So, on Sunday, I'm returning to the US. A fourteen-hour plane ride, with, now, four bags. I'd started with three bags, but I bought a hanging bag for my three new tailor-made suits (pictures to follow). Lisa Tailor, at 三里屯 3.3 Mall did a good job, although the buttons they used were cheap...
My feelings on this are mixed. Like my long-ago trip to Japan, the pain was just immense at times. Beijing is a tough city, I've had a tough time here, although I'm glad I ate the bugs at Wanfujing. I only wish that I was this guy. Very much the best "foreigner" blog I've read. He's not especially insightful or such a beautiful writer, but he's as open to experience as anyone I've read.
(His blog reminds me strongly of JR Ackerley's Hindoo Holiday.)
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Sorry for the Delay- More Acting!
Blogger lets you save drafts of your posts online, and I've accumulated three or four unfinished posts so far. A lot about the unpopular subject of torture. It has something to do with the heat here.
In any event, I went in for two more DVD shoots. The first I did with Ellen, in the incredibly cool Automation Lab at Xinghua University. It was essentially a long hallway, with glass-fronted classrooms on either side. In the classrooms were a variety of robot playgrounds. I kicked myself for not getting pictures.
Suffice it to say, when not choking on my lines, I spent my time peering at the various machines. One room was just bank after bank of mainframe computers. Another room held a small soccer field, scattered with little humanoid robots, like players relaxing on the field after a match. Then there was the Barbie-scale carwash, and the robot-hand display, and several labs full of cool-looking prototyping gear.
The script itself included a Presidential debate between Senator Butler (my favorite, if you'll recall) and Congressman Santos. A tough job made tougher by the fact that the Senator was an Armenian guy with a thick accent.
For some reason, all my roles that day were either teachers or "coordinators", so I brought my tie collection.
Since I'm leaving Beijing in about a week and a half, I planned to forgo any new work for these guys, but I was guilted into one final shoot by the new production coordinator. (You know that scene you shot with Bald Guy? It's not finished! We'll have to throw out the whole thing!)
Yoyo has unfortunately quit the company, to pursue a lucrative career in tourguiding. I struggled with my lines, as usual. The one skit I nailed drew on my construction background. I played the role of Arnie.
_________________
Place: In a workshop 在车间两男
Role: Employee and manager
Content: The employee doesn’t wear a hard hat, a conversation about safety between the manager and the employee by using modals could and might.
Manager: Arnie, why aren’t you wearing a hard hat?
Arnie: Oh, I don’t need one.
Manager: If you don’t wear a hat, you might get hurt.
Arnie: I don’t think so. I’ll be careful. Besides, it’s too hot in here to wear a hat.
Manager: I know but we have occupational health and safety rules we have to follow. You’ve been briefed on them before, haven’t you?
Arnie: Yes, I have. But..
Manager: No buts, Arnie. The last thing I want is for you to hurt yourself and have you end up in hospital.
Arnie: You’re right. If I get hurt, I might miss work. I could lose a lot of money if I can’t work. My wife and family depend on me. I can’t do this to them.
Manager: Exactly. And you’re one of my best employees. I can’t afford to lose you either. Here, let me get you a hard hat.
Arnie: Thanks.
_________________
My personal experience in construction leads me to suspect this is how it would go down in the US-
Place: In a workshop 在车间两男
Role: Employee and manager
Content: The employee doesn’t wear a hard hat, a conversation about safety between the manager and the employee by using expletives and threats.
Manager: Arnie, why aren’t you wearing a hard hat?
Arnie: Fuck you.
Manager: If you don’t wear a hat, you might get hurt.
Arnie: I don’t care.
Manager: I know but we have occupational health and safety rules we have to appear to follow.
Arnie: But I'm drunk.
Manager: No buts, Arnie. The last thing I want is for you to hurt yourself and have to pay worker's comp.
Arnie: You’re right. If I get hurt, I might miss work. I could lose a lot of money if I can’t work. My dog and my meth dealer depend on me. I can’t do this to them.
Manager: Exactly. And you’re one of my best employees. I can’t afford to lose you either. Wear the hat or you're fired.
Arnie: Thanks.
_________________
Chinese version-
Place: In a workshop 在车间两男
Role: migrant laborer and manager
Content: The employee wears a hard hat, a conversation about guanxi between the manager and the employee by using callous disregard for life.
Manager: Ah Q, why are you wearing a hard hat?
Ah Q: I need one. They're required by law.
Manager: If you wear a hat, someone might think it's dangerous around here.
