peace drums

Heera MAndi Call Girls are populating in Pakistan.

Hello, I do not like replying to 'anonymous...

2011-07-11T22:46:13.509-07:00

Hello,
I do not like replying to 'anonymous' people. I think all that needed to be said has been said in this articles and the thread that follows. Those who want to take the wisdom from it can do so. I observed, called it out and it was appropriately and adequately addressed by DJ XL5.

Thank You.

2011-07-11T22:44:30.422-07:00

This comment has been removed by the author.

As for the black-faced dancers, I think the make-u...

2011-07-10T09:56:16.552-07:00

As for the black-faced dancers, I think the make-up was superfluous. But if he really didn't find any cast to actually fill the spot, well, he did the best he can with best intentions.

Will anyone here stop looking at Sergio Leone's movies just because every mexican in his movies is an Italian?? Do you despise them, do you call on their censorship and crying excuses and retractions as much as this case here, or do you see them as an artistic production?

As a person who grew up in India, I must say I was...

2011-07-10T09:53:47.607-07:00

As a person who grew up in India, I must say I was not shocked at all by this.

XL5 showed his take and his view of B/K as he sees it a couple thousand miles away. He mentionned it was not an academic endeavour, just the input of an afficionado.

I regularly laugh at the endless stereotypes Hollywood creates, same goes with other world capitals of cinema, such as Nollywood.

However I'm confident enough in my identity that I can accept that people will laugh at some scenes. I did not feel, at the presentation, a ridicule or disdain for B/K, rather a good laugh of entertainment, at some stereotypes that are very foreign or even totally new to some who were there.

I did not feel threatened or insulted by this selection of, I must say, sometimes very hilarious clips.

Thank you XL5, and please, don't censor yourself. Keep on zapping!

You hoped that more people would have died? You th...

2011-04-30T00:22:02.027-07:00

You hoped that more people would have died? You think the victims are to blame for decisions made by the colonialists over 60 years ago? You think Pakistanis are such a monolith that they decide as one what kind of engineering schemes their country will be up to?
You need to examine your own racism and ignorance about the way the world works and the quagmire the people of Pakistan are stuck in. You have to have some respect for Pakistanis in order to even consider having an informed opinion. You obviously do not.

When was the last time Pakistan helped anyone. Yo...

2011-04-30T00:12:00.028-07:00

When was the last time Pakistan helped anyone.

You forgot to speak to the fact that Pakistan has money for a nuclear weapons program, and the floods were caused by bad civil engineering regarding the flood plain.

Yet somehow its still the west thats responsible. Pakistan wanted to be a sovereign nation, like India, because Muslims refused to live alongside Hindus and wanted their own country.

Well they got it ... now deal with it. Even India gave Pakistan money. If it were up to me, I would not have given Pakistan one brown rupee.

I had hoped the water borne diseases would have culled the population more, but alas it was not to be.

Freedom of speech so by all means Hollywood is fre...

2010-09-21T14:37:06.446-07:00

Freedom of speech so by all means Hollywood is free to make this movie. And next time you want to criminalize these individuals consider what good they could actually do. Executive Order is a great example. A hundred men or so brought stability to a region and stopped the GRIZZLY and BARBARIC slaying performed by the rebels. When the UN was then brought in violence broke out and UN workers were held captive and some killed. The world isn't perfect so sometimes these individuals are needed.

One other point that the film raised is how the fe...

2010-08-17T17:45:00.010-07:00

One other point that the film raised is how the feudal system still exists and what does democracy mean under it. In a system where the land and farmers are owned by a few it’s rather a government of the few, by the few and for the few.
The region needs to do land reforms to be able to call itself the ‘real and true’ largest democracy in the world.

Hello Guys , I am 24 yr old Bollywood dance teache...

2010-07-27T22:11:22.353-07:00

Hello Guys , I am 24 yr old Bollywood dance teacher and have been teaching bollywood for about 2 years now.the link below gives the details of a workshop I am teaching on 7th of August hope some of you can make it !

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=517937663#!/event.php?eid=136078689748493&ref=mf

Dear Andrea, this may sound naive to you but for o...

2010-07-27T11:43:13.474-07:00

Dear Andrea, this may sound naive to you but for one nite, we wanted to live and recreate a bollywood film and environment. I admit, this wasn't my best idea and i can't repeat enough how sorry i am if some of you got offended. This was not my intent.

What I want to understand is why? WHY is brown-fa...

2010-07-27T11:17:46.137-07:00

What I want to understand is why?

WHY is brown-face necessary when paying tribute to a beloved art form?

How?

