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There is a saying to the effect of which true "art" is one that invokes a response. In many ways, it is a work of "art" be it a song, a poem, film, story that is more powerful through its artistic nature and indirect approach of resistance. Any form of communication that speaks out the silent, underrepresented side of a story or issue is a form of resistance to the system. Using a more abstract, metaphorical form of expression is a subtle, yet very effective way of getting a point across, in comparison to a straightforward, conventional approach at an issue. Some of the greatest social commentaries, criticisms, and protests have been made in the form of song, writing, and film, as we have found in "Bones", "The Slope", Wedding in Galilee, and Zoot Suit. Especially in topics that we as Americans are not used to discussing openly, such as racism, prostitution, poverty, class struggle, xenophobia, sometimes it is the only way to be heard. In a course about global cultures, this more unconventional approach is an extremely effective method of conveying a statement of resistance to an implied audience by veiling the bitter reality of the issue with creative license, while still keeping the strength of the original message intact. As professor Layoun mentioned in lecture, the surge of prostitution in Japan following WWII was marked by the establishment of 250 prostitution unions made by Japanese women forced to support their families.(Layoun,10/14/98) "Bones" deals with the social, traditional, and psychological hardships inflicted upon the main character Michiko, as she struggles to survive. The clashing of gender roles within the once prosperous country now in defeat is eminent as the traditional Japanese female is put into a situation where she must do things that would otherwise be drastic and shameful in order for her to survive. The bitter reality of the Michiko's situation of joining her dead husband as she had originally planned or selling her body to support her daughter, dying brother, and ailing father constitutes immense psychological damage and strain. The weight that she bears on her shoulders is so heavy that she actually finds herself waiting anxiously for her brother to die, so she won't have to deal with him anymore. "Bones" is a powerful statement of resistance toward the average reader who may look at a prostitute as a dirty, worthless individual, as it humanizes Michiko immensely in portraying her not too unlike a young American woman. Thus giving the implied reader a different perspective to the occupation and liberation of Japanese civilians by America. In the end Michiko wonders when her father is going to die. In a rich symbolic statement about class struggle, poverty and education, "The Slope" uses the perspectives two characters to merge as an active form of poetic resistance. The disillusioned teacher and the young child both make realizations about the nature of the world, as they approach the real "problem" symbolized by the principle of the school. The school is in a dire situation, the principal withholding the books, salaries, and in many ways, the souls of the teachers. The teacher himself is wondering about the purpose of his job, disillusioned by his situation, without hope. The story itself is littered with forms of symbolic resistance. The "father" in the little boy's story represents the poorer class, as the rich man on the hill as the upper class. His father has a beard not too short, nor too long, not "complete" but a "good man". His father's shop is on the rich man's property, working as a shoe smith, repairing the rich man's shoes as a "poor man's obligation" but no one notices. The powerful statement of "his father's flesh in the rich man's shoes" adds to the metaphor as the "father" is buried and lost in a pile of shoes, overwhelmed, as he has been held under a pile of past injustices and inequalities. His father nails himself to the anvil, trapped with the work, with the rich man's shoes, as people pass by refusing to help. Eventually he is covered to the point where no one knows where or who he is, and he disappears from sight. The use of the story within a story, told through the eyes of a child is in many ways the most powerful commentary can be made about the situation that they characters are in. The reader associates with the mock innocence of the child in the story, and in the course of the story, he/she in turn realizes the not so innocent message he has in his story. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is one that has been disproportionately reported on in the US, and not surprisingly is one that is not viewed with much impartiality. Wedding In Galilee gave a somewhat neutral account of the situation in the sense that it portrayed both the Palestinian villagers and the Israeli soldiers interacting peaceably instead of in conflict, as we have grown accustomed to hearing. The artistic resistance in this film comes in the form of humanizing the two groups in conflict, showing through the events of a Palestinian wedding, the tensions and actions of the people that live in the area. This film was not an anti-Israeli film, nor was it an anti-Palestinian film, yet intertwined with the story line were several statements about the hardships inflicted on both sides by the conflict. For example, in the scene with the horse lost in the minefield, both the Israeli soldiers and the Palestinian father venture out to retrieve the horse despite the dangers and mistrusts between them. It is also a silent statement of the origin of the minefield, which was put there in the first place by the Israelis to discourage Palestinians from farming on their own land. These subtle statements are also is seen in the actions of the young groom forced to be married under the supervision of the Israeli military governor, which causes a great deal of strain in the community. The hardships and difficulties of having a simple wedding, to carry on the lifeline without threat of military presence is something that just about all of us have no idea whatsoever about. We as Americans are unaccustomed to the idea of an occupying army, as we as a nation have never been invaded, never been subject to an attack on American soil. Yet it is through this film that the perspectives of both the occupied and the occupiers can be inferred onto us, the audience. Finally, Zoot Suit follows the story line of a flashy, cheesy musical juxtaposed with newspaper headlines as a testimony of the anti Hispanic attitudes in America circa 1944. In agreement with Professor Fair's obersvations on the distorted images that western media give of the third world, it must also be realized that similar distortions of the truth occur within America as well. In the murder trial of the Hank's gang, the racial bias of even our own court system is addressed, along with the slanderous newspaper articles, and public outcry of the Zoot Suit riots of the 1940s. The movie itself is a statement of the power of the media, one of our most treasured freedoms, freedom of the press, as its dangerous potential to be a used as a weapon of racist propaganda. The mystical character of the Pachuco represents the essence of Chicano pride and machismo as a direct from of resistance to the dominant culture. There is one particular scene that constitutes strong artistic resistance, the scene in which Hank and Pachuco are chasing the new reporter in a crowded movie theater, in which they confront the media man about the realities of the social influence the media carries on the people. Once again, it is the subtle cheesy nature of the film itself that gives strength to such a statement. The sometimes comedic and drama-like lines and scenes contrast with the serious nature of the statement that is being addressed. Between the songs of Pachuco, and the dancing scenes, a strong social message of resistance to the media and penal system's racism by the part of the Chicano community is established. All four of these works invoke a response to the intended audience, namely Americans, as these works have been translated into English, and are shown in a class on Global Cultures at a major University. All four create an alternative perspective to the otherwise assumed truths of conflicts around the world, and at home. It is through artistic license that otherwise controversial subjects may be addressed, and the perspective of the silent exploited group may be heard. In many ways, this is the only way that these voices may be heard, especially in times of conflict and social unrest. Examples of these forms of artistic resistance can be found throughout the world, in any time, any place. As seen in the Harlem renaseince, the Vietnam protest era, the Civil rights movement, forms of artistic resistance have paved the way for legal and social changes. From Billie Holiday's "A strange fruit", Israel Kamakawiwaole's "Hawaii '78" Joe Sacco's Palestine, or Nakazawa's Barefoot Gen, all make use of the subtle artistic resistance in voicing a different perspective. John Berger in his collection of essays Ways of Seeing stresses the importance of one's perspective in the understanding and reading of any picture, advertisement, social status, identity. Throughout the course of the semester, I have wondered what the inner response many of my classmates have held in when presented with the numerous pieces of film, lecture, and written work. Looking at a single event, a single work of art if you may, will invoke different responses depending on the perspective of the viewer. As professor Layoun mentioned in lecture, Berger gives a powerful example of this idea with the example of a nude painting.
In every conflict, dispute, issue in humanity, there are always different perspectives that must be addressed. I see the entire course of ILS 209 as an extended example of "resistance" in an overview featuring the alternative perspectives in dealing with both global and domestic cultures. |