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the contents C i t i z e n C u l t u r e Number 5

47 14 8 features

SOCIAL COMMENT PEANUT GALLERY CRITICS—FILM 6 Good Morning, Grozny 62 Publicity & Prejudice by Fabian Muir by Rebecca Keller

FIELD REPORT CCM INVESTIGATES 8 Tunisia : Voyage Beyond the Comfortable 78 Scientology’s Night at the Movies by Nancy Beviliqua by Jonathon Scott Feit

11 SOCIAL-LITE FIRST PERSON The Trouble in Marseille 82 From Islam, With Love by Kevin Barry by Faroque Ahmad Khan Dump the Shrink — See the Rabbi 14 ON THE ROAD AGAIN by David Wolpe Of Greyhound & Glee by Timothy Lavin WAXING POETIC 88 There is No Perfect Messenger by Sean Carlson Blue Jacket by Geordy Reid The Begging Divinites by Sabyasachi Roy 51+toc2.qxd 4/1/05 2:36 PM Page 1

the contents photo essays, interviews, and reviews

25 SPEAKING OF... (SPECIAL INTERVIEW SECTION) ...Bill Maher’s Muckraking for Dummies ...The Funnyman: Steve Zahn by Jonathon Scott Feit

...The Role Model: Shawn Alexander by Kim Byrum Skinner

...The Internet Artistes: Bullseyetattoos.com by Irfan Shabeer

...Thousand Dollar Baby: Andrea DeShong by Rachel Ellner 26 ...The Prolific Playwright: Steve Belber Interview by Kevin Hylton

...The Crusader: Gina Semenza 38 by Lauren Gormley columns 47 INDIE FASHION... (FASHION WEEK FOLLOW-UP) The Rise of the Independent SEXY TASTES by Meg Hemphill 18 I Do Voodoo by Jen Karetnick Re-Gen Art-eration by Kelly Brumleve THIS AMERICAN LIFE 20 Shore Leave 15 Minutes with: by Peter Rutenberg Mary Gehlhar, Gen Art’s Fashion Director by Kim Byrum Skinner CULINARY CULTURE 22 Tamarind: VENA CAVA: Sophie Buhai & Lisa Mayock The Electrifying Lime Alternative by Anna Collins by Courtney Knettel LULU FROST: Lisa Salzer TO TIE FOR: Amy Weis 70 ON THE FENCE: THE RIGHT STEELO: Matt Levine by Ben Barron by R. M. Schneiderman and Theo Mazumdar 73 ON THE FENCE: THE LEFT MORBID DOWNTOWN : Patrik Rzepski by Ari Paul by Meredith Rohana 75 ON THE FENCE: READER RESPONSE PORTFOLIO by Tori Reimann 64 The Women of Juarez, Mexico : Still Standing by Connie Aramaki PRISM 86 Privacy Please by Sasha Stiles issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:08 PM Page 5

contributors

Connie Aramaki Santa Barbara, CA With a propensity for travel, 28 year old Seattle native Connie Aramaki, graduated from NYU and is presently completing her Masters of Science at the Brooks Institute of Photography in southern California. Current projects include covering the Michael Jackson trial for Agence France-Presse and developing plans for an innovative documen- tary magazine. Connie uses her craft to tell the important stories of those voices that are often not heard; creating communication is what excites, defines, and makesher a photo- journalist.

Kevin Barry Liverpool, England Kevin is a freelance writer who writes about travel for a range of publications. His fiction has appeared in journals in Ireland, Britain, and the United States.

Nancy Bevilaqua Hoboken, NJ Nancy is a freelance writer specializing in travel, who lives in Hoboken, New Jersey, with her husband and two sons. Before becoming a “full-time” writer, she worked as a case manager and counselor for people with AIDS in New York City.

Anna Collins Washington, D.C. After five years in the American capitol, Anna still doesn’t understand the metro. She writes about fashion, culture, and little fish.

Marguerete Hemphill New York, NY By way of Oregon, Boston and LA, Marguerete Hemphill currently resides in New York city where she finds contant inspiration in the streets, tunnels, buildings, parks, and peo- ple there.

Kevin Hylton New York, NY Kevin Hylton grew up in Washington, DC and lives in Harlem. He is a playwright and reformed lawyer who writes freelance for Playbill and the theater column for indie director Kevin Smith's webzine, moviepoopshoot.com. He's currently a playwright- in-residence with Makor/92nd Street Y in New York City.

Faroque Ahmad Khan Jericho, NY Faroque Khan is the President and spokesperson of the Islamic Center of Long Island. He has published three books and over 150 scientific papers. Dr. Khan has received several awards for his teaching, administrative, research and community work. For his work in developing an active Muslim-Jewish dialogue, he was awarded the title “Everyday Hero” by Newsday in Janueary 2004 and the Faith Fellowship award in November 2004.

Courtney Knettel St. Cloud, MN Courtney Knettel's child-like fascination with "magic sprinklies" has morphed into obses- sion. She is currently working on a spice-book for the Gen X crowd that dishes out the 411 on all sorts of spices and how to unleash their love.

Tori Reimann Washington, DC Tori Reimann works as a law clerk at the Department of Justice while attending Albany Law School. She received her B.A. in history from George Washington University in 2003 after studying in London and at Hertford College, Oxford. She has written for the Albany Times Union, Schenectady Gazette, and Boston Phoenix.

Meridith Rohana New York, NY Meridith Rohana has been a designer for Nautica, Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren. She is currently a freelance writer and managing editor of LIT magazine, and holds an MFA from the New School. She lives in New York City.

Kim Bryum Skinner Springfield, OH Kim Byrum Skinner is an Ohio-based, freelance journalist whose versatile magazine and newspaper writing has earned 45 state, regional and national awards. Her work also appears in Columbus Parent Magazine, Perform Magazine, The American Breast Cancer Guide, Women’s Independent Press, iParenting.com, SpecialKidsToday.com, NFLHS.com, the Dayton Daily News and other regional and national publications.

David Wolpe Los Angeles, CA David Wolpe is the Rabbi of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles. He is the author of six books, including the national bestseller Making Loss Matter: Creating Meaning in Difficult Times. His most recent book is Floating Takes Faith. issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:08 PM Page 6 C i t i z e n C u l t u r e magazine an imprint of the HUMAN/intelligence Creative Group, Inc.

Citizen Culture Magazine aims to be a magazine journalism career launch pad for talented writers, photographers, critics and reviewers, poets and storytellers, as well as production-minded people who have professional skill but just need a foot in the industry’s door. Each month we aim to fill a niche by bringing excellent writing about a different general theme to a national audience of educated, socially involved men AND women aged 20-40. The HUMAN/intelligence Creative Group, Inc. JONATHON SCOTT FEIT President & CEO, Editor-in-Chief IRFAN “SAM” SHABEER Vice President & COO, Publisher ROBERT FAVUZZA Chief Marketing & Finance Officer EVAN SANDERS Publisher Emeritus

Editorial Joelle Asaro-Berman Deputy Editor: Columns Kelly Brumleve Executive Editor: Features Damien Power Senior Editor Michael Pullmann Managing Editor B. Theo Mazumdar Associate Editor R.M. Schneiderman Associate Editor Tim Lavin Associate Editor

Production & Publicity Sara Jones Deputy Publisher: Design Maria Knapp Associate Designer Suzanne Manning Circulation Director Timothy Patrick Senior Executive: Projects & Acquisitions Cindy Feit Associate Fashion & Events Producer Darren Wotherspoon Cover Design Mark Kostabi Cover Art Kevin Spector Reflexive Advertising Producer

Manuscript Submissions [email protected] Advertising Sales [email protected] Letters to the Editor [email protected] Human Resources [email protected] Subscriptions www.citizenculture.com/subscribe Reprint Requests FosteReprints : Rhonda Brown @ (866) 879-9144 In Association With...

Citizen Culture Magazine is dedicated to publishing the highest quality works by new and talented Contributors, fostering the free flow of ideas, no matter how controversial. Our editorial policy is to refrain, to the maximum degree possible, from modifying editorial content, but we reserve the right to edit for length, style, and clarity. Therefore, the opinions herein expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the HUMAN/intelligence Creative Group, Inc., Citizen Culture Magazine, its editors, publishers, advertisers, affiliates, agents, suppliers, or Contributors other than the work’s respective author. Neither the HUMAN/intelligence Creative Group nor Citizen Culture Magazine assumes responsibility for unsolicited editorial or graphic material. All rights in unso- licited editorial and graphical submissions will be treated as intended and available for publication. Submission implies the availability of appropriate copyrights. Material will be subject to our unrestricted editorial rights and the policy stated above. Unsolicited materials selected for publication are purchased in their publishable format on the release date of the issue in which they feature. Design and content © 2004 by the HUMAN/intel- ligence Creative Group, Inc., except as otherwise credited. No portion of this magazine may be reproduced without expressed permission from the Publisher. Citizen Culture Magazine (ISSN 1553-2747) is distributed by Disticor Magazine Distribution Services, 695 Westney Road South, Suite 14, Ajax, Ontario L1S 6M9 Canada. Subscriptions in the U.S., $20.00 for 10 issues. “Citizen Culture Magazine” and the “CCM” logo are trademarks. All rights reserved. issue5-FINAL2.qxd 4/1/05 1:14 PM Page 7

a note from the E-in-C

recently—finally—watched Citizen Kane. (Odd, I know, considering that its mnemonic proximity to Citizen i Culture helped us coin the magazine's name.) In case anyone else is as ignorant as I was about what has been called Orson Welles's greatest and most controversial film, it is “allegedly” inspired by the life, times, and temper of William Randolph Hearst. “W.R.” was 23 years old—the same age as I am now— when he began building the Hearst Corporation, one of the most prolific publishing companies in the world. To say he was opinionated in his efforts would be a gross understatement: Hearst and his magazines, newspapers, films, and architectur- al grandiosity were synonymous. They were his soapbox and WORK HARD, CELEBRATE HARDER: comprised his political platform. Even the “news” his paper Our New York-based staff launched issue #4 (c/w from top-right): reported reflected his world-views, and when no self-support- Cover Artist Joseph Vasile, Associate Editor Theo Mazumdar, me, Managing Editor Michael Pullmann, and Publisher Irfan Shabeer. ive stories could be found, he famously fabricated them— “yellow journalism,” it was called. Using The Chief, David Nasaw's comprehensive biography, I delved further into the mind of a marketing genius who could bare- ly edit his own correspondences—Hearst was an extraordinary publisher, but hardly an effective editor—and found footsteps that I'd need much hubris to follow. Though I continue to admire, and strive to emulate, his self-promotional savvy for our magazine, I refuse to allow Citizen Culture Magazine to become an extension of anyone. It is, and will remain, a compilation of the interests and concerns of the young professionals—both men and women, with a variety of ages, Young Intellectuals all—who submit their works for publication or coverage. This opinion, therefore, is mine alone, and does not necessarily reflect those of the magazine's founders, staff, or even its readers. * We intended for this issue to focus on travel, leisure, and fashion; thus we told our readers, writers, and advertisers. But when the editorial process began, I was surprised to discover the infinite variety of content we received. I knew our contributors to have many pas- times, but I didn't realize that so many talented Young Intellectuals would write about them! Picking the most quirky and profound—the best of the undiscovered best—was so challenging that we broadened the issue's theme to what it is now: The Notables Issue. There were moments, I'll confess, when I felt consigned to toss my hands in the air and yell, “Make up your minds!” But then I realized that we don't have to: citizens have culture, and should feel as free as we do to explore it to our hearts' content, change our minds, and enjoy our fleeting moments. Life's our party—we'll be dilettantes if we want to. Governments shouldn't have that luxury. A few weeks ago I sat with Irfan (the magazine's Publisher) and our mutual friend—the son of one of Pakistan's food ministers— and we debated while I drank. We lamented the ambiguity of Kashmir (where Irfan was born), that disputed region neither India nor Pakistan seems inclined to secede or secure and develop. We noted the same pattern in Chechnya—and so have taken it upon ourselves to explore both regions through first-hand accounts, beginning on the next page and again on page 82. We discussed Israel and the prena- tal state called Palestine, which hungers for the Holy Grail of sovereignty though its independent infrastructure is meager and inept. And we inquired among ourselves whether the United States is at war in the world: sure seems like it, but we—like so many friends and fami- lies around the world—expected to see everyone home long ago. Governments sink or sail with the ballast of their integrity and conviction. They should make up their minds. Their citizens, by stark contrast, deserve the freedom to be fickle, if only because variety makes for a more interesting read.

Admiringly yours,

Jonathon Scott Feit, Editor-in-Chief on behalf of Citizen Culture Magazine C 5 CM issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:08 PM Page 8

social comment

rain travel, especially in compartments, brings with it a certain anticipation for the lone traveller, a hopeful curiosity as to the identity of the person whom fate will bring into your life for a few hours or, in my case, an t entire night. On this occasion I was leaving Moscow for Helsinki, and as I entered the otherwise empty compartment, an overwhelming garlic smell emanated from an aluminium- wrapped object and informed me I would not be travelling good alone. The relentless bombardment of Moscow’s extraordinary images and the staggering levels of pollution had addled my brain, but not enough to subdue pleasant fantasies about the food’s owner. I quickly swept aside less appealing possibilities, such as a Georgian peasant or Tajik thief in favor of a long- morning, legged Ural beauty with distinctive high cheekbones and slant- ed blue eyes. As chance would have it, she would be studying English at Moscow State University and delighted to find such a splendid opportunity to practice conversational skills. We would estab- lish an immediate rapport. She would fascinate me with tales Grozny that seemed to come from a distant planet while meeting my own attempts at humor enthusiastically. I’d invite her to the dining car, where we would drink Ukrainian champanskoje, my gaze drifting only occasionally from the allure of her eyes and moonlit skin to take in the dark silhouettes of the Russian countryside speeding past us. Invigorated, inebriated, and mutually seduced, we would finally return to the compartment, where the train would gently rock and the dawn would come too soon. The door slid open, and it took but a millisecond to realize that my Ural beauty was instead an inordinately muscular man, perhaps in his late twenties, with black hair, veins bulging from a monstrous neck, and a standard-issue flattop haircut. I had seen these haircuts often enough in Moscow: they usually adorned the heads of doormen, soldiers, taxi drivers, and other nefarious individuals who stood in dark corners and gave you a none-too-subtle once-overs, as if assessing whether your wallet would provide sufficient booty to warrant the minor effort required to kill you. My co-passenger glanced at me just long enough to convey a certain irritation at not havinge the compartment to himself, then sat down and stared out the window. Not a word passed between us; the silence was deafening. Once the train began to move, his hand reached for the aluminium foil, its crackle cut- ting the quiet. As he unwrapped some sort of stewed chicken, I was grateful that he had left the compartment door slightly ajar. Just then the conductor entered, wrinkled his nose, and asked me a question I could not understand. I shrugged my shoulders, embarrassed, whereupon he tried the usual trick of posing exactly the same question with a raised voice, as if my lack of comprehension were attributable to mild deafness. I tried my best to convey the fact that I did not speak Russian, but I think he took me for an idiot. He turned away and put the ~by Fabian Muir same question to my companion, who nodded his head absent- mindedly, but did not so much as look up from the absorbing Munich, Germany task of devouring his fowl. A short time later, the conductor reappeared with a cup of tea and placed it on the table beside the chicken. That my companion had not interpreted on my behalf con- vinced me that he, too, did not speak English—not that I had

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social comment

any concrete intention of talking to him anyway. His intimidat- Grozny, the capital of that patch of land so conveniently neg- ing aspect had worked its magic—but it did strike me as a little lected by everyone save the Chechens. He had been living in odd to share such an intimate space with another person with- Moscow for two years with his mother, sisters and sick brother; out the slightest interaction. I made no attempt, however, to his father refused to leave Chechnya. disguise my mutual preference for silence. It was clear that this With Finland flitting past the window, Makhmut's strange- was not an individual with whom I would establish a connec- ly soothing voice drew me into a world I didn’t dare imagine: a tion, and that was fine. My principal concern was to reach world in which his grandfather's legs were shot off while he Helsinki with my jugular intact. drew water from a well, and his sisters had been abducted in the And so I lay on my bed, trying to read, but was ultimately middle of the night by masked men from the Russian special distracted by the rustle of the aluminium foil and the quasi- forces, and the university lectures are held in corridors for fear pornographic sound of my companion's greasy fingers slipping that bullets might be fired through the windows, and helicopter in and out of his mouth, pausing only to slurp loudly from his gunships fire on public markets, perhaps mistaking cucumbers cup of tea. for rocket-propelled grenades. By the time he finished his meal I had begun to doze, so I I found myself grappling with the possibility that a world was pleased when he finally stood up and, avoiding my eyes, as Makhmut described it could exist. Adding a surrealist touch, turned off the light. I kept my wallet under the blanket, and he handed me a banana, called the conductor to order me a tea, slept soundly. then continued on describing his grandfather's last week in the So soundly, in fact, that the next thing I was aware of was hospital. His home's running water had been destroyed, so the Russian border control scowling at me and barking out used to go to the garden to draw water to boil, and in his final some kind of command while I blinked at him in utter confu- years, he tended to sit in the kitchen with his hands wrapped sion. Apparently he wanted to know how many roubles I was around a hot cup of tea. Somehow a Russian jet mistook the taking out of Russia. The guard seemed sceptical at my lack of octogenarian for another terrorist, and in the end, he died for a response and leafed through my wallet, obviously hoping to cup of tea. My own tasted bitter as I listened to the story. unearth some deception; he returned it with an air of disap- We were well into Finland now. pointment. The guard then fired a series of questions at my co- “Look at that,” mused Makhmut, gazing out the window. passenger, each of which he answered with a striking dispas- “We cross the border and everything changes. It is the same sion. Finally the guard moved on. land, the same trees, but everything is so different. Back in “They're so nice, aren't they?” observed my co-passenger. I Russia everything is chaos. It's cool, eh?” looked at him in astonishment, and struggled for a response. Makhmut had a curious habit of adding, “It's cool, eh?” to “Does this mean we are in Finland now?” I asked. the end of almost every sentence. Maybe it was his sense of “Not quite. But at least we are out of Russia.” He smiled a irony, or just might not have entirely understood the meaning broad and melancholic but distinctively sympathetic smile. of cool. He would offer extraordinary observations like, “In Not yet in gear from the sudden rousing, my brain splut- Moscow, me or my sisters are taken by the police almost every tered and struggled to reclassify my companion. Not a moron, day. It's cool, eh?” Or, “In Chechnya, the Russians target civil- not a thief, perhaps not even a murderer—his soft, measured ians to terrorize the population. Their tactic is to take two tones suggested a gentleness and thoughtfulness that I didn't members of each family. Sometimes you never see them again. first reckon. It wasn't the firs time I had thoroughly misjudged It's cool, eh?” Or, “Grozny was so beautiful, it was famous for a person based on his appearance and a predilection for garlic its architecture, but now everything is completely destroyed. chicken. It's cool, eh?” His name was Makhmut, a name that suggested he might A wry smile creased his lips as he reeled off each. It was not be a member of the Russian Orthodox Church. No, he told ironic, after all. me, he was from Kafgaz, in the Caucasus—specifically from issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:08 PM Page 10

