and Kate) on equal par. This leaving a message of equality between the two sexes, however the BBC’s Shakespeare re-told version written by Sally Wainwright does this too obviously. The happily ever after pictures of Petrucio being the stay at home father is too obvious for any viewer to overlook the subtleties of female oppression.    

It seemed to overlook that women empowerment is not a thing of the past and suggest that women should not ask for any more than what they have already been granted. The fact that Kate had to marry or she wouldn’t get votes from the public for her party, makes one beg the question why? Suggesting we still live in an age of oppression for women, a more current cultural twist would place Kate as a lesbian, or if not, do not sit her in a position of power to tear it away from her because of traditional formalities.

This production paraphrases the text for those familiar, yet has an understandable plot for those who are not, and that is what frightens me. It doesn’t become a historical text, but more importantly suggesting women are just after money, title or attractive foreign men. Moreover swapping the father figure for a mother (Twiggy), becomes a too obvious attempt to class this production as a ‘modern’ twist on empowering women. The final speech is updated to tackle the idea of the prenuptial agreement in marriage, and Bianca the sister who we are supposed to dislike becomes favourable here. She protests convincingly for this legislation not only for in her marriage, but for all marriages as a rational act of protection. When Kate makes the final speech of suppression it becomes hard to watch, as it conforms to traditional practices that marriage is for life, the harsh reality being not the case for many today. This production absolutely conforms to pre-conceived notions of what the BBC stands for and it is no wonder they wanted to show this play.

The Big C

This award winning programme and a strong favourite of mine has come to a conclusion this week on more 4. I cannot stress enough how brilliant the entire show was, and if you haven’t watched it, you should. The script was well thought out and I couldn’t imagine anyone else playing Cancer stricken Cathy, other than Laura Linney. This programme was clever, daring, funny and sad, but for me I think the most memorable stuff is all of these.

We started the journey with Cathy, as she tries to deal with being told she is terminally ill from melanoma, the most fatal skin cancer. Here we are presented with juxtaposition in the fact this show is labelled as a comedy. There’s no humour in death – I hear you say, but who exactly has said that there isn’t. I would call it more of a comedy drama, with black humour (joking about death) parts. I have literally laughed out loud at some of the things that Cathy says and other characters, my favourite Cathy line, comes from a scene where a woman tries to cut in line and says that she is in a rush: “Oh well, you see, I’m in a rush too I have cancer and would like to pot my plants and see them blossom before I die.” The cocky woman is stunned, because she doesn’t expect that. This is an example of the type of humour used in parts of the show, satirising death and some people like the cocky woman who cut in line might not get it, but I do.

I have great respect for the character Cathy, and I could chill with her, I like her outlook on life after being struck with cancer. She is out there doing the stuff she has always wanted to do and it starts by kicking out her husband, let’s face it, it did him some good. All the hours wasted she spent cleaning up after him, she wants back, and she doesn’t feel it is right to change him. She is going through a drastic change in her life and wants some ‘me time’. Is she selfish that she doesn’t tell her husband or friends she is sick? Well it’s for us to decide, but her reason is to hang on to normality. Once people know you are sick, their actions towards you change, no matter how much you want to accept they don’t.  

I have just watched the finale, and it was very moving as she puts herself forward for a drastic do or die treatment. I can’t fault the script for doing this, as the next season will show the treatment side to cancer; but the hard fact that the treatment makes you sicker before you get potentially better, or die sick would feel a waste of Cathy’s life. Treatment on terminal cancer has a low success rate and for a lot of patients once you start the treatment, it will prolong your life span a bit, but you are too sick to do a lot. People coming to you, pandering for you, looking ill, and just for a little more time, I didn’t think that is what Cathy was about. She wanted her independence; to be able to do things she couldn’t before, soak up life before she got sick. So if this treatment doesn’t work for her in this fictional programme and she dies sick, I don’t think I will be able to leave my bed for a month.

The show pushed a fair few boundaries other than the humour of death, it dealt with race, sexuality, cancer focus groups, and the defamiliarizing social constructs. The message was there was no clear message, you either understood it or didn’t, you either embraced the challenge of seeing a different view point or you didn’t. It was that simple. It made more of a dramatic point in its subtlety than anything I have seen before, and gave an alternative perspective to the concept of cancer, rather than playing the victim. Cathy is a strong and wise soul, and I am sure that the writers and producers will make a great second series and I cannot wait to see it... If I don’t kick the bucket before then. 

