If no one knows you, you don't exist

People are ignoring this blog.

I know. I have a hit counter there which tells me so. If people are ignoring the blog, they are probably ignoring the show. It doesn't seem to have gained a significant traction with La Mama, and I don't think Pippa or Becc or anyone else really know what it's about. (explanatory edit: Most people I have spoken to are unaware of the scandal or have only a scant consciousness of Mike's monologue, apart from a few select people who happen to listen to TAL or follow Mike Daisey's work) .Possibly it will sink without a trace.

So, I must live with that. Someone takes action - they of course have to live with the consequences that they may be ignored. My work may be for nothing. It's not a new thought. I'm also not the first person to have had this thought, and it is not limited to the field of the arts.

In some ways, it's easier to have this thought when other people are there with you, and you can share it. If this was a two hander, at least someone would be there to talk to about it.

Precariousness

I wonder if this project is pointless.

It doesn't feel artistic to be just replicating Mike's performance. People don't seem to be very interested in what I'm doing. And also La Mama changed venues on my yesterday because a children's theatre doesn't feel like they can perform on a set which will be very difficult to perform on. So we changed venues.

Of course, I am ok with this, and La Mama has given me too much for me to go around whining about it. But art is sometimes so fragile that something very simple can undermine an artist unintentionally.

It opened up another couple of wounds which have been festering... like why the hell haven't I heard from Mike?? Can I really put the show on without hearing from him? Is it ok to charge for the show? is $15 too much? What should I do with the money??? WHO THE HELL DO I THINK I AM PERFORMING WHEN I AM NOT AN ACTOR???? I can't remember lines!!!! I'm rehearsing at the moment... staring into the darkness... paralysied with fear about the moment when I will be truly lost, where I won't know where I am or where I'm going....

Martyrdom, or the challenge of trusting the untrustable

The word "martyr" in its original Greek form, means "witness". We think about a martyr more like participant. The stereotypical image today is one of bombs and carnage.

There is not much available which Ira has said about the interview. However, there's an interesting interview here where Ira is asked whether he has conducted a shaming. To which Ira replies "I haven't listened to the show since we did it". The journalist is following a particular line here. But it's a worthy question I think.

Was it a shaming? If so, why?

And also why hasn't Ira listened to the interview? That seems weird. And it seems like he probably feels a bit jumpy about it.

We could say the This American Life thingo as a shaming in which Mike is placed on the mantle of sacrifice in order to correct a cultural schism that Daisey has created. If we are to listen properly to Mike, we must review completely our consumption of products and the systems in which they are made. Isn't this an anarchist proposition? If you were to look hard enough at this in your own life, you would have to throw out most possessions.

This makes him a ripe target.

Engaging America

America is an actual country.

This came as a surprise to me a couple of years ago when I relised it. Over time, we become so saturated with America that it is not so much a country as the entire world.

The specific moment came when I was on a tram a couple of years ago with my then-girlfriend and going past the MCG. For some reason I was pretending to be American (various comments like "Is that the Cricket Ground?" "I hear it's one of the biggest in the world"). A lady overheard us talking and chimed in with some facts about the MCG. Then she started asking about our home...
"So, you're from America?"
"Yes", I replied.
"Which part?"
Sweating, I replied "New York"
Then came her next question: "New York City?"

Some good Daisey links

I have been working on a timeline of my experience of the Agony/Ecstasy affair, but it's taking too long so for those interested it would be good to have something up which is a bit shorter and more succinct.

1) Retraction. The retraction episode of This American Life, where they, in highly dramatic fashion, massacre Mike Daisey.

2) https://rapidshare.com/files/2843471479/This_American_Life_454__Mr._Daisey_and_the_Apple_Factory__file_retrieved_2012-03-18.mp3 *. Extract from the performance by Mike Daisey. Focuses on Mike's visit to the Foxconn factory in Shenszen, where the Ipad and Iphone are made. This is surprisingly not available any more. **Note: interestingly, this material is no longer legally available for free. I am sharing a copy I have obtained legally, (it was initially available for free download) and this, for me, falls under the category of "fair dealing" under Australian Copyright Law because "I, myself am making the criticism or review" i.e that this material falls under the collection of material which I am reviewing as part of my performance. If you would like to sue me for this, instead go and "flush your head in the dunny". The author of this work is Mike Daisey www.mikedaisey.com, and This American Life www.thisamericanlife.org, whose latest piece of journalism is 'In Dog We Trust' - Stories of dogs and cats and other animals that live in our homes. Exactly how much are they caught up in everyday family dynamics? We answer this question and others.'

Image

My close close associate Sonja Hornung has come up with this image to try to imagine the work to you:

If you're interested in Sonja's work, her Future Library Project is entering "prototype phase" at time of print and will be installed at Flinders Street Station, Melbourne from 8-29th June www.futurelibraryservice.com/

"Truth"

Truth doesn't interest me anymore.

Which itself is interesting. Because I acknowledge that truth is very important, very powerful. I just know how flimsy it is, and how easy to manipulate. For example, everything that I do could be discredited by pulling the above statement out of context and putting it in an article.

From my years studying the media, I have noticed, by myself and at the provokation of certain theorists, that the media are mostly full of shit. Mostly, they hold onto this idea of "truth", and nothing else. When you do this, you are able to both proclaim your honesty and authenticity, and manipulate reality however you want. Create the headline first - then write the article.

I will create an example.