Tunisia Voyage Beyond the Comfortable

~by Nancy Beviliqua Hoboken, NJ issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:08 PM Page 11

field report

rape vines, fields of lavender. Perfect rows of olive, “Hello! English?” almond, pomegranate, and pistachio trees laid out ‘No.” along the hills. Square fences constructed out of live, “French?” g flowering cactus plants. “No.” To the west, as our bus heads south from “German?” Tunis to the island of Djerba, the Atlas Mountains run back in “No.” low-lying layers and peak back toward Algeria, pale and hazy in “Czech?” the morning, richly shadowed at twilight. Women and their “No.” Here I would smile. “American.” children tend herds of sheep and goats by the side of the road, Skipping only half a beat, my questioner would raise his or fill jars from wells, or languidly ride atop donkey carts loaded eyebrows and exclaim, “Ah! American! But how do you like with hay or branches of palm. Closer to Djerba, camels and Tunisia?” their tenders drink water and rest in the last, dusty daylight. No one, it seemed, expected to find an American-much less In the villages, schoolchildren and old men sharing shee- one who could speak a little Arabic-in their beautiful country. sha pipes and tea watch our bus pass with mild curiosity. The Every day gave me more reason to be glad that I was one of younger children wear pink school uniforms, and the older girls those rare creatures. wear jeans, sneakers, navy-blue tunics, and headscarves. They Politics and discussions of terrorism and the war in Iraq hang out under the shade of trees or bus stops, eating ice cream, arose during several of my encounters with Tunisians, and even jostling each other the way schoolkids do everywhere. then it was usually me who started the conversations. No one I Mesmerized by the passing landscape for eight hours, I spoke to was anything less than measured and polite in his or though, What the hell was I afraid of? her responses. The general feeling seemed to be that the war Packing for my trip a few days earlier, I had a very clear was very bad and that the Bush administration was, shall we idea of what to fear in Tunisia. Weeks' worth of news seemed say, somewhat less than honest and sympathetic in its dealings part of a conspiracy to convince me that the visit would be a with the Arab world, but the people I talked to seemed to generally bad idea. Did I really want to be an American in a pre- believe that most Americans did not share the administration's dominantly Muslim country during the Iraq War, when sicken- outlook. ing pictures of abused and tortured prisoners were leaking out One of our hosts, who spoke no English, did a very funny daily and the Middle East's peace efforts had again been impression of George W. Bush: screwing up his face, he mut- derailed? Not to mention the fact that I was visiting the coun- tered “Saddam!” and started shooting erratically into the sky try in part to report on the annual Jewish pilgrimage to the La with imaginary pistols pulled from imaginary holsters. In Ghriba synagogue on Djerba, where only two years ago terror- Tunisia, at least, where income from American tourism has ists had blown up a truck and killed more than twenty visitors. decreased dramatically since September 11, 2001, people sim- I'm not Arab-phobic. Quite to the contrary: ranting ply seemed happy to have an American visitor enthralled by against the racism that is still condoned against Arabs, Indians, their country. and Pakistanis in the U.S. hasn't often left me the most popular Only once did anyone mention that tragic day, in an odd, girl at American cocktail parties. I am, however, Al Qaeda-pho- benign exchange on my first evening wandering among the bic, so the decision to go was a real struggle against what I felt stalls in Sidi Bou Said. After the usual "Where are you from?" to be a shameful paranoia. conversation, a jewelry and trinket vendor—a handsome young But how often would I have the opportunity to go to man with honey-and-gold-colored eyes—asked me in patch- Tunisia, a place with one of those names that forever rings in work English if the “very big place” in New York was still there. my mind like a particularly evocative line of poetry? And when I didn’t understand what he meant until he clarified—"the big could I honestly expect the world would become a much safer things that we blew up." His use of the word "we", at least as I place? interpreted it, sounded less like a form of alliance with Al Qaeda I had to go. I would just be sure to maintain the same safe- than a simple attempt to make a distinction between Americans ty practices that I have honed on the Manhattan subways. and Arabs-a division that an American might understand. “Don't you know?” I asked him in Arabic. He seemed genuinely confused. A French girl, it turned * out, had either told him that the World Trade Center was still On my first evening in Tunis, our group—I was traveling there, or that something else had already been built in its place. with other writers and some representatives of the Tunisian The girl, who had apparently spent a few days at his house but Tourism Board, some of whom I'd already managed to annoy broke her promise to stay in touch after she left, was clearly the with pre-trip security quizzing—toured the artists’ village of bigger issue in our conversation. Sidi Bou Said. Built in the 15th-century by Arabs fleeing “Americans are very gentle, very nice,” he told me. “French Andalusia, it's a picturesque labyrinth of cobbled streets, white people are not so nice.” Being jilted by a European girl was houses with Mediterranean-blue trim, and the same interior much more troubling to him than the state of world affairs-or courtyards and fountains that one finds in Seville. perhaps the two were, for him, synonymous. Tunisia, I thought, just might be one of those rare destina- During that first dinner in Tunisia, over grilled loup de tions that meet my hopeful expectations. mer, many glasses of Tunisian wine, and boukha (the fig-based There were, of course, vendors everywhere—friendly, per- Tunisian version of moonshine)—I learned that my fellow trav- haps “eights” on a scale of one-to-obnoxiously pushy—who elers shared my concerns about security at the Djerba festival. were eager to talk. The conversation was typical of what I Later that night, standing on my balcony overlooking the capi- would encounter over the course of my travels in the country: tol city of Tunis, I gazed at the yellow lights spread out along the

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dark horizon like strings of blazing yellow diamonds. I listened The synagogue was white and pristine, and from the out- to the sounds of traffic, laughter, music, and barking dogs that side, much smaller than I'd expected; likewise the crowd, which echoed up the hill from all over the city. In the morning a rain- the festival’s promoters had hoped would be larger. There was bow straddled the hazy hills, the whitewashed houses of the no sign of the damage the explosion in 2002 had caused. city, and the deep blue harbor. Past the main gate were two buildings:in the courtyard to In Djerba there was a palpable police presence amid sever- one were singing, celebration, souvenir and food vendors, and al roadblocks. From a distance, the policemen's dark, white- an auction involving scarves and the menorah that would short- trimmed uniforms looked sharp and imposing; close-up, how- ly be carried about the village streets in a. procession. ever, I could see that they were worn at the edges, and the white The other building was the synagogue itself, predominant- gloves had holes in them. The officers were stern, but polite ly blue, softly lit by shafts of light from above, and filled with and respectful. We were exhausted by the time our bus reached worshippers. The floor was covered with shoes, orange soda, the ferry terminal, and it was dark. I stood on our boat's upper and was sticky with what I took to be boukha.. Men and boys deck, shivering in a cool breeze that would, a few days later, prayed as children handed out candles to be lit and then added develop into a furious, cold dervish of a wind spiraling up from to a long row of burning ones. The atmosphere was at once the Sahara. Below me, the police were checking parcels, peer- serene and vibrant. ing into cars, questioning passengers. Jews and Arabs got out Later, from a distance, I followed the raucous procession of their cars to breathe in the sea air and watch the approaching as the menorah was paraded through the streets. If I'd had any lights of Djerba. If they took notice of anyone, it was the doubts about the seriousness with which the Tunisian govern- American journalists watching from above for signs of trouble. ment took security, they were vanquished then. Streets were Jews and Muslims have coexisted peacefully on the island barricaded with buses. Guards were stationed on rooftops and of Djerba for almost 1,500 years, even during the world Middle all along the procession route. Muslims stood in the doorways East tumults-a fact that our Tunisian hosts believed was essen- of their homes and shops, watching, occasionally selling ice tial to emphasize. But the tensest moment in the country's cream to the Jewish children participating in the procession. recent history came in 2002, when a truck loaded with explo- From one store I heard a song in Arabic about Mohammed; I sives detonated outside of the La Ghriba synagogue during the wasn't sure what to make of its intent. annual pilgrimage. The majority of those killed were German I decided to leave the procession route and explore the tourists, and the Tunisian government first called the explosion back streets of the village. There, Muslims watched the festivi- an accident; but it soon became clear that Al Qaeda was respon- ties from behind barricades, or sat talking in their doorways. sible for the attack. Children played ball, and sometimes a deep blue door would One of my fellow journalists tried to reassure me about our opened to reveal a Muslim woman shyly watching me; it quick- visit to the festival by saying that terrorists tend to strike a tar- ly closed again. No one addressed me, but they always get only once. Someone reminded her about the World Trade answered politely when asked them a question. My Arabic was- Center. On the eve of the festival, we gathered after dinner on n't good enough to ask inquire if they were watching the proces- vividly colored cushions of our hotel's sheesha room to have a sion from a distance by choice, or because they had been told to. smoke and some boukha. Ali, our charming waiter, brought us I passed some Muslim women and children returning different varieties of tobacco. My favorite was apple-flavored. home from shopping. They were stopped by security person- nel, who made them take a different route home, answering my question as to why they watched from so far away. It seemed an At the entrance to the La* Ghriba festival stood a guard extreme measure, but a remarkable one, that so predominantly stood with what I assume was an AK-47, while in the parking Muslim a country would take such precautions to ensure the lot, police officers and tour bus drivers gathered around radios safety of a handful of Jews. in the buses, listening to an unmissable soccer match. issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:09 PM Page 13

social-lite THE TROUBLE IN

MARSEILLE ~by Kevin Barry Liverpool, England

umours of gentrification down in Marseille turn out to extends for miles in antic confusion, from the grim tower blocks be greatly exaggerated. The salty old town remains a off its ragged suburbs—like stumps of rotten teeth—to the happy swamp of moral dereliction, only right for one of dense tangle of the Arab medina in the Quartier Belsunce. The r Europe’s great old ports. Elsewhere on the continent, pastel-toned riot of the African neighbourhood in Le Panier the hounds of “progress” roam unchecked—every place seems tumbles down to the yachts and fishy bustle of the Vieux Port, newly cleaned up and spit-polished, everywhere there is muzak the fashion crowd preen and pout along Rue Paradis. and Starbucks and the gleam of orthodontic smiles. But not in Westward, out past the coast-hugging motorway of La Marseille: strut the main drag of La Canabiere, idle around the Corniche, broods an inky Mediterranean. waterfront, or wander the lurid side streets, and you'll find that Marseille is a confluence of three cultures: African, there is no place that does seedy quite as well as Marseille. If Arabian and French. In Europe, it’s where North meets South, Paris is a whispered seduction, Marseille is a lewd suggestion. both a gateway and an escape hatch. Sometimes it feels like Marseille, it can be reported with some relief, remains in a state Senegal and sometimes Genoa, and sometimes you feel a of rude health. Catalan intensity in its surly glares. Marseille has been a crucial I arrived there with a plan to spend no more than three or port these past three thousand years, and its history is of four days. A fortnight later I awoke, still in Marseille, with a vicious treacheries leavened by frequent outbreaks of drooling mild headache, a bad tremor in the paw, and a happy heart. I hedonism. It’s a marriage of convenience, just not a notably stayed in a fleapit on the Southside of the port; my woebegone peaceful or easygoing one. It smells of aniseed, garlic, spilled hotel, complete with unknowable stains on the carpeted walls, beer, cheap perfume, dog shit and hashish. But you adapt was on Rue Sylvabelle. Walking there each evening, I became quicker than you think to its malevolent languor. The city’s familiar with the famous cats of the city, indeed a louche and reputation has always been a bad one, a festering boil on the surly bunch. You find them in numbers, and in forty shades of shapely rump of la belle France. Many carry a mental image of ginger, on the steep, vertiginous climb of Boulevard André the city: shady old crooks with opiate eyes, skulking about the Aune. They lie sprawled out on steps and stoops, they eyeball nooks of a filthy harbour. In a way, this is not far off the mark. you derisively from the bonnets of ancient Citroëns. From the The city has suffered the worst its country can offer. Natives Southside of the port, they grumpily look on as Marseilles even now speak in euphemism of “The Trouble,” always capital-

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wandering in and about town—along La Canabiere, around the African and Arab streets that tangle away from it— I found that Saul Steinberg's New Yorker cartoons of seething Manhattan in the early 1970s kept coming to mind. The colorful squalid- ness, the cast list of pimps and hook- ers, bent cops and scheming urchins, with the city as a kind of unkempt, foul-mouthed mother figure all rang true in Marseille. Fortunately, Marseille has never suffered a Giulliani, and so retains its heart. The standard morning tourist gim- mick in Marseille is to go down to Quai des Belges and watch the daily fish market being set up. This is briny stuff indeed. Leathery traders bawl- ing out their prices in an atrociously guttural French haul squirming bas- ketloads of mullet and bream, sar- dines and turbot from jolly fishing ized, meaning “the immigrants.” At times there has been an boats. You are meant to stand there with your camcorder unsettlingly high level of support for the rabid, spewed gar- whirring, staring in slackjawed admiration at this marvel of blings of Monsieur Le Pen and his ilk. old-time commerce persisting in our modern age, and so on But there were whispers abroad saying all had changed. and so forth. To set up shop in the derelict warehouses of the old port, young But the old-time marvel turns out to be nothing more than creatives were clawing each other’s eyes out to clamber onto the a pastiche. Most of the fish comes from giant Scandinavian fac- super-fast TGV train from Paris. The waters teemed with tory trawlers that anchor off the coast, handily out-of-sight. swank yachts. There were celebrities and fashion shoots and The fish, caught months ago and thousands of miles away, are posh new troughs with mortgage-priced bouillabaisse. defrosted and brought into harbour on the boats. But narrow Happily, it turns out that none of this is quite true. your eyes and squint a bit; you can always pretend. Marseille is now accessible by cheap airfares from all over From the Vieux Port, a number eighty-three bus takes you Europe, and over time it may encounter some of the same diffi- around the harbor and out along La Corniche to the beaches. culties of over-crowded, over-popular, over-subscribed cities It's a sweet jaunt for just one euro. The bus swings around like Barcelona. But there is an inherent seediness about headlands and into sparkling coves, sun-bleached mountains Marseille that will always defy the excesses of the gentrifiers. loom in the east, and the Mediterranean winks and glimmers. Sure, there has been some air-brushing, and construction You'll find beaches and cafes stretching for a couple of miles. cranes still hover over the north side. And yes, there are more Marseille drifts out this way for its downtime. Eyes hidden than a few Yachties prancing about the Vieux Port. But if, in behind mirrored shades, suede-skinned Lotharios perch on fine Marseille tradition, you curse at them loudly enough, ges- thrumming speedboats. People skate, Frisbee, pump iron and ture long enough, they generally scatter. roller blade; it's like Venice Beach except everybody smokes. Marseille retains, for now, its edge. Bottle-blonde whores Mournful teens in Limp Bizkit tee-shirts hang out in cannabis still parade brazenly in broad daylight. Thick-necked bruisers clusters, then pair off to go dry-hump on the rocks. in unmarked Audis produce sirens, clamp them to the roofs and Lunchtime in France is of course an elastic concept, but chase through the docks after assorted villainy. I've never been nowhere more so than in Marseille, where it stretches from half in a town where so many people have arms in slings, legs in ten in the morning until quarter past six. And there are many casts, or large weeping scars on their faces. Pit bulls strain on choices: you can get tarted up and hit Café Le Parisian on leashes in this city of chewed ears and pawed eye sockets. One Boulevard de la Republique. There you'll find red crepe drapes night I found myself at a bleak bar in the Belsunce when an and vast chandeliers and, piled deep into luxuriant leather ancient native with jailbird eyes skulled past Camparis and said booths, many snooty old trouts dressed in acres of Gucci, he could get me a gun for forty euros. What about the bullets, I stroking their poodles, knocking back the Côte du Rhône like asked. For the bullets, he said, you'll have to come back tomor- water and sucking the flesh from enormous lobsters. row. I got the feeling this type of conversation wasn't all that Waitresses flutter like winged insects over the local grandees. unusual. The management has a weird predilection for Tunisian belly- New York is the usual comparison, and in Marseille there dancing music. The food is the usual cholesterol atrocity, but is certainly something of that city's shrugging indifference. Itend to order another bottle and generally outstay my wel- Both places harness their essential dynamic from the tensions come. bred by disparate immigrants. And so ironically, the Trouble', Wherever you go in the city, people seem to have lots of in Marseille” turns out to be its juice. After a couple of weeks time on their hands. Marseille works smart rather than hard;