HOW does brown-face enhance this tribute? Would the tribute be any less heartfelt or sincere or successful if brown-face was not employed?

The debate about what appropriation is, when it's a negative thing, who has access to what, when and how is super interesting and full of subjectivity.

Perceptions on brown-face are also subjective however the use of it lays bare the biases of the user. Of all the painstakingly deliberate choices that went into creating this ... labour of love, brown-face never should have been one of them. The fact that the organizers took the time to 'go brown' demonstrates their inability to distinguish the cultural production of South Asia from the bodies of South Asia.

Why so obsessed?

I'm so sorry you feel that way ChanMul... Yo...

2010-07-27T10:12:11.159-07:00

I'm so sorry you feel that way ChanMul...

You're making strong accusations here. I've tried to be as transparent as I could about this and about my intent. Making parallels to the Nazi party is a bit too much imho.

I am not guilty of racism as my intentions again were noble in my heart. Was it a mistake to put that show together in such a fashion, obviously since you got offended and I'm so sorry about that. I am truly devastated about this turn of event, sincerely. It may have been naive or clumsy or stupid from my part to put this show together with actors painted, but I honestly never intended to upset anyone. I can see your point and hear your anger. Please know that we were so glad to learn the choreography and present them in a faithful fashion. There was nothing parodic in the delivery of the dances. I am guilty of having made a wrong choice in the production of this show. My most humble apologies if I upset anyone.

Again, I intended this as a real labour of love.

Most sincerely

DJ XL5

I would like to disagree with Frank. I didn't ...

2010-07-27T10:06:12.190-07:00

I would like to disagree with Frank. I didn't see the show, but it seems to me that the problem is not a case of blatant racism so much as a disagreement about how much of global culture is available for white artists to submit to their postmodern ironic tributes.

A lot of artists would like to fantasize that we live in a post-political world, where the problems of cultural appropriation are in the past and where global culture appears as a parade of ethnic kitsch that white artists can dip into for exotic capital when they run out of originality. The other extreme would be to retreat from all Other cultures and embrace our own British or French heritage and risk drowning in the banality of ethnic chauvinism.

While the first model has artists submitting to the food court model of liberal multiculturalism, the second has obvious fascist undertones.

The only solution is embrace some sort of hybrid identity, where white artists admit that non-white culture is also part of what forms them as people. I think this is what DJ XL5 is trying to do, but without actively collaborating with people from that culture the risk of repeating the colonial project of seeing all world culture through the white gaze is just too high.

Dear Marc (DJXL5) I appreciate you taking the tim...

2010-07-27T10:03:05.629-07:00

Dear Marc (DJXL5)

I appreciate you taking the time to explain and clarify your work. I also know that as an artist you should not have to justify what you do. However, the fact that you are willing to listen and engage means a lot to me and I thank you for it.

It was very difficult for me to bring attention to this issue. As a Montreal artist, the last thing I want is to get myself a reputation as a "trouble maker" or "over-sensitive".

Having to deal with issues of racism, people of colour live a very different experience in the art and work world. My intention with writing about the problems with the work were to ensure that South Asian artists are treated with dignity and acknowledged for their contributions in a dignified manner.

In a recent thread on Facebook, Emma Rosenthal wrote the following about the importance of speaking out about issues of racism:

"The racist is responsible for his or her racism. That certain conversations illuminate that bigotry doesn't mean that the conversation made the person racist, anymore than the lightbulb made the things illuminated by the light. It just makes it a lot easier to see where we are and not bang into things.

This is what martin luther king called, illuminating the negative peace. Of course it makes people uncomfortable. It should make people uncomfortable.

Adrian says "That's why I believe it's better we focus on getting what we want to say heard " but certain people are simply not listened to, not because of what they say, but because of characteristics that marginalize them.

That's what this whole dialogue is about-- that certain people are "people" and other people-- not so much. certain people are "unbiased" because of their experience of privilege and other people are "biased" because of their experience of marginalization. I would say that a wealthy, able bodied, christian white man, has no background on which to discuss oppression, racism, discrimination-- he is the MOST biased. Not the least biased. He has no idea what he's talking about unless he listens to those most impacted by the marginalizing aspects of society from which he benefits and takes for granted every day."

I thank you all for your contributions.

Dear DJ XL5 There is no misunderstanding. In fact...

2010-07-27T06:49:36.694-07:00

Dear DJ XL5

There is no misunderstanding. In fact, the understanding is very clear – your so-called "tribute" is racist.

I appreciate that you took the time to try and 'splain it to us poor brown folks, but we don't need your explanations.