Ah Q: It is dangerous. I'm being careful. Besides, my cousin was decapitated yesterday by this machine I'm using right here.
Manager: I know, but we have occupational health and safety inspectors visiting today. You’ve been briefed on causing us to lose face, haven’t you?
Ah Q: Yes, I have. But...
Manager: No buts, Q. The last thing I want is to be embarrassed, or have to pay a bigger bribe.
Ah Q: You’re right. If I get hurt, I might die. My family could lose a lot of money if I die. My wives in Sichuan and Beijing depend on me. I can’t do this to them.
Manager: Exactly. And you’re only one of many expendable slaves. I can easily afford to lose you. In fact, you're fired. You'll be beaten on the way out...
Ah Q: Thanks.
In any event, I went in for two more DVD shoots. The first I did with Ellen, in the incredibly cool Automation Lab at Xinghua University. It was essentially a long hallway, with glass-fronted classrooms on either side. In the classrooms were a variety of robot playgrounds. I kicked myself for not getting pictures.
Suffice it to say, when not choking on my lines, I spent my time peering at the various machines. One room was just bank after bank of mainframe computers. Another room held a small soccer field, scattered with little humanoid robots, like players relaxing on the field after a match. Then there was the Barbie-scale carwash, and the robot-hand display, and several labs full of cool-looking prototyping gear.
The script itself included a Presidential debate between Senator Butler (my favorite, if you'll recall) and Congressman Santos. A tough job made tougher by the fact that the Senator was an Armenian guy with a thick accent.
For some reason, all my roles that day were either teachers or "coordinators", so I brought my tie collection.
Since I'm leaving Beijing in about a week and a half, I planned to forgo any new work for these guys, but I was guilted into one final shoot by the new production coordinator. (You know that scene you shot with Bald Guy? It's not finished! We'll have to throw out the whole thing!)
Yoyo has unfortunately quit the company, to pursue a lucrative career in tourguiding. I struggled with my lines, as usual. The one skit I nailed drew on my construction background. I played the role of Arnie.
_________________
Place: In a workshop 在车间两男
Role: Employee and manager
Content: The employee doesn’t wear a hard hat, a conversation about safety between the manager and the employee by using modals could and might.
Manager: Arnie, why aren’t you wearing a hard hat?
Arnie: Oh, I don’t need one.
Manager: If you don’t wear a hat, you might get hurt.
Arnie: I don’t think so. I’ll be careful. Besides, it’s too hot in here to wear a hat.
Manager: I know but we have occupational health and safety rules we have to follow. You’ve been briefed on them before, haven’t you?
Arnie: Yes, I have. But..
Manager: No buts, Arnie. The last thing I want is for you to hurt yourself and have you end up in hospital.
Arnie: You’re right. If I get hurt, I might miss work. I could lose a lot of money if I can’t work. My wife and family depend on me. I can’t do this to them.
Manager: Exactly. And you’re one of my best employees. I can’t afford to lose you either. Here, let me get you a hard hat.
Arnie: Thanks.
_________________
My personal experience in construction leads me to suspect this is how it would go down in the US-
Place: In a workshop 在车间两男
Role: Employee and manager
Content: The employee doesn’t wear a hard hat, a conversation about safety between the manager and the employee by using expletives and threats.
Manager: Arnie, why aren’t you wearing a hard hat?
Arnie: Fuck you.
Manager: If you don’t wear a hat, you might get hurt.
Arnie: I don’t care.
Manager: I know but we have occupational health and safety rules we have to appear to follow.
Arnie: But I'm drunk.
Manager: No buts, Arnie. The last thing I want is for you to hurt yourself and have to pay worker's comp.
Arnie: You’re right. If I get hurt, I might miss work. I could lose a lot of money if I can’t work. My dog and my meth dealer depend on me. I can’t do this to them.
Manager: Exactly. And you’re one of my best employees. I can’t afford to lose you either. Wear the hat or you're fired.
Arnie: Thanks.
_________________
Chinese version-
Place: In a workshop 在车间两男
Role: migrant laborer and manager
Content: The employee wears a hard hat, a conversation about guanxi between the manager and the employee by using callous disregard for life.
Manager: Ah Q, why are you wearing a hard hat?
Ah Q: I need one. They're required by law.
Manager: If you wear a hat, someone might think it's dangerous around here.
Ah Q: It is dangerous. I'm being careful. Besides, my cousin was decapitated yesterday by this machine I'm using right here.
Manager: I know, but we have occupational health and safety inspectors visiting today. You’ve been briefed on causing us to lose face, haven’t you?
Ah Q: Yes, I have. But...