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it's a town with an eye for advantage. For a post-lunch idle, I'd You may also want a peek at the modernist guru Le recommend Bar Canete on Cours Jean Ballard, which is packed Corbusier's Unite d'Habitation. You'll find it about 15 minutes full of Algerian cabbies drinking coffee and mint tea, smoking, outside of the city centre on Avenue du Prado; bus 21 from La gossiping, and generally complaining about the state of things. Canabiere passes right by. It’s his take on public housing, a Despite that the city retains much of its grit, I suspect symphony in slabbed concrete, stacks of multi-colored apart- Marseille cabbies have less and less to complain about. The city ment units perched on fat stilts. To me they came off as vague- might still bristle with racial tensions, but the tide is slowly ris- ly reptilian. Very nice lines, great materials, marvellous sea and ing, and many boats are lifting. The younger kids seem less mountain views; it looks terrific, but the locals hated it. aware of ethnic constraints than the older ones, and most of the Apparently it was a bitch to live in. There's a small hotel in the tribes-about-town seem tentatively united under the new, per- building with very basic rooms for around seventy dollars a vading culture of hip-hop machismo. If the city as a whole is night. From what I gather, it's a bit Cell Block H, but if you’re a now facing north, its young natives are facing due west. They rollneck sweatered type who wears interesting eyewear, it’ll no screech about the backstreets, driving amped-up Honda Civics doubt prompt little squeals of modernist glee. with 50 Cent and R. Kelly squawking from the sound systems, Get back on the 21 bus and follow it to the end of the line desperately trying to mask their gawky pubescence beneath the and you'll find the entrance to a national park dedicated to Les bills of “old school” baseball caps. Calanques, a series of jagged inlets on the coastline surrounded Yet the easing of racial tension is not enough for Marseille by swooping white cliffs. You can walk for miles through wood- to forfeit its soul. Marseille has achieved some success by swiv- lands that smell of wild thyme and juniper, walk the clifftops elling on its axis, but unlike many of Europe's great ports, it’s and find rough paths down to the coves to go skinny-dipping. not content to be an essay in nostalgia. It has turned its back As late as November and as early as February, the wild flowers on the Mediterranean to face northwards. The swift train links are tremendous—there are swathes of romarin, heure bleue and to Paris, a newly vibrant canal route linking the Rhône Valley cheve kermes. It’s a treacherous, piratical stretch of coast, and with the Rhine, and the growing buzz about the city as a tourist looking back towards the city, you appreciate now the grandeur haunt and creative hotspot have all combined to give Marseille of its setting. It makes the perfect spot for a picnic lunch of a fix of the one narcotic not traditionally to its taste: optimism. French cheese, cold cuts and fresh bread, and the sense of hush Cours Julien is the city's self-proclaimed "bohemian" quar- there has an hallucinatory quality. It’s hard to accept that an ter. I'm always wary when I hear places described as "bohemi- hour ago you were amid the lunacy of downtown Marseille. an," and put off going for a time. Usually, the story goes that a But even there, in the midst of Marseille's singularity, dirt-poor neighborhood began to act as a magnet for starving- you'll find an occasional reprieve from the madness. Walk out artist types, then became trendy as a result, then the starving- to Fort Jean at the gates of the Vieux Port as the light thickens artist types got priced out, and now it's full of account execu- up in the evening and the small boats make their way home. tives in converted lofts. Cours Julien is presently about halfway From here Marseille has a perfect westerly aspect, and the sun- along the process. There are still a few hungry creatives around down is spectacular. Its afterglow comes across the water and who wear neo-mullets and boxer boots and look as if they might takes in the city whole. Just for a while Marseille seems at be about to eat their own dogs, but elaborately-designed bars peace. are starting to appear. Well-dressed hipsters peer in realtor's windows. I'd give it about a year before it turns utterly unpleasant, but for now it remains an agreeable spot in the evenings, with a buzzy nightlife that's considerably less bling-bling than the carry-on you get down the Vieux Port. There aren't many more "sights" in Marseille. If you get off on drunkenly ornate Catholic churches, you may want to see Basilique de Notre Dame de la Garde. From this eyrie atop the city, there is a 360-degree view that will make even the most seasoned traveler swoon. Everything in the Basilique is golden and curlicued, and everywhere you look there's an elaborately bleeding Jesus. It's Catholic high-camp, Vatican bling, like something from an early ‘90s Madonna video. And Pere Chabert is on hand from 9.30am to 2.30pm, Mondays to Fridays, for “spiritual conversation.”

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OfGreyhound & Glee ~by Timothy Lavin New York, NY

Differences in landscape, accent, disposition, dreams, income, ethnicity, music, agriculture, food, beer, climate—in short, the mosaic that has sustained this country for two hundred years, crystallizes on the road as it rarely does elsewhere.

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ve always suspected that those of us who traveled by simply drifting. As I waited on line, over the PA came a litany of bus to school in our early years differed psychically American cities rarely heard outside of trucker CB frequencies i’ from our privately chauffeured peers. The bus was a or Johnny Cash songs: Texarkana, Mobile, Laredo, San oddly self-sufficient community. It required little of its Antonio, Amarillo, Reno, Cheyenne. If you've grown up watch- passengers and was policed only by an obscure seating code ing Smokey and the Bandit, such cities make you smile. I and usually a lone, vaguely eccentric driver. arrived at the ticket counter, placed a few dollars on the count- One could derive an entire developmental schema from er, and would be in Albuquerque not long afterward, following quietly observing, twice a day, the chaos that floated among the visits with friends in Winston-Salem and Houston. duct-taped, graffiti-covered seats. For there was no greater In between, Old Man Greyhound and I would cover vast forum for the exchange of ill-informed sexual counsel, no more and varied ground, rumbling past gloriously soaring skyscrap- competitive marketplace for the floating of novel profanity, nor ers and squalid shacks of corrugated metal, gated mansions and a less forgiving arbiter of improbable social disputes than that humble paper mills, garish casinos and forbidding prisons. rolling, polluting fiefdom of municipal transport. Seeing all this, and having the freedom to board and exit at any And perhaps this explains why I've subconsciously avoided stop, makes bus travel a welcome refuge from the cheerful buses since the age of 12 or so. Truth be told, I've developed homogeneity and arrogant predictability of the airlines. And elaborate bus-avoidance schemes for nearly every city I've lived then there are the people on the bus, those inimitable charac- in. Yet something compelled me recently to take the bus, and ters drawn to such a refuge, by choice or necessity. Final desti- take it very far, when I needed to get from New York City to nations among my comrades waiting on line included Roswell, Albuquerque, New Mexico. It could have been the lack of a car, Detroit, Laramie, Baton Rouge and "Don't really know." the lack of capital, or the abundance of time on my hands. But as I packed my bags I suspected—and hoped—it was * something more profound. Most people cringed when I men- As our bus rolled through Maryland, a boy with enormous tioned the trip. Buses generally annoy people, at best, or fright- eyes tugged on my sleeve and asked for the seat next to me. en them, at worst. Of all our options for travel, the bus remains Being a generous guy, I acquiesced. My new partner was nine the least symbolically accessible, the least romantically embel- years old, named Moses and, within 10 minutes, asleep on my lished, and arguably the least aesthetically appealing. Perhaps, lap. Where he came from, where his guardians were, and why I imagined, this suggests that the bus is endowed with greater the hell—at nine years old—he was traveling on a Greyhound authenticity than its peers. Or maybe it suggests that the bus is bus at 2 in the morning asking strangers for seats, are questions just dirty and inefficient and incapable of redemption, meta- answerable by Moses alone. physical or otherwise. Our first major stop, in Richmond, proved revelatory. The If the laater were the case, this would be a long, stupid trip. station was large, by Greyhound standards, with anguished But—I had time. Descending to the lower level of New York’s potted plants and seating that accommodated about half the Port Authority, I entered the lurid cosmos of Greyhound Lines passengers waiting there (it's the sixth busiest of the company’s on a cold, clear night in late November. terminals). It was very late, and no one wanted to be in the Richmond Greyhound station. Popular entertainment options * included staring menacingly, panhandling and arguing with the It’s been famously remarked that airports, architecturally, wholly imperturbable ticket clerks. represent our new cathedrals. If so, then our bus stations best In this brooding atmosphere, conversation was sparse. approximate parish soup kitchens, dispensing a service of utter But I met an affable 19 year old named Rod. He gave his last utility, unadorned, largely unappreciated, and many worlds name, when pressed, as "Shithead." He stuck out his chin vio- away from the ornate behemoths of bourgeois congregation. lently and made eye contact. He had just seen his father, in fed- Unlike most airport terminals these days—sleek, win- eral prison for drug smuggling, for the first time in eight years. dowed, commercially appealing—Greyhound stations are mod- "He knows I'll end up where he's at. He knows it," said Rod els of austerity. No advertisements for money management or Shithead. He shook his shaggy red hair and smiled. “He took software firms line the walls. No efficient courtyards of food one look at me and he knew." We sat next to each other when vendors greet its customers. Attempts at interior decorating we re-boarded. He lived in Alabama with his girlfriend, and tend toward the arbitrary, if toward anything at all. worked sporadically as a mechanic. “If I don't get busted for Anachronisms abound in most stations, from coin-activated TV dope, it'll be for something else. Girls, guns, drinking, whatev- sets, to wooden bathroom stalls, to manually operated schedule er.” signs. And what a terrifying "whatever." Many people I talked to Indeed, the dark and inefficient corridors of the Port were visiting relatives in the clink, or were themselves veterans Authority immediately seem to confirm the suspicion that bus of the corrections system, reformed, repentant and otherwise. stations lure mostly the poor and the predatory. Some passen- As we rolled through Texas the next day, I sat next to a giant gers shout, some mumble, some sing and others pray. Many man named Bo, a former state police officer. For Thanksgiving, people seek your money: some beg for it, some dance for it, he would ride to see his nephew, jailed for the last five years for some attempt to exchange goods—of one kind or another—for murdering a cab driver in Cincinnati when he was 13. it. The lines are long and slow and often begin and end with I had driven through New Mexico and Texas and confounding capriciousness. Oklahoma before, but driving a car is a deficient means of But linger long enough and it's clear that Greyhound ter- tourism; pressures of time and money and safety and a thou- minals also brim with possibility—a prurient, gritty excitement. sand other things conspire to rob you of appreciation for, say, Their denizens are a people in flux, often exploring, fleeing, or the weirdness of a desert in winter, or the simple, civic beauty of

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the Texas Prison Museum, outside of Huntsville. Certainly in its sharply uniformed drivers piloted bulbous, sleek looking my car I never would have received the detailed appraisals of monoliths down the nation's increasingly interconnected high- the various places along those routes to find drugs or women or ways, imbuing cross-country travel with glamour and class. At livestock or taxidermy or go-karts or gigantic steaks that I got, one point, the company even experimented with double-decker unsolicited, from the men in the back of the bus. "sleeper" buses, complete with full beds and porters selling food concessions. Yet even then, as Carlton Jackson points out * in his fascinating history of the company, Hounds of the Road, If there’s anything sublime or unique still intrinsic to inter- Greyhound was known as the “common man's carrier,” serving city bus travel, it;s the tapestry of passengers. Paris Hilton, “tens of thousands of little towns and hamlets overlooked by having journeyed throughout the East Coast on a Greyhound trains and airplanes.” with fellow Simple Life star Nicole Richie, noted reverently to For the next few decades, Greyhound found itself, repeat- USA Today that bus riders are "really real." Divining a clear edly, in the middle of the nation's social and economic mael- meaning from that statement requires some logical dexterity, stroms. During World War II the company earned patriotic but I imagine she's suggesting that they're poor. This is, by and distinction transporting troops and getting civilians to their large, correct. One in five Greyhound riders earns less than factory jobs. But battles raged with its main parts supplier, $10,000 a year, according to a 2000 poll, and two-thirds make GMC, over delays and production shortfalls due to wartime less than $35,000, according to the company's web site. restrictions. In the 1960s, “freedom riders” famously traveled Seventy percent do not hold college degrees. on Greyhound to join the civil rights protests, while turmoil Beyond their generally meager means, though, those join- raged in terminals throughout the South as the company ing me on the bus had nearly nothing plainly in common. worked to desegregate them. Even as Greyhound diversified its Senses of sartorial propriety, for instance, varied wildly. A corporate holdings into products like soap and traveler's woman in Atlanta wore a black evening dress (to the delight of checks, in the 1970s, the bus lines suffered from inflation, many), a man in Mobile boarded wearing a lime green tuxedo recession, spiraling diesel fuel costs, low airline fares, and com- (complete with top hat and cane), and a pious passenger in New petition from its federally subsidized rival, Amtrak. York had scrawled Bible verses in marker all over his thorough- And in the following decade—when the Greyhound dog ly stained sweatshirt. Some mouths lacked teeth, some were was considered the second most recognizable symbol in crowded with gold, and many bulged with tobacco. A disorient- America, behind only the Coca-Cola logo—deregulation of the ed character in Winston-Salem tried, unsuccessfully, to board bus industry eventually sparked an explosion of the company's without a shirt. I met no business travelers, save one: a man in long-simmering labor disputes. Greyhound executives had a huge black cowboy hat who wore leather gloves with the fin- actually pushed for the government to deregulate; it would ger tips cut out: he described himself as a "liaison" for carnival allow them to raise fares and eliminate unprofitable routes. But companies. “All the big ones,” he said. “You know, Big A, Mid- they underestimated how deeply the similarly deregulated air- America." lines would cut into their business. They needed to cut wages. You learn a lot from the people next to you on Greyhound A drivers' strike in 1983 turned violent almost immediately as buses, even if you don't want to. I can now explain to you, for picketers hurled stones, bottles, and firebombs at buses still instance, the rudiments of bull riding, the best lineage for an trying to make their runs. After 47 days and more than 100 aggressive rooster (Roundhead/Minor Blue cross-legal cock- arrests, the strike ended with the union accepting a pay cut. But fighting continues apace in Louisiana and New Mexico) and the the company still ailed. proper semaphores for corralling a prostitute in Texas. There In 1987, Fred Currey acquired Greyhound and its main are seemingly numberless indecent word tricks to be derived competitor, Continental Trailways, in leveraged buyouts and from a Marlboro carton (which I don't care to rehearse), and merged them. He then slashed prices to compete with discount the CIA has greater involvement in the day-to-day lives of airlines, cut many management jobs and convinced the union vagrants than would seem likely. to yet again accept reduced pay. Three years later, he presided Nearly everyone on the bus, if they talked long enough, over the bloodiest strike in the company's checkered labor his- would get around to enumerating their hardships, however per- tory when most of Greyhound's 6,300 drivers walked out. To sonal. These included the usual—the perfidies of the fairer sex, continue meeting payments on the hundreds of millions of dol- the government's failure to give poor people a fair shake—and lars in long-term debt incurred in the buyouts, Currey had to the surpassingly weird. One young man I met lamented for the keep the buses moving. So he hired scabs. better part of an hour the diplomatic difficulty of divorcing his Dozens of shooting incidents, numerous brawls and fre- wife because she was "getting too fat" and marrying her little quent acts of vandalism forced Currey to hire private security sister; both were on the bus. firms to protect the new drivers, even as the strike was costing his company tens of millions in lost revenue. A short time later, * Greyhound filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The strike contin- Greyhound's history is as riddled with eccentricity as its ued until 1993. passenger base. It began in Hibbing, Minnesota, around 1914. In 1991, now under the leadership of Frank Schmieder, a A couple of Swedish immigrants began shuttling workers on the reorganized Greyhound began offering new amenities, like fre- Mesaba Iron Range to and from work in a seven-passenger car. quent-rider rewards and hotel tie-ins, and started spending Despite often fierce competition, the company grew quickly, cash on technology upgrades, like toll-free reservation and acquired competitors and expanded nationally. information systems. They also halved their drivers and cut By 1935, for the first time in history, more people rode some prices. The number of passengers burgeoned, surpassing buses than trains. And Greyhound was the dominant carrier, as 25 million in 2000. Since then, though, owing to a disagreeable

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economy, continued competition from cheap airlines and the We devoured enormous platters to Chopin and Arlo terrorist attacks (which depressed travel and necessitated more Guthrie, while animals and small children cavorted and the security and insurance spending) times have been rough. wind and roosters howled outside. The next day, more than a Many people still depend on Greyhound. Nearly 22 million week after my journey began, I boarded another goddamn bus paying customers boarded their buses in 2003, purchasing and began the three-day, non-stop trek back home. tickets for a modest average of $43. While that accounts for less Waiting in the station at Amarillo at 3:30 in the morning, than half down ofthe from the 54 million who took Greyhound in the slashing rain, I looked at my counterparts snoring or in 1980, it is by no means a small share of the American travel staring or shoveling gross fried food into their guts and realized budget. As ever, those relying on Greyhound are primarily the why no one romanticizes the bus. The miseries are acute. The young, the old, the poor, and those in rural communities other- Cosby Show played in muted colors on an ancient, remoteless wise disconnected from mass transit. television. Increasingly, Greyhound is passing on the latter group. “Anyone who’s not here raise your hand,” said my driver, Last summer, 269 stops in 17 states met with their demise, over after we had finally reboarded. Then he laughed. He was fat the protests of several senators; most rural routes simply could and wore suspenders and smoked chronically. He was slight, not be sustained without subsidies, the company argued. After and had bright brown eyes, glasses, and slick dark hair. He losing nearly $140 million in 2002 and 2003 combined, really, really amused himself. “We leave in 15 minutes,” he Greyhound fired 20% of its management and administrative said, as we pulled into a gas station around seven o’clock the staff and put capital projects on hold. A long-term solution, next morning. “If you're in the can then, you better get comfort- however, required restructuring their entire network, which able. Next bus don't come till 3 p.m. And I doubt they'll have was designed for the sort of coast-to-coast travel that for which room for you." people no longer used buses. This meant eliminating unprof- By the second day, I smelled like the bus and looked like a itable routes. train wreck. I had no tolerance for delays and laughed at no one Management anticipated that smaller, more agile bus lines else’s jokes. From the glum orderliness of Tulsa to the inchoate would pick up the abandoned stops. “Many of the communities chaos of St. Louis—where even the democratic sanctity of the still have bus service,” Kim Plaskett, the company's spokes- line collapsed and anxious borders massed in front of the gate, woman, said. “It just doesn't say Greyhound on the side of the shoving their way to a prime seat—my enthusiasm yielded to bus.” The idea was that the smaller companies could service despair. Greyhound had allowed me to see much of the coun- remote towns and eventually funnel passengers—a shrinking try, meet innumerable characters I would otherwise have never lot anyway, since more rural Americans have access to cars spoken with, and travel to see my brother and my friends for than ever before—into the Greyhound system at larger stops. very little money. One thing it could not do was take me any- “Rural America clearly changed, and we had to change with it,” where quickly. she said. The bus snorted and sighed into Pennsylvania, and began Such changes, while fiscally sound, inevitably eliminate the long, final eastbound stretch to New York City. As the man some of the intangible charm of traveling by bus. For all the next to me told me about his putative acting career, the PA fast-food similarities of life on the interstate, the differences crackled and the driver asked for our attention. Traffic had one senses rolling on a bus from town to town, region to region, snarled and the view had not changed outside my window in are still daunting and still fascinating. Differences in land- some time. Some passengers were rebelling. In broken scape, accent, disposition, dreams, income, ethnicity, music, English, the driver said, "We'll be arrive in New York in approx- agriculture, food, beer, climate—in short, the mosaic that has imately…only God knows." Then, flashing a big grin, he said, sustained this country for two hundred years, crystallizes on "We pray a lot on Greyhound, no?" the road as it rarely does elsewhere. Of course, rare is the company that profits from intangible charm. Whatever business model Greyhound eventually devis- es, and however many small town stops it eliminates, it will still have to reckon with a simple fact: buses are slower, and often less convenient, than planes, trains, and automobiles. For all its potential for sightseeing, and for meeting strangers and exchanging tall tales, Greyhound is primarily a carrier, and an inefficient one. And so it had carried me, with spectacular inef- ficiency, to where I needed to be. * With rain and snow falling softly, my bus lumbered through Albuquerque, among adobe houses and cinder block houses painted to look like adobe. I celebrated Thanksgiving at my brother's house, through which a constant stream of visi- tors, friends, co-workers, and transients like myself flowed. Dogs, fat cats, and enormous roosters roamed happily, dark beer flowed steadily and music, of one kind or another, played continually. Abbie, a puppy possessed of enviable energy and pitiably little wherewithal, would occasionally guard the door. issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:09 PM Page 20