It is now, and has been for a very long time, clear that dressing up in "blackface" is insulting. What part of that did you miss in your upbringing?

Have you not been attuned to the society around you? How could you think people would actually like this? Would it have made a difference if you had caucasians dress up as Africans? Would you get it then?

To now continue and try and say it is a "matter of taste" compounds your guilt. To say that you are only an "enthusiast collage artist" is to say that Mengele was only a curious country doctor - please...spare me.

What you should do is come out and admit that you f***ed up and then repudiate your show.

It is how reconciliation is achieved – admitting your guilt.

2010-07-27T06:44:25.082-07:00

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I’m very sorry you feel that way. You are entitled...

2010-07-26T23:08:48.429-07:00

I’m very sorry you feel that way. You are entitled at your opinion and I respect that.
I’d like to take some seconds of your time to explain my point of view on the project.

The idea of the show was intended to celebrate Indian culture by sharing films and dance numbers with a wide audience.
Actually, the idea was about more than just showing films - the intent was to let people be immersed in the culture by having dancers and actors on stage re-enacting famous dance scenes and creating a sketch about an actor in Bollywood. I do believe it was done in good taste, and in no way were there intended to be any racist or condescending innuendos. All these local dancers actually learned the songs and dance moves in a respectful way, working for the past month on choreography and learning the songs phonetically. It was a labour of love. We honestly never intended this to be offensive. We may have been too naive to foresee the way you would interpreted our homage. I did try to recruit some local Indian dancers and even an Indian sitar player, and left many messages to people that were referred to me to no avail! But our hope was that everybody would see it a tribute and a love letter to the Bollywood and Kollywoood film industry. Rest assured, our heart was in the right place.

The nature of the event was very clear. If you read my text in the program or checked the trailer I made for the event: “This Zappin’ Party is a love letter that celebrates the beauty and grandness of this genre, along with its endearing goofiness and Indian kitsch.” I really enjoy these films. The title of the program actually explains the content. Bollywood Zappin’ Party. The subject is mainly Bollywood and not all Indian cinemas. The zappin’ strategy I use create a program reminiscent of a session of late-night channel surfing. Sometimes when I zap, I come back to a film I watched briefly before. That’s why I use this trick to place several scenes of a same film at different moment. I think it give a sense of continuity to the project. Party means the projection will be fun. Therefore not the place to Satyajit Ray, even though, I truly loved the Apu trilogy. To have 750 people clapping their hands and yelling to the songs as if they were at a rock concert was for me overwhelming and a sign that starting today, some people in the audience will look at Indian cinema in a different way. And the warm response to films like Muthu, Devdas or Om Shanti Om which are some of the best Bollywood and Kollywood have to offer is for me the proof that we achieved something special. Time prevented me to name on stage all filmmakers but the closing credits name each film with its filmmaker and the year of production. Sorry if I didn’t name any actress name. I could have had. I’m not an expert, just an enthusiast collage artist who happened to watch some 130 Bollywood and Kollywood films to finally keep scenes and excerpts or trailers from some 50 titles. It’s not historical, nor chronological, nor academic.
I must say you know your cinema. Sorry if you didn’t like or approve of some of the excerpts. I truly care for all the films I shared. The rest is a matter of taste.

Sorry again if you thought it was offensive, from our perspective it really wasn’t.
Sorry for the misunderstanding.

DJ XL5

I appreciate your comments. Please keep them comin...

2010-07-26T21:53:04.686-07:00

I appreciate your comments. Please keep them coming.

In the 21st century, we have access to information online. A cursory look online can point one in the right direction. There is tons of information available about South Asian artists in Montreal and across Canada. Professor Thomas Waugh is an expert in Bollywood cinema at Concordia University. People around the world write to him for advice on the Indian film industry. I am sure Mr. Lamothe could have consulted him or asked around for advice on this and many other issues. He is connected and he is very well known.

We have artists of colour unable to find work in the city of Montreal because of people like Mr Lamothe that prefer to paint white skin in order to get by rather than do the work and employ a person of colour.

It is scandalous to say the least.Blackface is a historically offensive practice that cannot be justified. It was very difficult for me to even write about it as I am sure many people get their back up when faced with the accusation of racism and prejudice. This show could not have happened in Toronto.

First of all, let me say that i truly respect your...

2010-07-26T20:25:43.193-07:00

First of all, let me say that i truly respect your opinion on the show. I am really sorry that you are upset about the experience. I understand your point of view but I believe the show was not intended to be racist even it may have seem that way after reading your article.