Zumba!

Well just a couple of days ago I accompanied my good friend to her Zumba class at our gym and could not have had a more fun time burning and toning. Zumba classes are the new craze sweeping the nation, an up-tempo dance workout, and at one point it was getting the mirrors all steamed up.

Besides the smell of sweating middle age women all dancing to African/ Latin American music; it was the female instructor who really surprised me. First glance of her combat shorts and pink vest, I wasn’t sure if she could deliver the essence of this class. But this white girl sure knew how to gyrate those hips of hers, and I struggled to keep up. Dancing to Shakira’s Waka Waka, who I am sure is somewhat of an icon for our hips don’t lie instructor was such a treat for a gay man. The song, the moves, It all came together and I could feel the essence of Shakira in the room. My personal favourite dance move was when we leant over and shook our boobs; having no boobs myself turned out to be a bit of a bonus. I’m not sure if she had planned to incorporate this move when she decided not to wear a bra to the class, but who am I to judge.

Being long limed and awkward really went in my favour... not. When my eyes were not on the instructor I could catch glimpses of myself in the mirror. I guess this class is a bit like ice skating; if your tall you will fall. Like all good sports men I got back on that horse and rode it to the sound of Zumba.

A thing that baffled me was that there was only me and two other men, and I’m pretty sure they got roped into it by their wives. I don’t know what man would not want to shake their money maker to African music in a room full of women and mirrors; maybe that’s just the gay in me. Then again I couldn’t understand why some people got their backs up at my friend’s wedding when I caught the bouquet.

Even with all this drama that occurred in the space of one hour in my life, I still would say yes to Zumba. What a crack it is, and if I have to go on my own I will, that is that. Everyone spread the word of Zumba, it’s here, it’s near and it’s proud of it.

Percy   

She's Just That Guy

Yes I’m talking about the one and only Jessie J, who has planned to hit the UK hard and heavy. She’s that guy who will be playing everywhere this year and so far being received very well, and I say bring it on Jessie J I’m ready to be shocked.

Her Debut single ‘Do it like a Dude’ has been all over the radio and her music video playing non-stop over the music channels. “Stomp stomp, I’ve arrived” is how she opens herself in her first lyric and of course she did just that. Already getting critics backs up she has claimed the BBC sound of 2011 award, and will receive that at this year’s Brit Awards. This award has gone to all women in the past, dating back to Adele, Florence and Ellie Goulding; who have all shown their success in their debuting year. Jessie J is coming with something fresh and with a great attitude of ‘no rules, free for all’ mantra so let’s crack on. She’s outspoken and sings about society, maybe there’s some heartbreak in amongst her album due to release sometime this year. Hopefully it becomes the sound of rebellion against parts of the system and patriarchal ideology so we cannot wait to hear what she comes up with next.  

Jessie J suffered with a minor stroke at 18, at a very big milestone in a teenager’s life. She does not drink, smoke or take drugs due to this attack giving her an irregular heartbeat; therefore uncertainty of what could happen if she did. I have known friends that have suffered trauma and got over it very well and not let it interfere with what has become of them now. I think she is a great role model for this attitude that you don’t have to drink (or drink too much) to have a good time. Her bad girl attitude and killer hills initially forms a snap judgement of her, that she must be bad and do bad things; actually she does not and cannot so she’s breaking the rules of stereotyping. She is breaking the mould and that is what her and some other artists are trying to do right now, she’s shouting it and let’s get ready to listen.  

Too Conditioned?

YES. Just like conditioning our hair to protect it and keep it looking nice, does social conditioning do the same? We condition in order to protect, so that everything seems nice and shiny on the outside; but is all this social conditioning cunningly deceiving us.

My friend Alex was telling a story about his friends back home and how they have changed since when he lived there permanently. Of course it is fair enough to say young people are bound to change; this is a result of growing up, but how much is this put down to conditioning. We are constantly told to grow up, behave and act your age; I would like to ask who governs age then? Age is just a word said out loud or a number we write down, but why does that hold significance over our behaviour. This all comes down to conditioning; we are conditioned into roles from a very young age, roles that exclude others. My friend Alex enlightened me onto this idea by telling me how his friends back home that didn’t go to university had changed. These friends had all got full time jobs and apprentices as electricians, chippies and bricklayers etc. He found them all to take on a new persona; a persona that was different and not really how he remembered them by. They all were pretty much dressing the same, the typical straight boy look and all became ‘geezers’ overnight. Alex posed the questions who, what, when and why:

Who are you?

