Montreal Jazz Festival Bans Musical For Allowing White Woman To Sing Slave Songs ....

[MMC]

Once again Liberalism rears its Two Faced Social Justice Warrior Head. What say ye?




Over the past several decades, an important and much-needed effort has been made to expand the Western canon to reflect the contributions of non-white artists and writers. This brings a richer, deeper understanding of our cultural history to the fore and helps us to better understand our society. Last week a terrible step backwards away from these efforts was taken by the Montreal Jazz Festival, when it abruptly cancelled its production of the musical “SLAV,” in which slave songs from the nineteenth century played the central role.


Anyone paying slight attention to the art world in recent years will easily guess what the controversy was. White artists were singing songs that black American slaves originated. As the kids like to say, this was “cultural appropriation.” After a few dozen protesters shouted at attendees at an early performance of the work, the festival bowed to the pressure and cancelled the show.


The star of the show, Betty Bonafassi, who is best known for her work in the film “The Triplets of Belleville,” has a history of exploring the songs of slavery. In fact, the title, “SLAV” instead of “slave,” is a nod to her Serbian heritage and the centuries of slavery her people endured. This kind of cultural connection is essential to understanding how art and history intermingle, and how both can point the way to all our shared humanity.


Tellingly, had this show had an all-black cast and crew, there would be no objection to its content. The 8,000 or so theater-goers who are now getting refunds would have experienced these powerful songs and their stories. There would have been reviews, perhaps recordings, and the knowledge and awareness of these vital songs would have been greatly expanded.


That spreading of the word is how the canon is established. Those who seek to deny artists the ability to do that important work based on the color of their skin are working at cross-purposes. On the one hand they rightfully want the contributions of black Americans to sit equally alongside the Old Testament and “Ulysses,” but on the other they are silencing attempts to do that very thing. It almost seems as if these protestors are profoundly more interested in what they have to say about today’s world than what the great black artists of the past had to say about theirs.....snip~


http://thefederalist.com/2018/07/09/...g-slave-songs/

[donttread]

Once again Liberalism rears its Two Faced Social Justice Warrior Head. What say ye?




Over the past several decades, an important and much-needed effort has been made to expand the Western canon to reflect the contributions of non-white artists and writers. This brings a richer, deeper understanding of our cultural history to the fore and helps us to better understand our society. Last week a terrible step backwards away from these efforts was taken by the Montreal Jazz Festival, when it abruptly cancelled its production of the musical “SLAV,” in which slave songs from the nineteenth century played the central role.


Anyone paying slight attention to the art world in recent years will easily guess what the controversy was. White artists were singing songs that black American slaves originated. As the kids like to say, this was “cultural appropriation.” After a few dozen protesters shouted at attendees at an early performance of the work, the festival bowed to the pressure and cancelled the show.


The star of the show, Betty Bonafassi, who is best known for her work in the film “The Triplets of Belleville,” has a history of exploring the songs of slavery. In fact, the title, “SLAV” instead of “slave,” is a nod to her Serbian heritage and the centuries of slavery her people endured. This kind of cultural connection is essential to understanding how art and history intermingle, and how both can point the way to all our shared humanity.


Tellingly, had this show had an all-black cast and crew, there would be no objection to its content. The 8,000 or so theater-goers who are now getting refunds would have experienced these powerful songs and their stories. There would have been reviews, perhaps recordings, and the knowledge and awareness of these vital songs would have been greatly expanded.


That spreading of the word is how the canon is established. Those who seek to deny artists the ability to do that important work based on the color of their skin are working at cross-purposes. On the one hand they rightfully want the contributions of black Americans to sit equally alongside the Old Testament and “Ulysses,” but on the other they are silencing attempts to do that very thing. It almost seems as if these protestors are profoundly more interested in what they have to say about today’s world than what the great black artists of the past had to say about theirs.....snip~


http://thefederalist.com/2018/07/09/...g-slave-songs/

Good God. are blacks banned from playing....in.... Hamilton?

[MMC]

Good God. are blacks banned from playing....in.... Hamilton?

Not that I know of. Wonder what our Canadian members have to say about this.

[DLLS]

White people were never enslaved? Not even by the Romans?

[donttread]

White people were never enslaved? Not even by the Romans?

Most groups were what amounts to enslaved at some point. None have previously had a segment that tried to make a centuries long career off the "guilt" of the enslavers unguilty descendents before.

[Captdon]

Most groups were what amounts to enslaved at some point. None have previously had a segment that tried to make a centuries long career off the "guilt" of the enslavers unguilty descendents before.

God, I hope this doesn't wake safety up.

[MMC]

Most groups were what amounts to enslaved at some point. None have previously had a segment that tried to make a centuries long career off the "guilt" of the enslavers unguilty descendents before.

Everybody was doing it. From the beginning. I blame the first Shaman of the cave dwellers. That lazy $#@! was playing like Jethro and naught and naught.

[DLLS]

Is the democrat Keith Ellison related to William Ellison? The reason I ask is because if Keith is related to William he might owe reparations.

He held 40 slaves at his death

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Ellison

Imagine a black owning other blacks in the South prior to the "civil" war. Why isn't this taught in schools? Don't we owe it to the children to teach them the entire history of this nation?

[donttread]

God, I hope this doesn't wake safety up.

Oh come on. We need some good old fashioned "just being white is discriminatory" post again. LOL

[donttread]

Is the democrat Keith Ellison related to William Ellison? The reason I ask is because if Keith is related to William he might owe repar


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Ellison

Imagine a black owning other blacks in the South prior to the "civil" war. Why isn't this taught in schools? Don't we owe it to the children to teach them the entire history of this nation?

Or thousands of years of slavery in both Africa and South america before the evil white man got involved. It seems that maybe large groups of humans in general rather than just whites ... suck.