SEXY TASTES i do VooDoo

~by Jen Karetnick Miami Shores, FL

he champagne fizzed in the flutes. The incense Neither a white nor a black magic wedding, the ritual has both smoked, propped on an altar decorated with all man- religious and spiritual meaning; it shouldn't be laughed at nor ner of symbolism and idolatry. With hair clippings and taken as a sexual escapade. This is about bonding, folks, not t nail pairings neatly piled on the night table, we were bondage. prepared as we'd ever be for the Sanctuary of Love (SOL). My husband and I, however, didn't exactly follow the Hosted by the International House, the venerated bou- instructions. Don't get me wrong-we like a good, muscle-sooth- tique hotel in New Orleans located on the edge of the seductive ing soak just as much as the next couple. But when we fly into a French Quarter, the SOL is a voodoo ceremony you and your place as fevered as New Orleans, we have priorities: Bloody mate can order up like room service. Or, more accurately, you Marys, oysters, Frozen Hurricanes (fruit juice mixed with every can request it like a Peking duck delivery, as you need to give possible kind of alcohol), art galleries, gambling and a few late about twenty-four hours' notice. afternoon martinis. In other words, we'd rather bathe in high, This allows Sallie Ann Glassman, the diminutive high or at least strong, spirits. Plus, as I was suffering from a case of priestess who runs a botanica in one of the city's less savory bronchitis and an altitude-inspired overdose of cold medicine, neighborhoods, to poke around in your hotel room before you Jon correctly supposed a long bath might lull me into nap arrive. She lays out candles, bath oils and miniature bags filled mode. with magical, soul mate-affirming orris root, the dried, under- So we went out for a late lunch, drank, stocked up on Sofia ground stems of iris plants that are rumored to be aphrodisia- (Francis Ford Coppola's celebratory rosé sparkler named for cal in nature. She'll return to perform the actual rite after you his director daughter) and wound up returning to our room and your lover have, according to the SOL instructions that only minutes before the priestess. She declined a glass of bub- have been left for you in a trussed-up amenity, "bathe[d] one bly but didn't seem to mind that we kept sipping it while she another and let the bath salts draw out any restrictions of self- chanted prayers in French (voodoo, a combination of African doubt or negativity." Apparently, you're supposed to "relax religions and Catholicism, has its roots in the French Quarter deeply in the water and in each other's aura, bath[ing] in the where the European nobility kept mixed-race mistresses). atmosphere of love, and call[ing] on the oils in the bath salts to Other significant parts of the SOL ceremony included surround and fill you with Erzulie's sensuality and joy." Erzulie pouring cornmeal on the rug in the shape of an elaborate heart, is the voodoo love goddess-a frisky deity that boasts three hus- slipping the violet-scented orris root under our tongues and bands with whom to share her magic. kissing, and then inserting the root with our hair and nail clip- The purpose behind the Sanctuary of Love ceremony is pings in a little satin gris-gris bag tied with a feather. Now filled simple: Unite, or re-unite, your heart with someone else's by with our disposable yet apparently still-powerful essences, this "invoking the cool and sweet blessing spirits know as Rada." bag would wind up above our headboard at home, blessing our

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SEXY TASTE

union and tempting the cats to bat it off in the middle of the lyzed rotating "sun pods," self-turning lounges complete with night. iPod capabilities, for tanning at the Palms Resort in Turks & Next we were instructed to "go out into the night and open Caicos; private butlers ("your very own Jeeves") at the Thalassa [our] hearts to the vastness of the sky to secure the deepest con- Hotel in Cyprus; a "pillow menu," offering nine options of head- nection with each other and with the protective loa, the divine and-neck support, at The Hotel Arts in Barcelona; and person- spirits of voodoo." But the closest we got to loa-driven protec- alized LED messages to post outside your door at the tion and connection at that point in time was a shared double Semiramis Hotel in Athens. The newspaper eventually con- cheeseburger with onion rings that we scored from a local diner cluded: "Once you have taken care of the basics—good service, and ate back in the room. Headier than the Frozen Hurricanes, good location, good food—too many of the so-called extras that voodoo thing can really wipe you out. actually detract from the experience; culprits include…turn Indeed the $150 SOL is just one hotel's brainstorm in down services which always arrive just as you are getting into appealing to our senses while depleting our cents. At Loft 523, the shower." the International House's sister hotel, you can "sink into your I agree that the insistence with which those hired to per- own sleek cappuccino cup of a tub," says the press materials, by form such luxuries do their jobs is akin to the grocery bagger requesting the house special "milk bath." Not only will the staff who demands to take your bags to the car even when you don't draw you an Oat Milk Bath by Archipelago, they'll also deliver a have a buck to tip him. It makes you feel oddly unworthy, as if tray of Krispy Kreme doughnuts, should you decide something you have knowingly and with obvious delight taken advantage other than your body needs dunking. of the system. Baths are also a specialty at the Ritz-Carlton, Cancún, only On the other hand, I can't object to the offering at 1801 these are margarita-scented. Guests are invited to relax in a First, a nouveau bed-and-breakfast in Napa township. Not only spa-size cocktail rimmed with sea salts and garnished with lime can you have your morning meal in bed, you can follow it with slices. And of course a pitcher of the iced, popular drink comes an in-room massage. Play it right with your partner and you along for refreshment. Wouldn't want anybody to get dehy- don't have to ever get out of bed. drated, now. Which is, I suppose, one elemental function of the Back in domestic territory, the Ritz-Carlton is known for Sanctuary of Love ceremony: to inspire sex. Doing the deed such novelties that range from wonderfully caloric to just plain after sucking on some orris root is almost as mandatory as con- wacky. At the chain's Philadelphia location, "hot chocolate summating a marriage on your wedding day. And it seems the sommelier" Caesar Bradley mixes mugs of custom-order cocoa deity drama has other useful purposes, such as helping us win with liqueurs, homemade whipped cream and toppings such as $1,000 bucks at Harrah's blackjack tables. So just in case flavored marshmallows, courtesy of the property's pastry chef, Erzulie, the Rada and the loa all chose to stay behind in the Big or Valrhona hazelnut chocolate chunks. (Bradley's favorite Easy, Jon and I purchased ourselves a souvenir: The Voodoo combo? The "dark chocolate cocoa with Chambord, fresh rasp- Love Kit, complete with doll and spell book. After all, there's berries, whipped cream and white chocolate shavings," he nothing like poking a pin into a doll's butt, stamped with the notes.) In Miami's over-the-top South Beach, "tanning butler" words "tight tush," to put new meaning, along with some wish- and darn-cute model Michael Sheehan roams poolside, search- ful thinking, into your vows—if not your vacation. ing for shoulders to rub with a variety of UV freckle protection. (Most memo- rable skin? "Jessica Simpson's," he says. Least notable? Mine. "This is an interview?" he asked as he massaged oil into my back. Sure it is.) Catering to our more unusual tastes is one way to get attention-at least from the media. CNN recently reported that "for those more interested in partying than sleep, the Hotel Triton in San Francisco can help. Their 'So hip it hurts' package includes a calendar of hip events, plus the means to make a fashion statement at one: a $65 credit toward either a tattoo or body piercing at Mom's Body Shop in the Haight dis- trict. The hotel will even escort you to the tattoo parlor and administer smelling salts should you require them." This package appeals to me—I've been thinking of adding to my bodily artwork recently—but somehow I can't see my mom cashing in her certificate for an eyebrow ring. Late last year, The Guardian ana-

C 19 CM issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:09 PM Page 22

THIS AMERICAN LIFE ~by Peter Rutenberg Shore Leave Los Angeles, CA (On a Really Strange Saturday)

here’s an old saying: Give a man a fish and he eats for a home to the comfort of your recliner. Sunburn and leather were day. Teach a man to fish and you get rid of him for the meant for each other. Tomorrow will be better. whole weekend. On waking, look in the mirror and be appalled by your t Some of us have more leisure time than others. Some appearance. Everyone else is. Today you need cool, calm dark- of us refuse it even when it's forced on us—like the attorney who ness. You’re in luck: the Blacklight Poster Roadshow is in shows up at the Pearly Gates complaining she's too young to town. “Ten rooms of vintage art from the Sixties,” screams the die. St. Peter replies, “According to your billable hours, you’re ad in psychedelically-colored balloon letters. After lunch, drive 120 years old.” downtown and park. Remain self-consciously oblivious to the Slackers and workaholics, behold! I’m going to show you stares of passers by. Pay your fee and enter a world humming how to get rid of yourself for the whole weekend. with the excitement of ultraviolet fluorescence, a world fraught First, dress for the occasion. Leisure suits can be found in with the promise of anonymity, of cool stuff, and maybe even of almost any used clothing store. (If you’re compiling a list of Erica Jong's “Zipless Fuck.” Hear laughter. Is it the echo of fashion colors to avoid, this would be the place to start.) You flower children dancing in the meadow? Is it the giddiness of needn’t worry about fabric though. That decision has been unabashed freedom of expression? Is it the fact that your face made for you: polyester. It doesn’t quite have the ring of “plas- isn’t nearly as anonymous as you had hoped and your friends tics” (see the brilliant 1968 film The Graduate), but it is wash- from the office are there too? They serenade you amid raucous able, wrinkle-free, and as an added plus, completely devoid of guffaws with “Proud Larry Keep on Boinin’.” The mantra style. What’s more: it is plastic. besets your consciousness. You can’t get it out of your head. Next, head out to the recliner store. Buy the big, luxurious It's making you crazy. one, with the built-in refrigerator and ice-maker, full body mas- You secede from the reunion, crawl home, lather up with sager, and discreetly-hidden bedpan. Plug it in and relax. aloe vera and slide into your recliner. The Law and Order That’s it: you need never get up again, or change clothes. A bit marathon is on. You begin to get ideas... of advice: while you’re out, pick up a pulse and blood pressure Drifting off to sleep, you dream you’ve gone to Paris, a monitor from the hospital supply store and hook yourself up to member of Hemingway’s lost generation, another expat in it while in the recliner. You don’t want anyone declaring you search of...what were they in search of again? You tour monu- prematurely passé and hauling your lazy ass off to the morgue. ment after monument, but never tire of staircases or cigarette At least until the beer’s gone. The line between leisure time and smoke. Find yourself at Notre Dame. Suddenly Quasimodo is death is a fine one, non? lurching about, grabbing at ropes. The sound is deafening. He By now you should be bored stiff and ready for real adven- gives one last heave and falls down the shaft. His arm stumps ture. dangle, twisted among the hemp strands above. The ground is Ever tried surfing? In water? Take your leisure suit off, spinning far below. The hump is spinning the opposite direc- grab an aloha shirt and put on some cool swim trunks. Not tion. Vertigo has you by the short hairs. Kim Novak is falling those. Definitely not those. Well, those will have to do. Drive next to you, smiling; she looks like the girl on the beach. You down to the shore and find a beach rental store. Ask for a surf- bolt upright, heart slamming ribcage, slathered in sweat. board for the day. When the incredulous store clerk stops Tomorrow wasn’t better. But that was yesterday. A red- laughing, say, “No, seriously, dude, I want a board for the day,” headed orphan sings in your mind’s cochlea: “The sun'll come and when the dude goes, “No, seriously, you can't have one,” out tomorrow, betcher bottom dollar...” Greet the morning take what's left of your ego, go next door, and see if they find with a fine breakfast, a firm resolve to let the past pass, and a your request less humorous. Repeat until noon. decision to stay home and do some reading. Your Book-of-the- Dejected, find a café and drown your sorrows in a tropi- Month Club deliveries occupy an entire wall of the extra room. cal trance inducer with an umbrella on top. Do not stick the You think to yourself, “I really should’ve unwrapped these umbrella in your eye. Do open and close it repeatedly until it when they first came.” breaks or flies into someone else's eye. Feign innocence or hide Hours later, as you carry out three year's worth of corru- behind your board—oh wait, you don't have one. But you prob- gated boxes to the recycling bin, it comes to you as if in a dream. ably do have on a stunning pair of black socks. Sorry; I There's no one who understood freedom like Hemingway. The should've disabused you of those earlier. retreat in Key West. The cobblestones of Paris. Running with Shuffle down to the beach sans socks and take a refresh- the bulls in Pamplona. You line up the books and find you have ing dip in the (a) freezing, (b) kelp-ridden, (c) syringe-infested, two complete sets of his oeuvre. You begin a rueful round of (d) all-of-the-above water. Lay down in the warm sand, ogling Russian Roulette, reading aloud: The Sun Also Rises. The the beautiful blonde on the next towel as you fall asleep. Hours Dangerous Summer. Been there. The Old Man and the Sea. later, wake up and do your best imitation of Richard Dreyfuss Done that. Death in the Afternoon. (I should be so lucky.) For in Close Encounters. Go buy some aloe vera gel and return Whom the Bell Tolls. (You’re killing me here.) A Farewell to

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THIS AMERICAN LIFE

Arms. That’s it! Crack! slams the phone so loud the people exiting the the- “OK, suppose I just make a bonfire of these vanities,” you ater all go, “Aww” in unison. Your humiliation is complete. mutter in disgust. On the way home you stop at your favorite diner. There’s As the fire department arrives, the dustcover of Fahrenheit only one stool left at the counter. You order a drink and the 451 flickers to ash. The cops follow in close pursuit. Tomorrow blue plate special and stare up at the ceiling. The Scotch van- also won’t be better, you realize, as you call your attorney for ishes and you relax a little. Bread and butter comfort you. The the $500 bail. His answering machine chirps, “Hi. I’m in food arrives and you begin to eat, swallowing a morsel of shat- Aruba for three weeks. Please leave a message and I’ll get back tered self-esteem with each bite, unaware of its aroma or taste. to you when I feel like it.” Bubba in the holding cell is smack- In the mirror etched with a beer ad you notice a smile coming ing his lips and gyrating. This is how it ends, you think, with a from the woman next to you and realize she has been studying bang and a whimper. you for some time. She offers a penny for your thoughts and a The sun comes out tomorrow. You don’t. The person cov- gentle conversation takes shape. A booth opens up and you ering for your attorney gets the message late, arriving the fol- move over to it for pie and coffee. You discover that she’s just lowing morning before breakfast. Leave hungry. Itch. The sun- seen the same movie at the same theater. She laughs in a sym- burn is starting to peel. You are not amused. You reach home pathetic way as you recount the glories of the last few days, then and lunge for the bathroom. You soak in steaming water. An shares a short saga of her own. Hours pass like minutes. You hour later, the tub begins to drain but does not finish. Wads of feel warm and centered, and slightly loopy from the first peeled epidermis. You call the plumber. He is in Aruba too, but twinges of what might be Cupid’s arrow. She has a beach house kindly refers you to Bubba’s Plumbing Service. You decline and invites you out for the day tomorrow, promising to monitor with a now-familiar whimper. Still in “Out damn’d spot” mode, your tan as it evens out. She learned to surf at the University of you head outside to hose away your indiscretion of two nights Hawaii and has a board. She majored in American Lit and ago. You’ve been burned too, and rightly conclude it’s about wrote her thesis on the Lost Generation. You can't believe this time to chill. is happening. She gives you a peck on the cheek and jumps into Next to the fireplace are a week's worth of The Times. “The a cab. newspaper is safe,” you think. You never have time for the She collects you early Saturday morning and you laugh paper on work days, so you start to read. The front page has your way to the beach. Stopping at the local market, you pick color pictures of innocent people dying in places you’ve never up a day's provisions—some ready-made food for lunch, some- been. The editorial page excoriates the government for not thing to barbeque for dinner, and, as luck would have it, a fine doing more to help them. You turn to the local news. Crime is Chardonnay from the Santa Ynez Valley, on special at the gour- down. Except in your neighborhood. Real estate prices contin- met wine shop next store. Without you seeing, she buys a small ue to rise. Except in your neighborhood. The recreation section box of live bait. Before you know it, you're in the clean, silky offers beach retreats and you begin to feel seasick. Finally, you water, paddling your board like a pro. There isn't much wave reach the movie page. “There’s still time to see at least one of action, so you don't actually get to stand up, but by noon you're the Oscar-nominees before the awards are announced,” you ravenous anyway. She tells you about the North Shore of Oahu, muse. You call a few friends but they’re all out. You change and the time they kayaked across the strait to Maui. She tells clothes, brush your teeth, and observe that the tan side of your you about her husband who was in the first group of National face isn’t fading as fast as you'd like. Guards to be called up for Iraq. He was killed in a convoy in the At the nearby cineplex, you buy your ticket to Sideways, first weeks of the war. It’s been almost two years and most days grab some popcorn and a soda, and trek to the end of the hall are okay, she tells you. Yesterday she felt blue and went to see where the smallest theaters are. Ads for products you don't a movie. In the shade of the porch, the conversation trails off. need come on the screen. Previews last more than 20 minutes. Gulls sing as they dive-bomb the shallow water. The lighter Finally the film starts. You identify immediately with Paul side of your face has more color. Your t-shirt remains on. Giamatti’s character: a day late and about five hundred dollars The sun is low in the sky when you wake from your nap. short—that’s you all over. Romp through the Santa Ynez Valley It’s not a dream. She is in the kitchen starting to cook. A fish- with your new pals, impressed with the vivid scenery, con- ing pole is anchored in some rocks on the shore. You go for a vinced that this virtual travelogue will bring hordes of tourists walk and wait for dinner to announce its arrival. The breeze to California’s Central Coast and you imagine a well-placed tempers the glow of the day: your face feels like both sides investment. Maybe the ranch next to Neverland. belong to the same person; your heart flutters at the prospect of Now the guys are in the restaurant making time with Paul’s love. waitress friend. Your thoughts drift back to your last relation- The whir of the reel snaps your reverie and you run back ship—that Sunday in the park with Georgia. It ended badly but for the fish. It’s “this” big, you chuckle to yourself, “enough for you always wondered. They’re at Sandra Oh's house now, and dinner and then some.” She nets it like a pro and guts it right you swallow dryly when her bed starts a-rockin’. The motel there on the sand. It isn't as gory or difficult as you imagined. parking lot scene reminds you that Georgia didn’t need a It's almost primal. A quick marinade while the coals turn ashy motorcycle helmet to make her point. You wince repeatedly as and dinner is on the fire. Salt air, aromas from the grill, the the beating continues. After Thomas Haden Church’s wedding, wine's perfume, the flower in her hair—all swirl together in the you admire how maturely Paul acts on seeing his ex-girlfriend. sweet scent of success. After dinner, she reads Hemingway to His newfound resolve on returning to teaching and his decision you. "No man is an island, entire of himself..." to give it one more try with the waitress elevate you from the The line between leisure time and life is a fine one, non? morass of the last few days. You make a call. And the weekend's only half over. “Georgia? It’s Larry.” C 21 CM issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:09 PM Page 24