What are you all wearing?

When did you talk like that?

Why don’t you shock me?

The last question sums one completely, why didn’t they shock him; it was almost like he was expecting it. They all fell into the stereotype of their job without even realising. What free-will do we have if when we get a job we have to fall into that stereotype? Granted it would be a bit odd to see a polite builder and a sleazy lawyer who wolf whistles at the witness. However being aware that we don’t have to slot into these conditioned roles could open one’s eyes and create more of a collective group rather than loads of separate ones.

I have in the past and also seen people whispering words, like black, disabled and gay to name a few. Why do we feel the need to do this? Well it’s Political Correctness gone mad and people are scared to say anything these days in case they are racist, a bigot or homophobic. Well I say this is due to conditioning. When you are younger in a state of innocence you say these things out loud and it is adult figures that tell the child it is wrong. So growing up the child believes just because they asked is he gay? Or why’s he black? Or why are they in a wheelchair? That these are wrong things to ask therefore are wrong. They associate the word with being wrong and this type of conditioning carries on through adolescence. That is why it is so hard to come out as gay, because we are totally conditioned to thinking it is wrong; rather than different, which can also be conditioned as wrong. The chain goes on. Glee portrayed this very well in their Lady Gaga episode when Fin is calling everything in Kurt’s room ‘faggy’. Kurt’s dad steps in hearing this and says, “Yea I knew what you meant. We meant it the exact way that you meant it, that being gay is wrong, that it’s some kind of punishable offence.” This is down to mislead conditioning, yes gay is different but it’s not wrong and neither is being black, or handicap. This needs to change and it will change eventually if people stop falling into these obvious traps. The new generation of kids is coming slowly and I want to be part of this movement and it should be helped as much as it can. You can’t catch being gay you just are, people have been gay for centuries even through this conditioned system; so there is no excuse why we should not celebrate gay or anything else different. Celebrate and embrace it in the same way patriarchal society is conditioned as normal, and create a neutral society. We need to become a collective group to push forward and evolve otherwise we are stuck, even going backwards.

There shouldn’t have to be another war to create radical change. We can get there by trying to break down these barriers that we are conditioned with; and yes shock people out of their backwards life. A French Philosopher called Auguste Comte saw where this social evolutionism could go: that religious sensibility would lead to a ‘Religion of Humanity’. Whereby working together collectively we shall evolve and learn from one another; that the new religion would be one that encompasses all, and I think this is what the country’s next step should be. Religion should trust in humanity and there is a purpose for us all and ‘God’ will reveal that purpose when the time comes. But to move away from all this small-minded conditioning we need to work alongside one another, understand one another and ‘love thy neighbour.’ 

Are we going backwards?

Chanel 4 and dispatches have done it again; pointing out obvious flaws in our society we are unwilling to acknowledge. The programme called Dispatches: Fashions dirty secret aired on Monday and looked at high street fashion prices, and the consequences that come from that bargain. The most fitting response to the question “do you think this is the inevitable price of cheap fashion?” was about consumers sharing their part in it, “buying a shirt the price of a lunch clearly there’s a problem there.”  

It followed an undercover worker in a factory in Leicester called Sammi Leisure Wear and was in clear violation of the health and safety act for this country. The programme absolutely obliterated New Look retailer and quite rightly as they use sweatshops to produce their goods. The average wage for the immigrant worker was £3, and lower if the immigrant was here illegally.

On our own doorstep is where the reality hits home as we are all aware that these cheap frocks come from factories abroad and we fool ourselves to believe that the poor wage given to them in their country will be enough for their means. They don’t have the ‘luxury’ of sky TV that we have to pay, so we need that garment and we need it cheap; therefore it could be seen as a win win situation. Well my friend went travelling to Cambodia (Southeast Asia) and found that the children’s mothers would chop off parts of their child’s limbs and send them out begging; as they got more money from begging than work in factories. These factories might not be used by UK retailers but John Hilary, director of ‘War on Want’ charity who has witnessed these types of factories says that the Leicester conditions are, “Certainly something we would associate more with the type of conditions you see in Bangladesh, India or China.” The conditions at Sammi’s were equally as poor as some in the developing world and that the fire exit was even “Locked”, not something we would even consider hearing about in this country. These companies using these sweatshops wouldn’t let their shops or their offices violate these regulations because they are under constant checks. It goes by the rule of what you can’t see won’t hurt you.

