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RE: Rip Torn (was RE: too early?)

Ultimately, you're right, Kelvin. It's not "just sex", even if it is "just
sex". I guess my feathers are a bit ruffled because of last night.

You see, last night Wendy & I went to see METAMORPHOSIS at the Cincinnati
Playhouse in the Park. It's an altogether serviceable script, beautifully
staged (the entire set is a pool of water, put to great use by the actors),
costumed, and lit. Well-acted. However, this play is a SCANDAL in Cincinnati
because (gasp) there's one scene of full-male nudity (non-sexual scene) and
a scene depicting -- in a mild, representational way -- incest.

The thing that got me ruffled was seeing people STORM out of the show during
the incest scene, and hearing them bitch and complain at the nude scene.
Despite the fact that there were LOTS of signs posted with warnings about
the content.

It frustrates me that:
	* People are so uninformed as to where their entertainment dollar is
being spent -- they're SURPRISED by nudity and adult content (do they really
have enough money that they just GO TO SHOWS without knowing ANYTHING about
the content?!)
	* People are so rude as to get up in the middle of a show. It
disturbs patrons (who may not share the same viewpoint as you), bothers the
actors, and is generally disrespectful. If they have an issue with content
(see the first point, above), they shouldn't go in.
	* People are willing to get up in the middle of a show and exit, but
they're TOO SHY to discreetly ask the theatre staff if they'll enjoy the
show?!
	* People can make it past ALL the signs warning of "adult content &
nudity" without seeing them. These people DRIVE?!
	* People cannot separate the DEPICTION of a horrific act (incest)
from the ACT itself. Note that I DO NOT condone incest (duh), but I am
willing to accept the depiction of it in the course of a show to allow a
point to be made. Indeed, the actress was Asian-American and the actor was
Caucasian-American. ANYONE could look and tell that they weren't REALLY
related.
	* These same people will watch graphic depictions of murder (in this
show), transfiguration (in this show), gods smoking cigarettes (in this
show), or violence (in this show) without batting an eye. But reveal a
breast, a penis, or a bit of booty, and they're SCREAMING their way out the
door.
	* The human body is not something of which you should be ashamed.
Note I am NOT advocating a nudist lifestyle or anything (duh), just saying
that the human body isn't, by definition, "offensive". Sitting in the
theatre, the couple behind me said, loudly, at the time the nekkid guy came
out (in the role of Eros, the winged god of love), "Is that really
necessary?!" and, "I'm glad we decided NOT to bring your mother to THIS
show!". My only thought was that dearest mother, in becoming a mother, had
_probably_ seen "one of those" before! In fact, the house manager told me a
story of taking a phone call from a group of elderly women who wanted to see
the show. He mentioned the fact that there was male nudity, and the old lady
on the phone replied, "It'll be nice to see one of those again. It's been a
while!".
	* People hide behind religion for these hangups. It's no wonder
Christians & Christianity have a bad rap. And the thing that blows my mind
about that is that MANY Christians have never even read the Bible (which
explains to a large extent their confusion about doing things in "God's
name").

Oh, I should mention that this play isn't the work of some hack. It's based
on the myths of Ovid from long, long ago.

So, if I was a hair-trigger WRT pr0n, excuse me. I'm just about full to
overflowing of ridiculous conservative rhetoric at the moment.

-andrew vogel
Manager of Professional Programs
University of Cincinnati College of Pharmacy


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Kelvin Bailey [mailto:unloadthedragon@hotmail.com] 
> Sent: Friday, November 21, 2003 2:35 PM
> To: over-the-rhine@actwin.com
> Subject: Rip Torn (was RE: too early?)
> 
> 
> re the porn/pron/tron/torn thing
> 
> I've been around this list long enough to know that it's kind 
> of pointless 
> asking folks to not discuss a particular thing (nor do I 
> think I want to be 
> told what to talk about)
> 
> But I've also been around the block enough times to know that 
> one man's 
> "just sex" is another man's 
> addiction/demon/devastation/lifelong battle.  
> And that's nothing to take lightly.
> 
> So maybe a little peace love and understanding all around 
> would be in order.
> 
> Just a thought...
> 
> Kelvin
> 
> -----------------------------------------
> Do I contradict myself?
> Very well, I contradict myself.
> I am large.
> I contain multitudes.
> -- W. Whitman
> 
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