Radio Derb Is On The Air—Commissars In The Opera House, Etc.
03/10/2017
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Radio Derb is on the air—go here to listen, here to download the MP3. Sample:

For the first hundred years or so of its existence, the opera Madame Butterfly was taken at face value as a musical drama on a tragic human story. Then the CultMarx commissars arrived to strap it into their ideological straitjacket.

So now we have this, from the Seattle Opera website. It's 125 words, but I'll quote them all to you, to give you the full flavor of finger-wagging prune-faced sanctimony. Quote:

Inspired by true events, Madame Butterfly is an often painful reminder of racial and cultural injustice found throughout America's history. In July 2017, Seattle Opera is committed to participating in an open dialogue with the community on issues surrounding this work and will host a discussion open to all. Additionally, prior to performances, the lobby areas of McCaw Hall will be used for a large-scale exhibit, allowing audiences to consider the lasting impacts of American imperialism on people of Japanese and Asian ancestry which continued well into the 20th century. A month after Madame Butterfly closes, we will present An American Dream, a story depicting the incarceration of a Japanese American family in the '40s, to provide an essential second perspective for Madame Butterfly audiences.
End quote.

"American imperialism"? Might we hear a word about Japanese Imperialism? And then perhaps another word about Chinese imperialism? The Japanese and the Chinese actually proclaimed themselves to be empires, for Heaven's sake! Eighty-five years ago, in fact, the Japanese made a strenuous attempt to incorporate big swathes of China into the Japanese Empire, using very brutal methods.

Why isn't that worth a mention? Why? Because it can't be incorporated into a narrative about "the depravity of whiteness," that's why.

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