I attended to several DJ XL5’s zappin’ parties and i think the misunderstanding comes from the fact that you are not familiar with others of his works. He looks for goofiness, ineptitudes, kitsch culture, bizarre scenes and dialogues taken in international popular entertainments as well as in his own North American culture. Excerpts can as well be truly brilliant artistic achievements (which were both the case in this zappin’ party, my point of view). All this can be found in any popular culture worldwide and he showed it in others of his shows.

Like he said on stage, he is not an authority on these subjects but rather an enthusiast who like to share what he has found with the public. This was not an exhaustive display of all Indian cinema I agree but rather an amused look at Bollywood and Kollywood genre movies. I think the text in the festival program and the trailer on the DVD were clear about it.

About the acting and dancing acts, I guess I can’t really have a clear point of view on this subject matter because I am not an expert on Indian culture. I won’t dare to argue you about how you feel about it.

I truly think it was an homage, maybe a naive and clumsy tribute but it felt like it was sincere and not ill intentioned.

Sorry if there are spelling mistakes in this text, English is my second language

Respect
Amélie

UGH! That sounds horrible - my experience is that ...

2010-07-26T14:49:07.753-07:00

UGH! That sounds horrible - my experience is that even if Westerners understand that "Bollywood" is a type of cinema, they certainly don't know enough to understand that "Bollywood" doesn't represent regional cinemas or arthouse cinemas. Anything with a South Asian person is "Bollywood" - whether it's the British-produced "Slumdog Millionaire" or "Bend it Like Beckham."

Your blogpost Arshad, made me nostalgic, to say th...

2009-12-11T14:29:03.280-08:00

Your blogpost Arshad, made me nostalgic, to say the least, for the days of the Western Standard. Man I loved that magazine. May it Rest in Peace.

Your complete failure to address anything in the a...

2009-12-09T16:20:55.764-08:00

Your complete failure to address anything in the articles I've written and instead re-expressing your disdain of Ezra Levant as a person and babbling on about "white supremacy" and your hatred of Conservatives--which I wager from your replies you know nothing about other than rhetoric. FYI, I have studied Islamic history and current Middle Eastern affairs extensively, as well as touring Israel, Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinian Territories. I assure you I know the meaning of jihad and both its correct uses and misuses. Your replies are pure rhetoric (ie, Godwin's Law--the first one to compare their opponent to Hitler loses-google it), and devoid of any research into the issues--at least none that you display. To avoid this conversation becoming laughable, please do some research and argue intelligently.

Calling Ezra Levant an advocate for "Free Spe...

2009-12-09T11:24:11.453-08:00

Calling Ezra Levant an advocate for "Free Speech" is like calling Hitler an advocate for human rights.

I never thought you were a humanist. I know you and conservatives like you are 'Materialists' just like your other hero Thomas Hobbs.

White supremacy is a sickness that needs to be addressed in all human beings. If you do not consider how your writings and conservative leanings effect the lives of people of color and masses all over the world, then you need to re-consider your point of view.

Your article was masquerading as one that cares for the masses and for freedom of speech and freedom of press. Plus it was insinuating that those that call out racism and Islamphobia are somehow practicing some form of 'soft terrorism'- because I know you have no idea what the word 'jihad' actually means and you use it in the most derogatory pejorative way- since Conservatives pride themselves over their black and white view of the world- with us or against us sort of thing.

I want you to have no doubts, you will be called out on your bigotry- now and forever!

A few brief points (I'm the author of the arti...

2009-12-09T11:13:10.912-08:00

A few brief points (I'm the author of the article you have a problem with): first, you made no attempt to disprove anything in the "what is soft jihad article?", you only expressed your dislike for the Western Standard. A cheap journalistic trick that devoids you of the resonsibility of actually making a point. Second of all, just because a journalist doesn't agree with you, does not mean he/she is not credible--that is an unbelievably narrowminded point of view(just saying, since you seem to enjoy throwing around words like "bigot", which I find rather ironic). Thirdly, your review of my "revisionist history" article on my blog shows that you clearly did not make it through the introductory paragraph, or you would realize that my article states far from what you erroneously claim (good journalism,btw). Fourthly, if you had checked into my writing AT ALL, you would realize that I am absolutely not a humanist--I'm more of a follower of Thomas Hobbes. This probably makes me worse of a person/journalist in your books, but I'm just pointing out that your research is abysmal.
To conclude, you seem to think that those who come from a conservative standpoint are useless as journalists. I would put forth that those who cannot even do their research enough to reubtt arguments or figure out that the person they were criticizing isn't a humanist cannot be a journalist not because of their views, but because they simply cannot research.

I wait in fear for the "wrath of the khan".