Manager: No buts, Q. The last thing I want is to be embarrassed, or have to pay a bigger bribe.
Ah Q: You’re right. If I get hurt, I might die. My family could lose a lot of money if I die. My wives in Sichuan and Beijing depend on me. I can’t do this to them.
Manager: Exactly. And you’re only one of many expendable slaves. I can easily afford to lose you. In fact, you're fired. You'll be beaten on the way out...
Ah Q: Thanks.
Monday, June 4, 2007
More Torture
This MSNBC article (from the Washington Post) discusses the post-traumatic stress one solider is suffering after acting as an interrogator in Iraq, and torturing prisoners on behalf of the US Government. Unsurprisingly, on his return to the US, he finds himself haunted by his actions.
Some interesting quotes from the article-
"What are you going to do? You just want to get back at somebody, so you bring this dog in. 'Finally, I got you.'"
"At every point, there was part of me resisting, part of me enjoying," Lagouranis said. "Using dogs on someone, there was a tingling throughout my body. If you saw the reaction in the prisoner, it's thrilling."
After September 11th, I felt like torturing someone, too. And apparently, the President is hot to keep on torturing people, despite expert evidence saying that it produces bad intelligence, and despite the fact that in breaking the Geneva Conventions it exposes Americans all over the world to reciprocal behavior.
In his classic essay, Grief and a Headhunter's Rage, sociologist Renato Rosaldo discusses how the accidental death of his wife illuminated the puzzle of a Philippine tribe's headhunting ritual. When in mourning, the men of the tribe would seek out, kill and behead a member of a rival tribe. Rosaldo had previously proposed a complex "head economy" to explain this behaviro, which members of the tribe themselves found incomprehensible.
When his wife fell to her death in an accident in the jungle, he suddenly found himself feeling not only sorrow, but overpowering anger. Finding someone and cutting off their heads seemed suddenly like a very good idea.
It should be no surprise that when immersing young American soldiers in a guerrilla war, atrocities of various kinds happen. Human nature makes acts of revenge and atrocity inevitable. A Serbian soldier interviewed several years ago about war crimes said this-
"It was war; sometimes a baby falls on your knife."
But just because abuses will happen doesn't mean that they should be condoned. What's particularly revolting about the war in Iraq and the "war on terror" is that soldiers are acting as proxy torturers on behalf of the President, members of his Cabinet, and a significant portion of his constituency. By condoning torture, this Administration acts like a malevolent drug dealer, feeding the violent, addictive habits developed by soldiers in war.
The angry men in the administration are using the armed forces to play out their own fantasies of revenge. American soldiers are acting on the behalf of sadists, psychopaths, and idiots, and suffering for it.
Some interesting quotes from the article-
"What are you going to do? You just want to get back at somebody, so you bring this dog in. 'Finally, I got you.'"
"At every point, there was part of me resisting, part of me enjoying," Lagouranis said. "Using dogs on someone, there was a tingling throughout my body. If you saw the reaction in the prisoner, it's thrilling."
After September 11th, I felt like torturing someone, too. And apparently, the President is hot to keep on torturing people, despite expert evidence saying that it produces bad intelligence, and despite the fact that in breaking the Geneva Conventions it exposes Americans all over the world to reciprocal behavior.
In his classic essay, Grief and a Headhunter's Rage, sociologist Renato Rosaldo discusses how the accidental death of his wife illuminated the puzzle of a Philippine tribe's headhunting ritual. When in mourning, the men of the tribe would seek out, kill and behead a member of a rival tribe. Rosaldo had previously proposed a complex "head economy" to explain this behaviro, which members of the tribe themselves found incomprehensible.
When his wife fell to her death in an accident in the jungle, he suddenly found himself feeling not only sorrow, but overpowering anger. Finding someone and cutting off their heads seemed suddenly like a very good idea.
It should be no surprise that when immersing young American soldiers in a guerrilla war, atrocities of various kinds happen. Human nature makes acts of revenge and atrocity inevitable. A Serbian soldier interviewed several years ago about war crimes said this-
"It was war; sometimes a baby falls on your knife."
But just because abuses will happen doesn't mean that they should be condoned. What's particularly revolting about the war in Iraq and the "war on terror" is that soldiers are acting as proxy torturers on behalf of the President, members of his Cabinet, and a significant portion of his constituency. By condoning torture, this Administration acts like a malevolent drug dealer, feeding the violent, addictive habits developed by soldiers in war.
The angry men in the administration are using the armed forces to play out their own fantasies of revenge. American soldiers are acting on the behalf of sadists, psychopaths, and idiots, and suffering for it.
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