CULINARY CULTURE

tamarind

the electrifying lime alternative

he taste sensation of sour is electric. It may manifest itself as a coy buzz t to the tongue, or go so far as to unleash a shockwave, inducing eyes to clench, and lips to curl with an involuntarily shudder. Flirtation with any such stimulus is prudently side- stepped by some folks; severe cases will opt to ~by Courtney Knettel pass on the pickles, ixnay the olives, and shun the St. Cloud, MN margarita. This article is written for those at the other end of the spec- purchased in cans like soda. A friend of mine, who is from trum, for whom a shot of sourness equates to pure pleasure, Puerto Rico, associates tamarind with childhood. "We ate it like and S-O-U-R is indelibly etched on the libido. candy," she fondly recounts. Do you love lime? Then allow me to present another realm Beloved as it is to so much of the world, it is clear that of puckering possibilities - fruity-sour tamarind. tamarind is no secret. Still, it is practically unknown in the Perhaps you've heard of it. After all, tamarind makes a United States, who has so far failed to tap into its thrilling won- splashy appearance in tropical cuisines all over the world. ders. Of course, American cuisine is not completely devoid of it. Despite being native to Africa, the bean pod-like fruit has Tamarind is the secret twang in Worcestershire sauce, a British nudged its way to prominence into multiple cuisines, so much creation that is in keeping with the nation's historical obsession so that it seems to be the area's own. with mimicking Indian flavors. It has also sneaked its way into In India, for example, it is argued that the tamarind tree is some barbecue sauces. in fact native to India, so enmeshed is tamarind with Indian cul- Once you know where to look, tamarind is not tricky to ture. In the sacred Hindi text the Ananga Ranga, which is locate-though the local supermarket isn't your best bet. You'll likened to the Kama Sutra, tamarind is prescribed to married find tamarind at an Indian, Asian, or Latin grocer in a variety of women to increase their sexual pleasure. It is in the southern forms: in brick-shaped pulp, powder, or concentrate. region of the country that tamarind is used much like lemon Authentic recipes typically call for the pulp form, often juice in the West, jazzing up curries, chutneys and most referring to an estimated amount in terms such as: 'lemon- notably, their hot-sour velvety soups known as sambars. sized', 'marble-sized', etc. The pulp is usually not directly added However, tamarind's influence is not confined to the to the dish, but first has to undergo a procedure to elicit its Eastern Hemisphere; it also flourishes south of the U.S. border. goods. The approximated amount is soaked in hot water for fif- Latin American cuisines frequently temper tamarindo with teen minutes, after which you must plunge your hands into the sugar to make tart sweets and a tamarind-ade, which can be bowl and squeeze the pulp as though you were wringing a towel. 22 Citizen Culture issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:09 PM Page 25

The pulp will emit an inky black juice into the water. Afterwards, pass the juice mixture through a sieve, coaxing the pulp with your fingertips to release every drop of moisture. The water is set aside for use; the pulp is discarded. It is much more convenient to use tamarind concentrate, especially when first becoming acquainted with the tangy-tart flavor. Although purists may argue that the concentrate lacks some of the subtle, herbal qualities of the pulp-soaked water, the concentrate is a must-have for most of us. Sold in small plastic containers under the brand name Tamcon, it can usual- ly be purchased for under four dollars, and can be stored for a good long while on the pantry shelf. Once you've obtained the concentrate and taken a peek inside, you may be disconcerted by its appearance - a formida- ble tarry sludge (although I argue that a day will come when it will look bountiful and luscious). Dip your pinkie in ever so slightly, and taste the smallest drop. Yes! Yes! Pretty sour, huh? So potent is this substance that you must remember to start small when using it. The Tamcon container recommends using one teaspoon in a dish that will feed six. A better gauge for us Americans: one-fourth (1/4) teaspoon of tamarind concen- trate is equal to one tablespoon of lemon juice. Ergo, unless you're out to make your hair (or someone else's) stand on end, add just a nip of tamarind concentrate when you might otherwise pump a few hearty splashes of lemon juice into your dish. Although not absolutely necessary, it is a good idea to stir tamarind concentrate with a bit of water before adding it. From there, anything goes. I have used tamarind successfully in my homemade guacamole and hummus, marinades, stews, stir- fries, and wherever else I need a kick of acidity. A Few Recipes Great for First-time Tamarind Users:

Kid-Happy Apple Dip 1/3-cup peanut butter fi tsp. tamarind paste, dissolved in 1 Tb. water 1 1/2 tsp. honey 1 tsp. soy sauce 1 Tb. oil Combine ingredients and mix well. Chilled Marinated Cauliflorets 1-2 Tb oil fi tsp. tamarind paste, dissolved in 1/3 cup water 1-2 garlic cloves, minced fi tsp. salt fi head cauliflower, divided into small florets 2 tsp. coriander powder ⁄ tsp. cumin powder ⁄ tsp. paprika

1. Heat the oil in a medium skillet, then sauté the garlic and spices. 2. When the garlic is golden-brown, add the remaining ingredients. 3. Bring it to a boil, cover, and simmer for 10 min- utes. 4. Keep chilled until ready to serve. issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:09 PM Page 26 issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:10 PM Page 27 issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:10 PM Page 28 issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:10 PM Page 29

interviews galore! ...Bill Maher’s MMuucckkrraakkiinngg for Dummies for Dummies~by Jonathon Scott Feit New York, NY

Everyone to whom I mentioned that we would be hav- than what they're looking for Howard Stern to say next. What ing this conversation seemed to think this was a great they're looking for him to say next is, uh, you know, "Did you idea. Several people even said to say “Hi” to you for ever have a threesome with a girl?" Not that it's a big mystery them. that that's what his next question was going to be. I hope what they're looking [for] from me is something more intellectually (Laughs) nutritious

But seriously, In light of having such a politically Do you consider yourself an entertainer? Or some- charged role, everyone seems to resonate with you, as thing else? opposed to if I said I was talking to, say, Rush Limbaugh or Al Franken. How do you feel about that, Oh an entertainer, yeah I'm a comedian. being in the middle? When everybody finds some rea- son to find you important, it must be a nice ego boost. When did people start taking you seriously? When did you move, either in your own opinion or in the more Well certainly not everybody! But I'm happy with those public opinion, from a comic who knows his stuff to who do. I think that what I find satisfying about that is that what I would call a "bona fide pundit-slash-political when I started way back 12 years ago doing Politically turbine?" (I couldn't really think of another way to Incorrect, the conventional wisdom at the time was that you describe what you do.) could never do an entertainment talk show where the host, which was me, was so forthright in giving his opinions. Wow, a turbine...yeah, thank you. Well I don't know...probably Conventional wisdom followed the Johnny Carson playbook, with the downfall of the culture I moved up. The culture is so which was when you're a host of a national show you can't real- shallow that yes, a guy like me, who is really a comedian. Who ly reveal your politics because you will always alienate at least grew up in a household where, you know, my father was a news- half the audience and you just can't do that. And I think this man. It was always something that was on my breakfast table. proves that, once again, the audience is a bit ahead of the crit- It was the news of the day and talking about it and being ics. The audience is fine with having a host who they don't informed. It was my interest in school—social studies and his- always agree with. tory. I always read the paper even as a kid. But that's not exact- Now I'm not going to say there aren't people who are hard ly a Harvard education there. But we're so shallow that that Right-wingers who don't watch my show, for the same reason passes for an expert. that I wouldn't watch Rush Limbaugh or something. But in general, I think people even on the Right feel, "Oh, this guy has Do you think that there's a misperception or a discon- some conservative views, he tries to be fair, and even if I don't nect between what many of the leaders of our society agree with him he's entertaining and he gives the other people a think is the situation and condition of the younger chance and I don't have to agree with everything a host says to populations and what's actually there? watch him.” I think that's a level of sophistication that we're not giving credit to the American people for. Definitely, because they don't have contact with the young peo- ple. I do, through an outreach program I like to call “dating.” Have you ever benefited from or fallen victim to the Howard Stern syndrome of people wanting to hear How's that going for you? you just to know to find out what's going to happen next, how they might be shocked, or intrigued, or Honestly, having not gotten married has been a good thing for where you're coming from? keeping in touch with the segment of the population that does- n't vote and that those pundits have no clue about because That's what your job as an entertainer is. And when you stop they're never in a club. And they never talk to anybody who is doing that I think the audience has every right to go away. I just among the disaffected. think that what they're looking for me to say next is different You know they may talk to young people, yeah like you, C 27 CM issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:10 PM Page 30

interviews galore!

[but] you're not typical. You're working for this magazine. area for the voter because that has been the profile of the voter That's not the 79 million people who didn't vote. And these are so far. Like I said, 79 million people who didn't vote who could the same idiots who are coming back and saying that the have-that's an awful lot of people they're ignoring, and to reach Democratic Party has to try to do what they did this year which them you, at some point, are going to have to say something was become more Republican as opposed to going after the 79 that upsets that sort of conservative family person profile. million people who didn't vote. They're going to go after the goose hunting population again. But why do you see that and they don't? Why aren't I saw it in the paper the other day, the Democrats have they looking for it in the right places? signed up some fucking guy from the Religious Left. That's what we're going to have to hear about now: a Religious Left. Because they're like generals who fight their last war. The They're trying to dispel their image as the secular party instead Republican Party has dominated for more than a generation of embracing that word and saying: "Yes! Let's celebrate the and the Republican Party is the one that speaks to that half of fact that we're the secular party." So, that's part and parcel of the country. I get it: it's that half—let's call them the squares— that they just don't get it because they're not out there and they and I don't mean to say that in a disparaging way. I love don't talk to people. squares, the world needs squares, squares make shit run. We You know, I remember after the [Democratic National] can't live without them. They're decent people; sometimes convention I was at a club and-you know, young guys stop you they're a lot more decent then the people I hang out with. and they want to talk, and I like to hear what they have to However, they do only represent half and the problem is that say…for a minute [laughs]—and let's not make it all night, but both parties are going after that one half and the Democrats this kid said: "Hey man, I'm so pissed, man. Kerry didn't call will never be successful because it's not in their heart to do it. him out." You know what, he had it. That was it in a nutshell. They're faking it. John Kerry never called Bush out. If you are as in touch as you are with the rest of that Where would the change have to start and what would population, and your cohorts of others who think sim- it have to look like at that first spark to resonate? You ilarly, why don't you run for President, even if not in say that the political leaders of the country aren't con- the sense of expecting to win but as a way of forcing necting, but it shouldn't be that hard to do so. If you these issues into the public forum? had to advise them of one thing-"Go out and do this and you'll start to understand"-what would that be? I guess the most honest answer to that question is because I'm selfish. That's just way too big a sacrifice for my happiness. I I think they need to come out with me on Thursday nights. would be a miserable, miserable human being if I had to get up every day early in the morning and go make speeches all day, What's your scene, Bill Maher? and travel around and shake hands and have the press follow me. Are you kidding? No, I'm sorry I love my country; I don't I don't go out as much as I used to, but I do go out. I do see love it that much. But people have always asked me that ques- what the culture is on that level and I think they're [the politi- tion over the years: "Why don't you run for President?" I did a cians] clueless. whole screen once, I sort of summarized a lot of my positions Look, only one out of six people in this country votes. over the years and read that, it was one of the last Politically Now, one-third of that, of course, is people who are too young- Incorrect shows. It started with "religion is bad and drugs are children don't vote. But you have to understand that the politi- good.” Now you just cannot start a political campaign with cians go after not citizens; that's the key, they fish where the that. voters are. And they have narrowly defined for themselves who the voter is because in the last I-don't-know-how-many elec- In a Playboy interview from 1995, you said: "I have a tions but certainly the ones I remember, the voter has become forum for no political cause and it's helpful to make it this conservative—even if he's a Democrat—this conservative entertaining." In the same interview, you said that: family person. You never hear them talk about the poor; it's "It's tragic, but comedy is talking about tragic things." always the middle class. What's their favorite phrase? Do you think it's ever possible to put enough space “Working families.” between you and something like Sept. 11, or will it So look, I understand. I'm all for working families and the ever be possible to crack a joke on an airplane again? family is great. But you know, this country is a lot more than just that one thing. Those people who have children, who are Yeah it just depends on who you're with and who you're talking parents, who go to work—yeah I get it that those are the more to. We're all hypocrites about that. We all tell jokes among our likely voters because they're sort of the people who have a stake close friends and say things among our close friends that we in the future in society. They're settled, they're suburban. would never want to be aired publicly. And that goes for me as They're very conservative in the way someone is conservative well, and I say more outrageous things publicly than anybody when they get on an airplane. and yet there's a level that you don't even hear what I say. Remember they used to have that sign: "No joking about I'm not telling you! That's the point. But everybody does bombs on the airplane"? Even people who might be a little that, everybody does that to a certain degree. Now as far as the freaky, when they get on a plane it's like: "You know this isn't issue of timing that you were just talking about, it's always a funny anymore, we're on a plane." Well I think they do the matter of timing. Tragedy plus time: that old saw, absolutely. same thing in the voting booth. So they only troll in that one My error, if there was one, after 9/11 was people said one of 28 Citizen Culture issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:10 PM Page 31

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timing. It was too soon to be speaking so frankly. I disagree, and to make their own decisions? Do you think people my audience was okay with it. It wasn't my audience who would make the decisions responsibly, if for instance objected to it, it was people who never watched my show and if certain drugs or all drugs were legalized. didn't watch that show that got me fired and that's what pissed me off, was that people who don't watch your show shouldn't be They will and they won't. They don't make the decisions able to take it away from you. responsibly about liquor right now, a lot of the time. That's such I'll give you two other examples that I've mentioned before. an old, tired argument but it's true. It never went away as far as One is Johnny Carson, who used to do Lincoln jokes on being true: the idea that liquor is much more dangerous for you Lincoln's birthday, and they would always boo and he would than any other drug, practically, and that the legal drugs do always say: "Too soon?" And it just killed me every year: too more harm than the illegal ones. We forget, we kind of roll our soon for Lincoln! eyes and say, "Oh yeah we've heard that a million times." Yeah On the other hand, I remember on a Dean Martin celebrity if we've heard it a million how come the law hasn't changed, roast somebody doing a Pearl Harbor with a laugh track joke however? and I thought: "You know what, Pearl Harbor was certainly as bad as 9/11 and I can't see anybody ever doing a 9/11 with a In terms of conformity, what do you think of non-con- laugh track joke thirty years later." But who knows? formist politicians? I want to ask you about Arnold Schwarzenegger. Why do you think there is so much Is there a sense of what you should be doing, what you centrism now in politics, where so much of the coun- should be feeling, that you should take things like try in both the last election and now said they were September 11th jokes or opinions or Janet Jackson's choosing from the lesser of two evils that were pretty breast or Howard Stern's dismissal so seriously that much mirror images of each other, as opposed to hav- people want to express themselves and are met with ing had clear options? offense; that you're supposed to express your grief or your terror or your disgust with whatever in a certain Right, well I had a line in my Broadway show—that HBO spe- way, and that you essentially ran head-on into it? cial—which was: "The true axis of evil in American is the genius of our marketing combined with the stupidity of our people." I think you must know that one of my biggest pet peeves is con- And I think that gets at what you're asking about. I hate to use formity. America is a conformist nation and after 9/11 there that phrase "perfect storm," but the continuing decline in edu- were only two appropriate responses: one was lockstep patriot- cation and awareness of people combined with the increasing ism and the other was uncontrollable grief. Analysis [of why sophistication of the marketing means that you can sell them terrorists targeted the United States] was like, “Forget it, that anything and the proof of that is the Iraq war, obviously, was was unpatriotic.” something that was sold to them way too easily. In fact, I wrote When I said religion is bad and drugs are good and I could a Details article about that way back when, when the war was never get elected, nobody could get elected on that platform- just being "rolled out" as Karl Rove put it. Now they're doing it not true. You could not get elected on that platform. However, with Social Security. It's a very dangerous situation to have a what's sad in America is that there are actually a lot people who democracy but have a population where so many of the people believe that [religion is bad and drugs are good], and instead of don't care, are terribly informed, and are so easily manipulated just being considered a minority with a valid belief they are cast by a brilliant, sophisticated marketing machine. as insane people and bad people. They're not bad and there's more of them out there than the squares might think and This I'd like to frame delicately: Is there a love/hate or they're not wrong, they're just different. a push/pull relationship do you think, within those As a matter of fact I could make an easier case that the peo- institutions of politics and media and entertainment ple who think is religion is valid are wrong and those who have such that, although no one wants tragedy to happen, never tried drugs are wrong but I won't. It's their opinion and I most people are not thrilled by the notion of going to respect theirs but they don't respect mine. That's what bugs me. war or sending our boys and girls to war, at the same They don't respect mine, because they are the majority and time it makes certain industries and certain organiza- somewhere along the line in this country we lost the thread tions very relevant? from our founding fathers, from what this country really was about, and people don't understand the protection of minority Education will never improve as long as the teachers are only rights, I think, as they used to. They don't really get it. They marginally smarter than the students. And that analogy works think majority rules, which means: "I'm in the majority, we rule for the media also. The people who are telling you the informa- man!" That's not what majority means. In procedural matters, tion have to be marginally, at least marginally, more aware than yes we go with what the majority means. It doesn't mean that the people they're talking to and they're not anymore. In the we legislate taste. It doesn't mean that because my taste is for days of Edward R. Murrow and even Walter Cronkite, you got marijuana and yours is for liquor I go to jail and you sip your the feeling that the people who were doing the reporting were cocktail in a restaurant. That's not really the spirit of the found- better than you. One because they were putting themselves in ing of this nation I don't believe. harm's way, and certainly reporters still do that and I have to respect them for that. But if you watch the tsunami coverage, I What would you think, I suppose, of a legally, at least, mean I did not learn one thing from one reporter in the tsuna- or of a no-holds barred (with the exception of heinous mi zone, dangerous though it may have been, that I would con- crimes or high crimes or whatnot) of allowing people sider news. Yes, they were talking to people. Was it news? No. C 29 CM issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:10 PM Page 32

