With so many attacks on the news media today, political art and fiction can do what news can’t. Both can turn news on its head, shake up disbelievers, and open up thought and discourse. Since viewers and readers are questioning truth like never before, there’s an urgent need to present facts artistically, whether it’s through novels, art, plays, film or music.
The Fiction Writer
Recently, I attended the magnificent San Miguel de Allende’s Writers’ Conference and heard fiction author and poet Jennifer Clement’s keynote speech. She’s also the president of PEN (Poets, Essayists and Novelists in support of journalists around the globe).
She read excerpts from her novel, Gun Love, which speaks to the issue of guns from the USA flooding Mexico. She discovered through her research that 2,000 guns cross the border every day and there are over 8,000 gun shops on the American side of the border. Mexico only has one gun shop in the whole country with strict rules about buying and that’s in Mexico city. 48% of America’s gun business has to do with buyers south of the American border. That business feeds the drug cartel and gang violence—the reason many families are fleeing.
Gun Love
Hearing Jennifer Clement read from her novel produced more than a few gasps in her audience. They recognised the sad truth woven into it.
To research gun love for her novel, she visited the NRA Museum in Virginia. She said it resembles a church with chapels: one for the presidents’ guns, another for Hollywood guns like John Wayne’s, guns for hunting game, and so on. It even has a 1950s boy’s bedroom with gun motifs.
She reminded us that the indigenous people world-wide had no chance against the gun, whether they were the North American Indian or the Zulu warrior. It wasn’t a fair fight. Not when all they had were spears and bows and arrows. She touches on that history in Gun Love.
Prayers for the Stolen
Jennifer Clement also read from her novel, Prayers for the Stolen. It’s a story of a different crime. There are men in SUVs that roam the countryside in Mexico looking to abduct young girls.
She said that when a chapter from this novel was published in a major Mexican newspaper, she had to leave the country for two months. It was not safe for her to be in Mexico.
At the end of her speech, someone said, “You are so brave.” She replied, “I’m more indignant than brave.”
The Artist
And then there’s the visual artist who pulls no punches. Robert and I were fortunate to come across such an artist during the recent My Studio art walk in San Miguel de Allende. Debra Thompson creates art that is hard to sell because of her politics but her work speaks volumes. She presents work that comments on both social and political issues.
Here is one ceramic piece—an unflattering one of Trump, called Put a Cork In It. Beside it the words—Regardless of where on political spectrum you may fall: divisive, uninformed and hateful language is not appropriate in any discourse. In particular, not from our leaders.
Her website shows works tackling difficult subjects like legal drug trafficking, banks taking advantage of those who can ill afford loans for housing, guns and the NRA, and more.
The Playwright
Wilhelm Furtwängler, Conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Symphony during WWII
Theatre is another avenue to express political views. Last week in San Miguel, my husband Robert and I went to a play reading of Taking Sides, a play by Ronald Harwood set in post-war Berlin. It was brilliantly directed by Fredric Dannen.
Taking Sides is about a famous Berlin symphony conductor during WWII in Germany. Though he saved a lot of Jewish lives, he was favoured by the Nazis, especially Hitler, who had him play for his birthday. After the war, he wanted to come to the USA but was prevented from doing so because Leonard Bernstein, Isaac Stern and other influential Jewish musicians protested. They felt he should’ve left Germany when he realised what the Nazis were doing. In the play, he’s interrogated by an American officer.
Both sides of the question—should he have stayed or not—were presented skilfully by the talented actors. With Antisemitism on the rise, it’s a discussion worth having.
The Musician
over the years, musicians have not shied away from politics in their songs. The political music of the 1960s and 1970s, emphasizing peace and love, helped to mobilize many protests during the Vietnam war years. This past year,Barbra Streisand made a political statement with her new album, WALLS, a reaction to Trump’s obsession to build a wall between the USA and Mexico.
The Filmmaker
This year’s Oscar contenders for best film tackled gay rights, racism, a housekeeper’s low status, and Washington politics during the Cheney era.
For the past four years, our grandson, Michael Stevantoni, has been studying in the USA and was influenced by what he saw. In response, he directed, co-wrote and co-produced a wonderful film, DESERT SHORES, shot at Salton Sea, about a regular joe and the failure of his American dream.
It won Best USA Feature at Chicago’s Blow-Up Arthouse Film Festival in November and Best USA Feature at the Nacogdoches Film Festival in Texas in February of this year. It also earned a nomination at the Milan Film Festival in Italy.
My Writing Journey
My novels are meant to entertain, but being someone who cares deeply about how we get along on this beautiful planet, I can’t help but insert some social commentary into my prose.
In my first novel, A Cry From The Deep, I touched on environmental issues. In my second, The Rubber Fence: mental health. And in my latest, Sunflowers Under Fire, (publishing date, May 7, 2019) I show the impact of war on those involved.
Artists in every medium produce what matters to them.
Thoughts?
I’d love your thoughts on any of the above.
Your post illustrated what you wrote in the last line, “Artists in every medium produce what matters to them.” And you covered all the arts. I didn’t watch the Oscars but the winners certainly reflected timely issues. I had not heard about the album “Wall.” May you and the other artists continue to create what matters to you and reflect issues that are important. I rather like “Put a Cork In It.”
Thank you, Jo. If you get a chance, click on the visual artist Debra Thompson’s website. And then click on each of her art pieces. They’re so astounding. She also tackles the Catholic Church and the sex scandals that continue to plague it. Powerful pieces. As I mentioned, I’m surprised that she hasn’t had a significant show yet. But since she tackles huge corporations who probably donate to the galleries of note, she’s up against it.
Gun Love poses an interesting (and new to me) angle on the problem of drugs and violence, not only in Mexico and the US, but in Canada as well. It sounds like you’ve had a wonderful trip.
Yes, Jo-Anne. I was stunned to hear Jennifer Clement share some of her research. She also interviewed the women whose men are in drug cartels. She also interviewed those in Witness Protection. It’s valiant work she’s doing as a writer.