They get away with it because it gets lost under this supply chain and the people at the top are questioned about their company’s suppliers and it drops down and down and down to an outside supplier who on the surface has the right certificates, yet they have a drop down system as well. This is exactly how they get away with it because the work gets subcontracted to illegal textile manufactures that are unaccounted for. So much work for such a small manufacturer and no questions asked seems to be the case here. These sweatshops are making high street retailer clothing even ones under the arcadia group limited owned by Sir Philip Green (Owner of Topshop). They have their own code of conduct that talks a fair game about decent working conditions and also states, “This code applies to the manufacturer or any other person involved in supplying goods to our company.” So how do places like Sammi’s slip under the radar? Simply because it is all illegal and very hush hush. So Sir Philip Green gets knighted and becomes a Sir and the immigrants are invisible, and if your invisible you are not a threat to this ‘SIR’ govern society.

It seems like we are still living in this Marxist economy where we are all shying away from the rich exploiting the poor. The idea of the superstructure (the ones with the ideas) exploiting the base (the ones with means of production) should be a distant memory. As the UK’s border agency assistant director say, “People on the very top assume because they dealt with one company down that everything is okay.” We are living in a don’t ask don’t tell society and how is the consumer meant to know what goes on behind closed doors. We have too much trust in our government to do the right thing, yet I do believe we have a responsibility to have a better common sense when buying a cheap product to think where it came from. If we knew I would hope we would have the better judgement not to buy and save up for an item of clothing that would be more gratifying. I understand both sides of the argument but I do think it is possible for us to have cheap clothing that does follow ethical guidelines; especially when the workshops in this country give them nothing to live on.

These illegal manufacturers use illegal immigrants here on various visas. The most popular being a student visa, they live/work in the country illegally and are therefore left powerless. If they spoke up or try to sign on they would be caught and deported, so fear drives them to work for so little. It is a catch 22 situation with no clear answer. “The sewers are churning hundreds out by the hour” so that £3 for the hours work becomes hundreds/thousands within days of sales. The illegal immigrants realise they are being exploited and know they are powerless and if the investigation has to be in the fear of deportation. If conditions of living are the same in their country as in the UK then why have they got this fear of deportation? This is where the programme could have extended as it left questions in my mind as to where they stand; either pay the illegal immigrants a fair wage and let them live legally in the country or shut down these sweatshops and deport the workers as well.

One to watch??

Already toured with the likes such as The xx is this the new sound we are going to be hearing in 2011? Her name is Glasser... well Cameron Mesirow from America who is currently signed to True Panther Sounds. I have been a bit of a skeptical fan of hers since I read about her in JUNE! Christ a long time ago, only when she had two songs that I could catch on YouTube; Apply and Tremel.

Her album Ring is available and I have been playing it religiously and have been captivated by its arty melody, haunting vocals and electro vibe. It sounds similar to Bat for Lashes, in the way it doesn’t need to shout to be heard; a subtle siren is how I would describe the sound. She has set herself apart from all other female artists on the market at the moment and absolutely fits into this ‘new generation’ of artists Simon Cowell keeps mentioning. Although I think this change in attitude from Simon could be due to his young Afghanistan Fiancé. She has found this niche in the massively popular female music industry, and the album is completely abstract and deep. She is up against performers like Lady Gaga and Katy Perry in the charts but somehow I don’t think that’s her game. She doesn’t need to make headlines and stir up controversy with her attire... although she is a quirky girl. Her music speaks volumes about how unusual she is and listening to her music alone connotes freedom and liberation. So... sorry Gaga, I think Glasser’s more of a spokesperson for the abstract and arts.

I have just convinced myself of her greatness, and I hope her powerful mellow music hits 2011 with a bang. I can see why The xx wanted her to support them on tour, her name needs to be out there alongside theirs. We will see if the market can appreciate music like this especially in a very pop/dance dominated industry. Watch out for songs like: Apply, Tremel, Mirrorage and test her album for yourself on Spotify.