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It's not news if doesn't increase my awareness of something. I America is that it's such a big country that even the minority is get it, they're sad. I got that, now we're going to make them cry sizable. Even the minority, even though they're disrespected; on camera, great. That's not news. my audience, disrespected; me, disrespected; you, disrespected by the majority because our views, our beliefs, are not given What do you think of yourself? What do you think of equal credence. You go outside after dinner and smoke your those newsmakers who really try to inform? joint in the alleys, you know? You call what you have a Civil Union while the rest of us get to call it marriage. Things like I'm not a reporter, a reporter is someone who uncovers a story. that, that just disrespect the minority. But that minority is not I'm not nearly that brave or that comfortable with being going to sit still forever and they are growing. uncomfortable, so you won't see me at Banda Aceh [Indonesia]. The Christian Right won the election and the moral values But if I did go you can bet I wouldn't set up a camera in a people...trust me, the future is not with religion. The future is jungle and talk to some poor soul who just lost his family and with a secular, sophisticated population. In a hundred years it's try to sell that to the American public as news or even informa- not going to be about Jesus Christ running the show. tion, it's really just wallowing. America loved that tsunami story, they ate that up with a spoon because it was a disaster Is there ever something that you felt like you would that was fascinating, but it didn't happen to us, that was one love to talk about it but there hasn't really been a thing, and the other thing that they liked about it was it was a forum for it. Something that weighs on your mind? story they could understand. Iraq-come on, they don't really understand what's going on over there. It's so complicated. I think I'm often frustrated, even on the show that I do, with President Bush says we're fighting the War on Terror there, but getting out half a thought, or getting out a thought and having it it doesn't really seem like that makes sense . “Oh whatever, I'll cut off by someone or having myself interrupted and then leav- just believe him. I like him, he's a Christian." But the tsunami, ing an impression with the audience that is not the impression it was a story they could understand. Earthquake under water, that I wanted to leave because I only got out half of it or because big wave. I got cut off. There's a number of issues where I know that I've left false impressions because people only hear bits of it or they Do you think we're that stupid? don't catch your show all the time. People think, for example, I'm anti-marriage. I'm not anti- I think a lot of us are, yeah. marriage, I know lots of people who are very happily married I think it's always dangerous, and I do it all the time, but it and I'm thrilled for them. Marriage works for a certain percent- is dangerous and foolhardy, to speak of the American people age of people, a certain percentage. Maybe it will work for me because we are so diverse. So, I think what's going on is that in some day. I'm so not against the concept, I just want to be real- my head, when I say something like that, I'm picturing the giant istic about what it is, that's all. For years I got all sorts of shit swath of this country that is stupid enough to believe that, yes, from the Fat Acceptance Society, they said: "You hate fate peo- or think that. But I'm not thinking about those other tens of ple." I don't hate fat people I love all people. I'm not saying I millions of people who are smarter than that, who think reli- don't like overweight people, I'm just saying if we're going to gion is bad and drugs are good...or any number of things I could pick on people for what they do to themselves health-wise then mention that are sophisticated. And the great thing about let's just be consistent. issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:10 PM Page 33 issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 1:20 PM Page 34

interviews galore! ...the Funnyman

Steve Zahn of Sahara

ow do you like Kentucky? Do you do the L.A. junket scene?

Kentucky's great. We live on a horse farm, it's just [Sahara] is an enormous movie. I've done a lot of studio films beautiful. that rely on the film itself, but I've never been involved with h something that was set up to be a blockbuster. If you had to convince someone to live in Kentucky, what would you say? What do you think of the film?

No man, I don't want anyone to move here. [Laughs] The more I think it’s great. I've never done a huge action film like this, but back roads, I think, the better. We have always maintained this trying to form an opinion while you shot—forget it, there was so country lifestyle, and at the same time, worked in the business. much going on. I get so tired of going to movies and seeing It wasn't planned-it just kind of worked out. I'm sure it's a logis- things that are so obviously computer-generated. There was no tical nightmare to some people, but to us, it's not. green screen [in Sahara]. We sat on everything, we drove everything. When the wind was blowing, and there was sand in Do you farm? our teeth, it was BECAUSE the wind was blowing, not because of some big fan. Every day started with us spending half an hour I used to make hay, and sold that locally. while they strapped us into some vehicle we were on so that we wouldn't fall off and die. What's that like, walking into your local store and see- ing Steve Zahn selling hay? Would you do it again?

Well, local people don't really see you that way. You're kind of Yeah! Are you kidding? It was great! I'm still surprised and in the local star, but beyond the "Hey, man!" it's not really a big awe of this business. We were this huge monster in the desert. deal. You get in your car at 5:30am and arrive at 6:15, watch the sun- rise in the desert over this beautiful set with helicopters and tanks, and everyday, I just realized, "this is huge!" It was a blast. 32 Citizen Culture issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:10 PM Page 35

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It was like being eight years old-building a fort in the woods and Would you rather get the girl or save the day? playing all day. I guess I'm so used to saving the day, or not saving the day, that How is it living outside the Hollywood scene? Do you I would rather not get the girl. When you get the girl, there's a do the Hollywood thing? lot of pressure, man. I mean, you gotta work out and shit. And if you don't get the girl-and you're overweight, it's cool. A few co-actors are friends, but I really don't do the Hollywood thing. I live on a farm in Kentucky—it's really that simple. It's Do you have a dream project? not this notion of going to L.A., making money, and then you move to the country, and retire at an early age "to get away from You know what I want to do? This is the kid in me, and the the fans". I didn't really do that, because I've always lived in movie fan—I would love to be in a historic war movie, or some seclusion, away from the scene. To me, these films are jobs; I serious western. don't see it as a career. The beauty of the business is that you can go and work with people for four months, and it's such a What would you do if you weren't acting? close and incestuous kind of bonding that most people don't understand. And at the end, you walk away from it, and people Honestly, I would be putting fences in these horse farms in are cool with it. You may work with these people again, or you Kentucky. I'd be on one of those three-man crews, sinking may not. posts. If there's anything that I pride myself in, it's that I do my own shit. I don't ask some dude to come and clean out my stalls. In Details magazine, an article about you said, "Could there be a more fitting homestead for a Hollywood Are you a handyman? every-moron Steve Zahn than a sprawling jersey farm?" Oh yeah. I can fix a tractor. I'm not going to put a clutch in. I can do most of the maintenance, but when it comes to heavy duty [Laughs]. That's awesome! I mean, I enjoy being a moron just stuff, I call the John Deere guy. as much as I enjoy being a straight character in a great movie. You know, I think that's about as far from Hollywood Are you funny?? as you can get. ~ J.S.F.

It's a good question. It depends. I'm not some jokey class-clown guy. I've never been like that. Some peo- ple come up to you in the airport and say, "Saving Silverman!" I don't know if they want you to be funny. But I'm a better funny guy as a character in a make- believe situation than I am hanging out.

After doing Shattered Glass, do you have any particular thoughts on the media?

I was blown away, on a real basic level, of how com- petitive that world is. People are there to "get the story", and "tell the truth", and "that's what it is to be a journalist". That's not necessarily the way it is—it's up to you as an individual to do that. What is the truth—here is it? We were trying to get to the nature of [the story]. What's proper, and how do you address your boss? Those are things I don't do-I don't have a boss. I don't have to defend myself; it doesn't happen in my career. These are things that people take for granted that actors don't know.

Anything that you want to clear up that's been misprinted about you?

What are these guys doing?...I'm sorry, I'm watching these dudes on the field across the road. What are they hunting? These dudes walking with shotguns, and they're all pointing at the "actor's house." [Laughs] issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:10 PM Page 36

interviews galore! ...the Role Model

~by Kim Byrum Skinner Springfield, OH

ust minutes into his long-distance interview, hungry- the boy inside the man: The good-natured prankster with a man Shaun Alexander has a mid-afternoon confession serious candy addiction. The Kirk Franklin and Austin Powers j to make. fan. The quiet dreamer with let's-make-some-noise plans who “I want to tell you,” he announces sheepishly, appar- made high school history inside a close-knit, “yes ma'am, no ently distracted by the sound of his own lunch. “I'm eating a ma'am” town where southern bluegrass meets Cincinnati sandwich, so if you hear me snackin’...” asphalt. Unabashed laughter fills the phone line. “We had strong neighborhoods with baseball parks where “I mean, I'm sittin' here throwin' down peanut butter and me and my friends would get a group of 18 together and we'd go jelly, and I'm like, ‘I wonder if she can hear me?’” play baseball,” Alexander, 27, says. "Every neighborhood had a Assured that his hearty appetite isn't audible 3,000 miles basketball court. Every yard, it seemed, had a court in the and a weak cell connection away, the relieved NFL star chuck- garage or backyard. There was always fun, you know what I les again, offering the first of many glimpses into the carefree mean? There was almost a safety—a peaceful kind of thing kid from Kentucky who brought fame to a football-starved about it." state. Longing and nostalgia surface in the Seattle Seahawk's “Aw, come on now,” he jokes, reminded that his Ohio voice. “We’d go play basketball or swimmin' at somebody's River, Kentucky, hometown is more well-known for its pool, or go play baseball in somebody's yard during the sum- “Florence, ya’ll” water tower than producing gridiron greats. mer. There was always tons of stuff for us to do," he says. "But "Barry Sanders, Walter Payton and me, we're all from Florence. it was funny, too, because you have me doin' all these things “Well, OK. Maybe just me.” and havin' fun, but no one could quite tell I was going to be, It doesn't take too long or too much of a stretch to discover like, you know ...” 34 Citizen Culture issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:10 PM Page 37

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A star? great games—four and five touchdowns and 300 yards and “Yeah. You know, I don't even know how to say that. I things like that—I had these people around me sayin,' like, 'You mean, ‘cause I don’t even think of myself as a star, you know? know what? This is a gift from God. He's given you many gifts, “And it’s funny that’s the way it is because you look at and one of them is that you play football better than a lot of peo- sports and my brothers and best friends talked me into playing ple do other stuff.' You know what I mean? football: ‘Aw, yeah. It's fun. We hit people,’” Alexander adds, "I was like, 'OK. That's cool. I'm supposed to use this gift.' laughing. “And I'm, like, the couch potato of the group. So that was kind of the driving force—I've got this gift. That ‘Oooooh. I don't know. I kinda like sittin’ in the house. Playin’ drove me: 'Hey, get better! Learn how to master it.' And that's on the computer and, you know, readin’ a book.” You know what I've been on the chase for ever since." what I mean? I'm the ‘read-a-book’ guy. “When they'd talk about playin’ sports, I’m, like, the last one who wants to go run across the street. ‘No, we’ll walk across As Alabama's all-time leading* rusher with 3,565 yards, the street.’ You know what I mean? And that’s just kind of how Alexander not only shattered Bobby Humphrey's previous it is, so that’s, like, the funny joke to all the guys now. I mean, school mark of 3,420 set from 1985-1988, but established they’d all want to go play tackle football on the side and I’d be school records for rushing attempts (727), 100-yard games (15), like, ‘Aw, man, let’s play this new video game instead.'" rushing touchdowns (41) and total TDs (50). A first-round NFL So when, exactly, did Alexander the Great switch gears? At draft choice in 2000, he left the Crimson Tide holding 15 school what point did a running back not particularly interested in records, three Southeastern Conference marks, and first-team athletic stardom transform his carefree self into a goal-setting, All-SEC and SEC Offensive Player of the Year honors after competitive warrior? rushing for 1,383 yards and 19 touchdowns his senior year. “Uh, I think, like, last week,” he admits, bemused by his "Once I got to the pros, I remember calling Dustin own honesty. “[Late in the season] I was like, ‘What? I’m 100 McClintock, who was my fullback—a junior in college during yards from gettin’ the NFL [rushing leader] record? OK. Cool! my senior year," Alexander says. "Of course, I'm getting draft- I'm fired up right now!’” ed, you know. We just got done playing a game, what, three Reluctant hero or not, life had big plans for the laid-back months ago? So I call him up and I know hes in class, and I Alexander, who remains tongue-in-cheek homesick for all leave him a message: 'Hey, what's up fullback? Just want you to things Florence: “Grippo's Bar-BQ'd Potato Chips, United know I'm holdin' in my hand a check for 2.7 million dollars. So Dairy Farmers, White Castles, JTM burgers and Lee’s Famous you have a fun day in class and I'll see ya’ later.’” Recipe.” Alexander lets fly another mischievous, man-size laugh. His 3,166-yard, 54-touchdown senior season is the stuff of “Well, he calls me back later and was like, ‘You know I did block legend at Boone County High, where the one-time Gatorade for you, right?’” Circle of Champions Kentucky Player of the Year and former Packing for Seattle, Alexander insists, “wasn't really that USA Today and Parade All-American still ranks fifth and hard because, while I enjoy where I’m at, I’m always really ninth, respectively, on the national prep career-records list with excited about the next step. I always enjoyed high school. I 110 TDs and 6,657 yards. always tell people, ‘Man, I had such a great time in high school. “You know what happened?” he says, quick to diffuse cred- It was just amazing. Almost like a fairy-tale story.’” it. “At our high school we had Owen Hauck. He was our head Perhaps no one bleeds 'Bama crimson like Alexander, who coach. He’s retired now, but he’s, like, one of the winningest played two impressionable seasons for Stallings (70-16-1 and coaches in Kentucky football history. Coached at U.C. [the six bowl appearances in seven seasons; 13-0 and a unanimous, University of Cincinnati]. Coached at Mt. Healthy [High 1992 national championship). Among his proudest distinc- School]. Just a great coach. Knew how to motivate people. tions? Being the last running back the legendary sideline boss You’d have kids 120 pounds, soaking wet, knocking out kids ever recruited. that were 250 pounds. He was just a great motivator. “And then I turn around and I tell people about college: “Coach Hauck and [assistant] Mike Murphy, we were all at 'Man, but I'm so ready to go to college,’ and Alabama was awe- this banquet,” Alexander recalls. “I think it was my sophomore some. I loved Alabama. Just the Crimson Tide. You know what year in high school. And they said, ‘Shaun, you know, you're I mean? Just amazing. Bear Bryant. Playing for Gene going to one of these big schools—the Michigans or Ohio States. Stallings, arguably the second-best coach in Alabama history. The Alabamas. The Notre Dames. You’re headed to one of the And to think I played his last game and scored his winning big schools. Then you're going to go from there: play great in touchdown. And to meet his family. The amazing story of him college and go to the pros.’” becoming an Alabama legend. You know? It's just amazing.” He pauses briefly, awed by the larger-than-life knowledge “Before every game, everybody always said, ‘Write your that comes with identifying the exact moment destiny snatched own history.’ That was just awesome, you know?” Alexander him by the jersey and ran. says, temporarily lost in the memories. “Just knowin’, ‘Man, “It was the first time it hit me that there was something we’re gonna be part of somethin’ that, you know, Bart Starr, Joe special about me in the football world, compared to everyone Namath. I'm with them guys now as far as Alabama history. else,” Alexander reveals, his voice soft and reflective. “Not that And I loved that. But at the same time, I was like, ‘Wow. I'm others weren’t—I mean, the more you'll hear from me the more ready for the pros.’ I don't think it would have mattered when you'll know it's not about me being a star. But I just realized, it happened. I'm just always ready. I always know somethin' ‘Oh. You know what? There's something about me that's spe- exciting’s about to happen, so I'm always prepared for it.” cial.’ Alexander’s fifth NFL season has arguably been his best. “Even though I was doin’ high school and havin’ these The 2003 Pro Bowl pick not only flirted with a regular-season

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rushing title at 1,696 yards, falling short by a pal- try three feet, but surpassed 1,100 yards for the fourth-straight time—the only Seahawk ever to do so. His 72 total touchdowns rank second only to storied receiver Steve Largent on Seattle's all- time career list, and his one-time feat of five TDs in a single half remains unequaled by any NFL back. When prodded, Alexander hesitantly admits, “They've never seen anything like me here before.” Just the third Seattle player in history to sur- pass 5,000 career rushing yards (Alexander’s got 5,937), his 62 career rushing TDs are the most ever for a Seahawk running back, and this sea- son's 1,696 yards marked the single-greatest rushing output in franchise history. Yet despite all this, he remains relatively anonymous and under appreciated in Seattle, a low-publicity, small-market city. To illustrate the point, Alexander offers a humbling, personal story about life as a Seahawks celebrity. “I'll put it like this,” he says, laughing. “I went to the Seattle Storm for the championship game and some fans came up to me. They were like, ‘Hey, are you a ers, husbands and fathers, and its grace has taken root wherev- Seahawk player? Are the Seahawks in there?’ We were all in this er its namesake, a devout Christian, has landed: Kentucky, suite. I said, ‘Yeah, they are.’ This lady said, ‘Well, can you get Alabama and Washington. me some of the players?’ I said, ‘Well, who's your favorite play- “Honestly, I think (the concept) was definitely God-sent,” er?’ She's like, ‘Shaun Alexander.’ I was like, ‘Oh my God! I Alexander says. “My parents were divorced when I was in sixth think he's in there!’” grade, but it wasn't really about that. It was about the fact of, Alexander hopes to play another “six or seven” years before different men that I saw who impacted my life. I thought, ‘Wow, retiring, “unless the Lord tells me to keep on playin’.” you know what? I probably wouldn't have gotten here if I did- “I see one more deal,” he says, “then I’ll probably go into all n’t see this thing going on or if this guy wasn’t this kind of kinds of things—Foundation stuff, mentoring young men to example.’ change the world, more giving stuff. I've always got to go. I'd “So what I wanted to do was set up kids for their lives to see like to make a deal with a car dealership, like, when I get a cer- great examples. You know what I mean? And then become one. tain age, and start giving away cars to families.” That’s kind of what my goal was: to let kids see great examples A la ... Oprah? and then let them become one for somebody else. And that’s “Oprah, yeah,” he says excitedly. “You know, when Oprah truly what it was. It really wasn’t about, you know, stuff that did that, I was like, ‘You took my idea!’ I was, like, excited for happened in my life, negatively. It was about stuff that hap- her, but I was kind of mad at her, too. I mean, I want to do that pened in my life, positively.” -- give cars away to needy people!” Heading Alexander's list of boyhood influentials is a hard- nosed, remorseful father who both made and atoned for mis- takes, and in the awkward honesty, taught his son integrity. As founder of the Shaun Alexander* Foundation, a nonprof- “You know what?” he says. “My parents got divorced, but it organization empowering young men through education, ath- I'll tell you: my dad, probably the two cool things my dad taught letics, character programs and leadership training, his biggest me was, one, there's nothing wrong with being tough, but being challenge remains understanding the low self-esteem child- tough isn't (about) being a bully.” hoods its good works help heal. The other is “that you're never too old and it's never too “I just don’t get that,” Alexander says. “From day one I was late to apologize and go back and fix things that are wrong. It's always taught, ‘You’re going to be special. You’re going to be amazing because there's a lot of freedom I have in that now— great. You’re going to be something very neat. You’re going to because of my dad saying, ‘I might not have been the best hus- be the best and you keep on fighting for those things ‘cause band or the best father and I apologize for that, but let's just go that’s what you’re supposed to be.’ from here.’ And I was like, ‘Dude. That’s a great idea.’ “At the same time, though, I never had any pressure. You “I mean, when you write this story, I bet a lot of fathers out know what I mean? It was always, ‘Well, if you’re not the best there will realize: yeah, their son could have been mad as all yet then you’re going to be.’ It was almost a no-lose situation get-out at them, but if they really came up to them and said, for me. ‘You're going to be the best.’ Well, what if I’m not the ‘You know what? I’m sorry. And I’m not trying to become your best? ‘Oh, well, then it’s just not time for you to be the best. dad, because I missed those days.’ You know what I mean? ‘But Keep on playing, ‘cause you're gonna be the best.’” I do want to become, like, your father that just came back into The Foundation strives to inspire a new generation of lead- your life.’ Almost like the reverse of the prodigal son.

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“I'm happy about that with my dad.” body. Everybody come on over here.’ It was just really, really Alexander looks back over his life and realizes the value of neat. It wasn’t just football players. It wasn’t just sports. It was hearing the right words at the right time—ponders the back everybody. Lee definitely taught me about just lovin’ people, roads he might have traveled were it not for the grace of influ- regardless. You know what I mean? Just open your arms to ential guideposts who befriended him at critical crossroads. people.” There's Uncle Miles: “the first person that I saw, like, man, A dutiful life observer, Alexander learned from plentiful havin' this successful marriage, and I was like, ‘Wow. I’m gonna good coaches, too. Stallings' football knowledge was vast and have a marriage like him.’ You know what I mean? Not cheatin’ his personal drive and expectations mythical, but it was his love on your wife. Lovin’ your wife.” for his son, born with Down syndrome, that made players like There's older brother Duran: “the person who, everybody Alexander believe they could move mountains. was like, ‘Oooooh, Shaun. You need to be like your brother: “Coach Stallings—like Coach Hauck almost—he had a way straight-A student, good-looking, smart, athletic, charming, of making everybody appreciate what they have, strive for you know. All of the things I'm really trying to strive for,” more, and not settle for less. It was awesome,” he says. Alexander says, a playful wink in his voice. In growing his Foundation, Alexander finds inspiration in “Just being around him, it was funny because he taught me former Alabama All-American John Croyle, founder and execu- how to be confident in who I am, which was weird, you know tive director of the Big Oak Ranch boys and girls homes, where what I mean? You’re like, ‘How’s a person that you’re trying to more than 1,500 abused, neglected and unwanted children be end up teaching you how to be confident in who you are?’ learn to trust, hope and heal. “Now it’s flipped around because, you know, I’m no longer “Goin’ out to the Oak Ranch and seeing kids who were Duran's brother. Now Duran is Shaun's brother. And I get to abused—kids who were raped by their moms' boyfriends return the favor to him all the time—telling him how great a because the father left and she didn't have no where else to go— brother he is." it's crazy stuff,” Alexander says, his voice now but a whisper. And there's Lee Sellers: a man of faith and compassion “They’d throw these kids off to John and John would take who ran an Alabama-based, adopt-a-college-student program them in. I don't know how many kids the boys and girls ranch at a local church, teaching many a homesick, Crimson Tide has had—just thousands. So you see a guy like John, whose standout that “families” don't have to be biological. heart is right like that, and you're like, ‘Wow. That’s what a real “They had maybe 20 or 30 college students,” Alexander man looks like.’” remembers. “And it was really cool because it was all different Alexander’s goal? To give back as large as he and his faith- kinds of kids hangin' out—from different races to different gen- centered life have received. ders. Some kids were solid for the Lord, some kids were just “There’s kids all in Florence that need to know, like, man, buck-wild. And they didn't care. success is just around the corner,” he assures. “I was just “They were like, ‘You know what? We’re gonna love every- therre.”I was just there.” issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:11 PM Page 40

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Imagine e-comme the webs

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interviews galore! ...the Internet Artistes ~by Irfan Shabeer Dix Hills, NY www.Bullseyetattoos.com Imagine a mix between Amazon.com and your local tattoo parlor: that's the idea behind bullseyetattoos.com, a website that uses the latest e-commerce technology to improve on the tradition of body ornamentation. Irfan Shabeer recently asked Eric Iovino and Victor Modafferi, the website’s founders, about their unique niche, and ended up getting a crash course in the ancient art and modern business of tattoos.

First off, your website looks great. You guys have done a design that they didn't really want. We offer an environment an amazing job of using modern technology, specifi- where people can take there time to choose a design they are cally the Internet, to improve on the ancient tradition happy with. Then they can print it out and walk into any tattoo of tattoos. What gave you the idea to start this site? parlor to get it done. Also, they are very customizable.

We started off selling flash sets. We would sell the actual designs as sets of artwork to the tattoo artist at a tattoo shop. What types of designs do you sell? The everyday customer would see it and want just one specific design. We started kicking around the idea a few years back of We do everything from the stereotypical tribal designs to the selling the designs individually because so many people were more complex custom related artwork that is related to tattoos asking about them. you may already have. We have designs of animals, dragons, flowers, and all the basic elements. We also have things that are So is your site primarily intended for people getting related to specific demographics. The Mexican and Latino tattoos or for tattoo artists? graphics are getting very popular now, so we have a lot of that type of artwork. We also have designs that are specifically Its mostly marketed towards people who are actually interested geared toward the hip-hop community, the biker community in getting a tattoo, but we also have for sale on the website, sets and the goth community. of artwork for tattoo shop owners If you look at the way the website is set up when you first go on it, and the way it reads What's the most popular design or line of designs you across the top, its mostly targeted toward the general public sell? who would be interested in looking for a tattoo design. You know, a lot of people go online to find designs that they want to Dragons and crosses are the two big ones. They are the most get tattooed on their body, so we thought, why not just create a searched for and the most downloaded. Second to that are the site where people can search for a design and not have to go female lower back designs in any form. Most of the ones we through the headache of having something that's not specifical- have are dragonfly or butterfly related, often with tribal designs ly designed to be ready for the tattoo artist to work with. incorporated. Those are really, really popular.

What do you think is the advantage of buying from Where does the art come from—who designs them? your site instead of the local tattoo artist? [My business partner] Victor and myself are both artists. We Instead of choosing your design at a shop, that sometimes have about a thousand designs of our own on the website. The might not be as aesthetic or comfortable as your own home, you rest of the designs are created by artists that we pay royalties to can do it from your computer. You can sit at your computer in as a part of the fee that we have on the site. We have guys that your living room, your bedroom, your dorm room, or wherever work for us from all over the world, as well as from the local you are and find a tattoo at your leisure. You still have to go to area. If you have a design that you want to send in to us, you the tattoo parlor once you print out our design, but the simple can go to our website and submit it to us and if its good artwork fact is that we have thousands of designs that a tattoo parlor and we like it, we will put it up for sale on our site. cannot showcase because they just don't have the wall space. What about tattoos is so cool? Instead of being pressured at the tattoo parlor, you can take some time at home in a relaxed environment [They’re] a great way of expressing yourself in a unique way to plan what you are going to have on your body for the that's part of you forever, that you take with you to your grave. rest of your life. I think it's a very personal means of expression. There tends to be a trendy element to it, but tattoos are here to stay because Right, for some people, tattoo shops can be a little intimidating there is such a primal appeal. if they are going for the first time. They might not see any designs they like or they might get pressured from friends to get C 39 CM issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:11 PM Page 42

interviews galore! ...Thou$and- -Dollar Baby

~by Rachel Ellner Boston, MA

utside of Hollywood, there's never been a million dol- motorcycle repair shop. Home. lar baby in female boxing. Not even Laila Ali, Jacqui George Oliver Lawson DeShong doubled as an evangelist. Frazier-Lyde or Freeda Foreman, the celebrity daugh- He died before his daughter dominated women's boxing, but o ters of boxing greats, ever had those paydays. And Andrea remembers his anxiety when she fought. It made no dif- gritty women with real boxing talent have fared even worse. ference that he'd raised her strong and tough. She might as well Andrea “Sweet Feet” DeShong, a former world champion, have been small and dainty, the way he worried. is one of them. Like other great fighters, she has won many “What kinda man would I have been if I had disapproved of fights and lost few. And, as with many of them—Jim Jeffries, her fighting,” he said, “if I hadn't taught her to hunt and fish Jack Dempsey, Jess Willard, Tony Zale—the harsh necessity of and to ride motorcycles I fixed up?" manual labor developed her strength. Whatever ye doeth with thine hand, doeth with all thy The Ohio River Valley, a place of fertile farmland and might, Andrea's father had preached to his daughter, and she used-up mines, steel mills and $60,000 homes, marks did just that. “I always climbed higher, ran faste. I dove when DeShong—and comforts her. She returns, after wins and loss- others jumped. I raced motorcycles when women only rode on es, to Mingo Junction, Ohio. She drives by Hillsborough the back of them,” DeShong said as she enters her house to Tavern, where her fights are shown on the big screen, past speak with me. It is a home full of prayers, mixed berry jam and Mingo Creek, and up Wilson Road to her father's now-silent homemade biscuits. The beds upstairs have sheets so starched

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would pull weights over his head into crunches while Andrea punched him in the gut on his way up. DeShong knew instinc- tively how to throw her body into a punch; Furry taught her to transfer weight from her right leg into her right hand to set up for a left hook. She began competing in amateur boxing match- es with Furry in her corner and something to prove. * Christened “Sweet Feet,” DeShong started out fighting in Tough Woman Contests—rowdy events held at racetracks and local arenas. In 1984 she beat all her opponents with left-hook knockouts to become champion. DeShong turned pro in March 1989, and her early fights—like her professional debut in Wheeling, West Virginia, where she knocked out Angel Horton in one minute and twenty-five seconds—resembled the con- densed dramas of her amateur career. “She wasted everyone in one or two rounds,” saidFurry. In the world of women's professional boxing, Andrea's name will be forever linked with that of Christy Martin, a schoolteacher from West Virginia. Martin was the first female boxer to show television audiences what a woman could do with a pair of 12-ounce mitts and her own raw brutality. She became widely criticized for not taking on competent challengers, as well as for nasty talk about her opponents' sexuality—often questioning whether they were, in fact, women. they might stand straight up. In interviews, Martin talked of the importance of wearing A male boxer of Andrea's accomplishment—31 wins, 1 loss, makeup, doing housework and being submissive outside the 17 knockouts as an amateur and 16 wins, 5 losses, 6 knockouts ring, especially to her husband Jim. She is rightly credited for as a pro—would come home to a Mingo Junction maybe once a using her high profile exposure to whip up enthusiasm among year to visit his momma. But DeShong takes care of her family audiences previously squeamish about women's boxing. and gives the locals of this slowly shrinking town of 3,500 a rea- Then DeShong overwhelmed Martin in their 1988 and son to feel proud. She gets reactions at restaurants, beauty 1989 meetings. Martin's college friends loudly rooted for her, salons, sports bars and malls throughout Ohio; kids ask for but their support was no match for DeShong's ability and rapid- autographs. fire combinations. “Everyone knows her from Youngstown to Marietta, from The day after a fight, though, Andrea was back at her facto- Dayton to Wheeling as the toughest, baddest-ass fighter there ry job. In May 1991, after eight years at Arrow Plastics, ever was,” said Chris Furry, a former professional boxer and DeShong began feeling weakness in her arms and hands. As she one of her two trainers. trimmed a part with a utility knife, a sharp pain ripped through Yet DeShong has a non-discriminating, flirtatious charm. her neck. Doctors diagnosed her condition as severe repetitive Her sky-blue eyes and dimples silently suggest, “Whaddya say stress syndrome, and she was out of work for nearly a year with- the two of us meet up later?” out pay. Company lawyers argued successfully at a court hear- But not to male fans who hit on her, because DeShong's ing on workers' compensation that Arrow Plastics could not be gay. She long kept it tightly in a closet for a long time, and when held accountable for the injuries of a professional boxer. she told her parents, her father came down hard. There were no Despite her status as the highest-profile female profession- meager punishments in that house,“ Furry said. “I tried for al boxer of the day, DeShong's matches commanded feeble years to change her. It didn't work. I was infatuated with her. I purses, her salary of seven dollars per hour as a press operator still feel a glint of it.“ DeShong was seventeen when her father had paid for trainers, gym time, hand wraps, head gear, boxing told her to leave. She ended up in Cambridge, Ohio, where her gloves, boxing boots, vitamin supplements and transportation life took a decisive turn toward the ring. to sparring sessions. Despite her status as the highest-profile At the Racquet Fitness Center on Gaston Avenue, Furry female professional boxer of the day, her matches commanded

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feeble purses. Discouraged and beaten by circumstances out- side the ring, a month after losing her job, she left boxing. The best female boxer of the 1980s retired, believing she would Pr never return. Several y To recover from her injuries, DeShong experimented with stage at natural medicines. “I grew up seeing disease and injury as leav- suggeste ing people helpless,” she said. “Participating in my own healing feature f was a welcome concept.” She obtained a massage therapy Washing license and set up her own practice, which attracted coal min- icle his e ers, professors, doctors, preachers, nurses, steel workers, describes

lawyers, secretaries, construction workers, and cable commu- ...the and Port nication workers. “Every strained muscle or stiff joint that peo- ple came in with I knew about, as well as neck, shoulder and leg pains and soft tissue damage. Often I could put my hands on where they hurt and describe their pain.” In 1995, DeShong watched Christy Martin fight Deirdre Gogarty on national television. The bout was to be an event- warmer for a championship fight between Mike Tyson and Frank Bruno. Tyson was washed up, so his knockout of Frank Bruno was easily upstaged that night by two women who used their allotted time in the ring to demonstrate an array of heated offensive skills. It became a milestone in women's boxing. Andrea DeShong felt the itch. * She acknowledged that her best boxing days were behind her, yet the honor of fighting at Madison Square Garden—the Mecca of boxing—in its first women's professional boxing match was too compelling to resist. On that August 20, 1997, DeShong was already 35. Walking toward the majestic square ring outlined by royal red ropes, she caught the end of another sort of competition: a Native American dance contest. She had seen these often at home, where the Seneca, Shawnee, Delaware, Wyandotte and Iroquois tribes still dance. Different tribes in costumes com- pete, but only the winner is told privately of his or her victory, which forces the crowd to consider each dancer individually. If only the pending match could be judged that way, DeShong thought, turning toward the ring's corner where her father might have stood. In the weeks preceding the event, Deshong and her oppo- nent, a 26-year-old Long Island, New York, native named Kathy “Wild Cat” Collins, appeared on network shows to talk up the fight. Everyone with an opinion on women's boxing seemed to have weighed in. DeShong dominated the early rounds, although Collins was no walkover. They fought tight, inside, with calculated punches and careful angling. But in the fifth, sixth and seventh rounds, DeShong became winded. In the end, the 9-year age difference between them cost her the fight. After Collins was declared the winner, DeShong exited, oblivious to the applause. The audience, this time, didn't seem to care who won or lost.

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interviews galore! ~by Kevin Hylton Prolific Playwright New York, NY Several years ago, Stephen Belber's play Tape—a very angry, visceral play with twists and turns akin to a Shepard or Albee work—took to the stage at the Jose Quintero Theater on West 42nd Street in New York City. Academy Award-nominated actor Ethan Hawke noticed the play and suggested that his filmmaking friend Richard Linklater (director of SubUrbia, Waking Life, and Dazed and Confused) turn it into a low-budget feature film. The screen version ended up starring Hawke and his then-wife Uma Thurman, as well as Robert Sean Leonard. Belber, a native Washingtonian and graduate of Julliard's Playwriting program with Pulitzer Winner Dave Auburn. Kevin Hylton met with Belber to chron- icle his evolution as a playwright moving from CBGB's back room to, most recently, a Broadway stage with his play Match, which Belber describes as being infused with “a sense of these two worlds colliding.” [Editor’s note: The images on this page depict actors Anthony Mackie ...the and Portia in scenes from McReele, Stephen Belber’s new production for the Roundabout Theatre Company, running through May 1st in NYC.]

How the hell do you write so much? I read in one earli- er interview that you had six plays produced in 1998 alone, and by the same year you had already had twen- ty plays produced in New York.

That was a particularly good year. I'm sure it's a flaw because none of them are particularly historically important documents. I do envy those guys who write one play every three years and it's a fucking masterpiece. That being said I do like to sit and crank it out, and I like to write on instinct. I can write twenty pieces and maybe if I'm lucky one of them happens to hit a chord with the audience.

Your plays frequently have a smaller cast and make use of a small space than most Broadway productions. I saw Tape produced at a very small Off-Broadway the- atre and felt like a small venue was vital to its success.

It's true, I don't think Tape would ever have worked on Broadway. But although Match has only three characters, it felt bigger because literally the topic is bigger. Tape was about ambiguity and minutia really, and Match is about larger forces at work with bigger themes in terms of family and art and isolation- How did Ray Liotta and Jane Adams end up in Match? ism. I've been accused of Match being a sentimental play, which People were like, “We need a star, we need a star.” I have to say is true. I'm a sentimental guy, and so when you get in a bigger I came up with his name because he had that type of star quality venue maybe you can play with bigger emotions and less with they were looking for but also he was perfect for the part. So “clever-intrigue” type of plays. If Tape is characterized as any- many times when you're looking for star quality you sacrifice thing it's sort of about your inability to put your finger on some- that. I literally went home and my friend had some movie index thing. And in Match you can put your finger on something very guide and I looked under all people under that age. I went precisely but it doesn't necessarily get you where you want to go. through it page by page until, “Oh, fucking Ray Liotta.” And luckily we got him, because it's not as big a part as Frank's but it's as vital. He had a personal connection to it, I think, and he was the first person we went to.s.

TV and film are far more purely visual media than the- ater. Theater allows for long dialog-based scenes that are typically frowned upon by film audiences and exec- utives. When you work on a script for television or for film do you find that you just turn off the theater switch and turn on the cinematic one?

When I wrote Tape, [I] was literally taking my script and filming it as a movie. But when I wrote the Chet Baker draft I had to think cinematically and think visually. So yeah, you think visual- ly but the nice thing about working with Richard [Linklater] is that you can approach film scripts differently than you would for a major studio. With Richard if there are places where extended dialog is warranted, it's ok. It's ok if there is a ten-minute dialog based scene. So, I only have to turn the film switch on a little bit. issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/0512:11PMPage46 44 her ownfamilyquestionthemotives behindheractivism.When lic placestreathertotheawkward factthatsomemembersof most trivialaspectsofherdaily life,fromhowstrangersinpub- protects. Oursociety'simage-consciousness pervadeseventhe membership intheminoritygroupthatheractivismserves and equal rightsforpeoplewithdisabilitiesisheightenedby her ceived aslessablebyco-workers.Herpassionforpolitics and wheelchair accessibilitytotheofficeorthreatofbeing per- serious physicaldisability.Workiscomplicatedbyissues like ity. ness, sheisunabletowalkandreliesonapowerchairformobil- characterized byprogressivemuscledeteriorationandweak- spinal muscularatrophy,atypeofdystrophythat is mal andcapable:shecan'twalk.Diagnosedasatoddler with that makesitdifficultforpeopletoperceiveherasequally nor- yours andofmine,thereissomethinguniqueaboutGina'slife conversation amonggood,normalfriends. we quicklyestablishedthekindofrapportyouwouldexpectina Affably sharingstoriesaboutthingslikework,politics,andsex, was thatofabright,strong,andimpassionedyoungwoman. Citizen Culture b

Day-to-day routinesarecomplicatedbythevisibilityof But assimilarherexperiencesandinterestsmaybeto When wefinallyfoundtimetochat,myimpressionofGina ...the

finding freetimeinherscheduletotalkwithme. lenging partofinterviewingGinaSemenzawas ment, andbalancingasociallife,themostchal- for aweekendtriptoAtlantasoccertourna- spondent forU.S.SenatorBarbaraBoxer,packing etween workingfull-timeasalegislativecorre- CrusaderCrusader ~by LaurenGormley New York,NY her opportunitytoparticipate intheprogram. she wonanappeal,thistimeaided byfellowadvocates,andwon ty asaninsurance“liability”they wereunwillingtotake.Again a studyabroadprogramatOxford,England,citingherdisabili- when thesameuniversityattemptedtodenyherparticipation in through advocacyandpersistence,”Ginasaid. empowering toseethechangesthatcouldbebroughtabout make itmoreaccessibleforpeoplewithdisabilities.“It was equip theentirecampuswithcurbcutsandotherfeatures to cost andspentthousandsofdollarsonaconstructionproject to University providedherwithadequatehousingatnoadditional tions bemade.Persistenceandactionprevailed,as the angry, shespokeoutanddemandedthatproperaccommoda- and insufficientcurbcutsoncampussidewalks.Frustrated and pounded byinadequatehandicapfacilitiesinherresidencehall found thetypicaldemandsthatnewcollegestudentsfacecom- 1999) atLoyolaMarymountUniversityinLosAngeles.She she's committedtoevokingchangeandjustice. and herdedicationtosocialreformaresomeofthemanyways activism andadvocacyforequalitypeoplewithdisabilities, resume especiallyimpressive.Herleadershipinitiatives, remarkable achievementsandvictoriesthatmakeherlife's ern dating. ability furthercomplicatesthealreadycomplexterrainofmod- it comestoromanticrelationships,thematterofsheerphysical A newfoundappreciationof her ownabilitytochallenge Later shefacedanotheroppressiveformofdiscrimination Gina’s direcalltoactioncameduringherfreshmenyear(in And unlikeyourtypical23-year-old,Ginahassome issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:11 PM Page 47

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injustices and affect real changes fueled later crusades against some of the biggest businesses in Southern California. After confronting—on more than one occasion—a popular supermarket chain about their blocked and locked handicap- accessible entrances, Gina engaged them in a full-fleged legal battle. The matter was recently settled out of court, with the accessibility issue resolved. She also challenged an international restaurant chain when their restrooms fell short of Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility standards. Fortunately, she said, “there was a great manager, and they spent a couple hundred thousand dol- lars to redo the bathrooms with extra lifts.” Currently, in addition to bringing a fresh perspective on disability to her job in Senator Boxer's office and continuing to advocate in informal capacities, Gina also participates on the Youth Advisory Council of the National Council on Disability, in Washington, D.C. She is advising the California Deprtment of Rehabilitation as they develop a grant-funded mentoring program for young people with disabilities. “What I'm most proud of—what I can visibly see—are architectural changes that would not have been done if I had not gotten pissed off and done something about it. Those are things I know people will use, and there are tons of things that I use, day in and day out, and I have an appreciation for that.”. But that's not enough. “Physical obstacles are a symptom of the problem,” Gina explained. “The real problem is igno- rance and lack of understanding.” So while she takes pride in the changes her efforts have catalyzed, “it's not what makes me happy when I wake up in the morning.” Instead, her efforts focus on affecting quality of life for people with disabilities, engaging whomever will listen— and many who won’t—in candid discussions of what it means to have a disability, and belying every possible stereotype and stigma. The only way to ameliorate the ignorance at the root of the problem is to challenge status quo understandings.

For Gina, “it's not about being* a hero or being amazing. I'm just trying to live like everyone else.” Her disability pres- ents obstacles that, rather than knocking her spirit, reinforce her proclivity towards activism. But the relationship is not a causal one. Gina describes a drive to advocate and lead as the crux of her being. “It's part of me. It's enriched my life and opened my eyes to understanding what justice and equality look like,” she said. The imperative has been guiding her since the days-seemingly so long ago- when, as an angry seventh grader, she denounced the unkind ways she witnessed kids treating each other in a letter to the school principal. In her quest to prove to the world that she's just an average girl, she's proved that she's anything but. A zealous leader, a fervid and obstinate activist, an empathetic and considerate mentor, and a dedicated and compassionate soul, it is difficult to associate Gina with “normal.” Ardent social compassion and a promising ascent into pol- itics aside, Gina really is just a regular girl-living her life, bat- tling flaws and insecurities, looking hopefully to the future, and refusing to let anyone, herself included, get her down.

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SPECIAL FASHION SECTION: A Follow-Up to Fashion Week

We saw it as a fact borne out by global news reports: *

Corporatization—mergers, acquisitons, and feuds between business and creative—is ever-further consolidating the world’s seminal fashion houses from their highest levels down. But up-and-coming talents won’t be suppressed by cost-cutting and stock projections, so we are in the midst of a profound upswell of undeground fashion artistry, from clothing to accessories to attitude.

The avant garde—the stylish and trend-setting—has always swelled from the bottom-up as an organic response to “high society.” (Witness the “gentrification” of neighborhoods that earn their cool once the permanently cash-strapped artists move in.) There is something rebellious about independent fashion, an integrity and ambition that screams “I’d rather go undeground than suppress my imagination to follow the status quo.” Fashion, of course, is about getting noticed—and pulling it off with style and taste.

In the past, designers from Fashion Avenue (in New York City) to Melrose Avenue (in Los Angeles) to New Bond Street (in London) have striven to push the envelope a little further with every season, earning consumer popularity (even a celebrity fan) but little industry acceptance. The difference this year, however, is that instead of breaking the large houses’ molds, new talented designers are producing ready-to-wear alternatives to the major labels’ offerings. In other words, the only “rules” that the Next Wave is breaking is the one that tells them the current fashion marketplace is full.

They aren’t blazing well-worn paths alone. Organizations like Gen Art (profiled overleaf) and the Polo Jeans Company’s G.I.V.E. program— which stands for GET INVOLVED. VOLUNTEER. EXCEED., and showcases through Polo Jeans advertising some of the beautiful people who lend thir time and heart to the worthiest of social causes—exist with a mandate to open doors to the best of the undiscovered or underfinanced best. (It’s a shared mission that Citizen Culture Magazine holds dear.) This special fashion section focuses on a handful of the independent creators driving fashion forward; their latent talent, professional savvy, and success thus far should inspire the next round. ~ J. S. F., for the Editors

~by Meg Hemphill The Rise of the New York, NY INDEPENDENT ndie filmmakers couldn’t get exposure for their films: that In a word: difficult. Such is life for most budding design- was their big problem. (Exposure means audiences pay to ers. If designing were only about sitting down with a sketchpad see the film, big studios get interested, and they sign an and either sewing oneself or having the manual labor contract- iimpressive contract with the filmmaker, which is followed by an ed out, most designers could probably handle it. But there’s impressive profile in Entertainment Weekly.) much more involved: finding a place to show your items, get- Solution: Aspiring moviemakers submit their films to festi- ting buyers interested in the product so that they want to carry vals. There are plenty of them these days: from Venice to it in their shops, and then all the business logistics of figuring Toronto to . At the festivals, how much of each item to make, shipping the items, pricing, unknown filmmakers have a chance to break into a most com- staffing, and so on. petitive industry. Chris Anthony, an event promoter who plans small fashion Happy Ending: movies like Almost Famous and Sideways shows in New York City bars, says: “It’s a dog-ass task to make become critically acclaimed, audience approved, and Oscar something and then have to promote it at the same time, and worthy. designers can’t afford publicists most of the time.” Therefore, Too bad film doesn’t always translate to real life—specifi- talent stays hidden. “There are designers who are doing amaz- cally fashion life. No, dahlings, in the fashion scene things are ing things, but no one knows about them. They might be work- a bit more difficult for underexposed designers looking to make ing out of their apartment in Brooklyn and selling to their it in Donnatella and Ralph’s world. These days, clothing labels friends, and they might be the next Vivienne Tam.” are followed by an NYSE ticker symbol; fashion news is found Their talent is usually undeniable. Friends tell Cass Estes, less often in the Style section of the New York Times than in a designer out of Hood River, Oregon (60 miles east of the Business pages. Tommy Hilfiger recently bought the rights Portland), that people stop them on the street and ask about the to the name Karl Lagerfeld, and companies like LVMH, Jones original clothes she designs. Estes describes them as “outdoor Apparel Group and Gucci Group rule ever-expanding empires. wear-meets-high fashion.” “I sell things by word-of-mouth and Where does that leave the indie designer who doesn’t have referral and not so much in boutiques because it’s hard to get Cannes and Sundance and Tribeca? In a field that’s difficult to into that world,” she says. crack, some designers find that the conglomeration of fashion Like most indie designers, Estes’s clothes are appealing to houses leaves them with even fewer opportunities— but some many people, but she can’t get them in front of a conventional believe they are left with more than before. audience. There are a few reasons for that: one is pricing. Small designers don’t have the efficiency and cost-cutting * options of mass production and therefore have to charge high 48 Citizen Culture issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:12 PM Page 51

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prices to turn a profit. High-priced indie pieces are harder to the cost of shows for up-and-comers. Promoter Chris Anthony sell in most retail outlets, especially if the label is unknown. says: “Corporate sponsors want to be associated with some- Another reason is that buyers usually like to stick to trends thing interesting and exciting and there’s a lot of great stuff a and not veer too much from the popular items shown in fashion designer can do with that support.” For instance, a wine com- magazines. And what is popular is dictated by mainstream pany, Brand X, will give a designer money to have a show and fashion designers, mostly in New York. What happens is that the designer gets full control over decisions, except that Brand the big designers show their lines at Bryant Park, where fashion X wine has to be served at the show’s after-party. week is held (picture giant tents with shows inside, the occa- People all over the country are getting a glimpse into the sional celeb strutting in, and stalkarazzi outside waiting for opportunity given to aspiring designers on the Bravo Network’s their prey). The similarities among these high-fashion lines reality show Project Runway (whose corporate sponsor is establish the trends, thanks to the media. What trickles into the Banana Republic). Of course it has to be taken with a grain of stores, especially discount stores like H&M, becomes wildly reality TV salt, but never before has independent fashion been popular, what everyone from teeny-boppers to trendy moms broadcast on such a level. will wear the following season. Boutiques large and small are often willing to showcase Building simliarities into the various lines a parent compa- unknown designers. That’s one thing that Cronick looks for- ny owns is a fast track to becoming next season’s must-have ward to about his own store: he plans to showcase two lesser- item: the designs become automatic runway trends. That known designers on a regular rotation. “For me, it was difficult leaves indie designers in places like New York, where fashion is to get into stores so I want to give others the opportunity to dominant and dominated by large corporations, to vye for win- have the start that was so hard for me to get.” dow space against major, multiple-label-owning companies. Cronick also has a publicist, which is something that most With conglomerate fashion houses dictating trends, many designers can’t afford. “You definitely need one,” he says. “I in the underground fashion scene think they are consigned to don’t pay her a ton–but once I make more money, then I can hill fewer opportunities to stand out. Others designers they find pay more.” While his publicist has helped him get exposure more opportunities when they look to the runway less traveled. during market week in L.A., a personal friend helped him get NY “It seems like everyone is joining with everybody,” says Estes. his handbags into the MTV Video Music Award celebrity gift “They just run the show so they create all the trends, which bag. Always a good thing to add your bag to the schwag. makes it harder for an independent designer to be seen when they have so little power or control.” That’s also why Estes likes working in a small town. “When I go to L.A. and other big cities, Unless your father is a *former Beatle, most aspiring everything starts to look the same,” she explains. “Everyone’s designers don’t have a direct route to Fashion Week to show- got on a negligee top and low rider jeans and heels. Being in the case their talents. Stella McCartney was lucky, but talented as middle of nowhere filters away some of those influences that well. Everyone starts somewhere. Coco Chanelbegan by selling can be so strong.” hats out of a small store in Paris. Tara Subkoff dropped out of design school and became the indie darling of fashion (think * Parker Posey) with her line Imitation of Christ: Subakoff’s suc- Seventh Avenue is New York City’s fashion district: where cessful Bryant Park showcase featured a celeb-filled front row. the corporate houses are headquartered, where the big show- Although it is many designers’ goal, not everyone wants to rooms call home.While it’s a hard place to get to (figuratively, go mainstream. “I want to design and create my own stuff and not literally, since there’s a cab on every block), there are plen- make enough money to live my life comfortably,” says Cronick. ty of other options for indie designers who want to showcase “I don’t necessarily want to be rich or have a giant corporation; their work, either for public consumption or for professional I want to exist doing my own thing.” buyers from corporate retail. Cass Estes, who wants to remain in Oregon and continue Most major American cities have some group fashion designing on a small scale, remembers when she had an infor- show or an organization that designers can tap to help garner mational interview at a large sportswear company. “There was exposure. Some are independent efforts, as promoters aug- someone telling the designers that the sleeve was too long and ment their reputations in time with the designers they show- that kind of thing. I could never do that–I need more freedom. case. In January, Anthony and an ex-girlfriend coordinated a It’s important to look at how you want each day in your life to well-acclaimed fashion show for five indie designers in New be–if you want to sit and design according to someone else, York. Emily Baker, a jewelry designer in Seattle, says: “It’s a then maybe a big company is good for you.” great network and rich community.” She finds out about shows Most indie designers have a focus on what they want to do throughout the Northwest by searching online. with their futures, aspiring to be the next Donna Karan or to sell Eureka! Opportunity. Twenty-six-year-old Scott Cronick, handmade earrings at a flea market. Like round or pointy-toed who is primarily an accessories designer, is about to open his stilettos, it all ends up a matter of choice. own store in New York City’s East Village. He, like others, thinks the conglomerate houses open the door for indie design- ers. “It’ll give us more opportunity in the end because people will get bored with the shit that’s out there because it all looks the same,” Cronick says. “I want to add flavor to that stuff–something unique.” Different often does stand out in the fashion world. It gets attention, especially from corporate sponsors, who often front

C 49 CM issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:12 PM Page 52 re- -eration ~by Kelly Bumleve Boston, MA

ccording to Santa Monica gallery owner G. Ray high school, Gen Art was open for business. The trio recruited Hawkins: “All art comes from the same seed. Some take Andrea Crane, who was working at Sotheby’s after completing a that seed and become artists, while others take that seed masters in art history at the University of Chicago, and built an aand become collectors.” Ian Gerard did neither. He took that advisory board of renowned artists such as Christo, William seed and created an entire ecosystem—from his dorm room. Wegman, and Louise Bourgeouis—artists wanting to give Rejecting the slacker stereotype of Generation X, Gerard something back to the next generation. Gen Art’s advisory embraced the struggling economy of the early ‘90s and offered board and some diligent volunteers threw a successful benefit a realistic solution. He founded Gen Art (Art of the Next in early1994 that not only raised funds but also racked up Generation) in 1993. Debuting as a platform to expose young enthusiasm for the organization. That same year, Gen Art host- artists when mainstream galleries had turned their backs, Gen ed its first exhibition, showcasing young artists at Manhattan’s Art—which now promotes visual artists, fashion designers, Christinerose Gallery. filmmakers, and musicians—created a niche in the industry and Before they knew it, fashion came knocking on their has blossomed into a mosaic of altruism. door, with film and music not too far behind. In addition to granting professional amnesty to young artists, the mew non- profit took on the role of fashion’s fairy godmother, launching In a year when greed was* out and grunge was in, the the careers of Shoshanna, Julie Chaiken, Rebecca Taylor, and newly defined Generation X had swallowed enough baby Zac Posen. In 1996, Gen Art extended its fraternal arms to boomer, wanton innocence. The focus on commercialism and indie filmmakers lacking funds. It held its first Film Festival in industry during the ‘70s and ‘80s led to quandaries—recent a Bollywood theater; this April Gen Art will host its 10th Annual grads found themselves in a job market overgrown with hope- Film Festival at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York City. Most lessness. But just as society was labeling Generation X a bunch recently added to the living mosaic: DJs and live musicians of alienated, disgruntled youths with multiple body piercings, have an opportunity to showcase their skills at Gen Art’s annu- Ian Gerard was considering how his peers could support each al DJ Spin Off and Exposed New Music Series. other. “A lot of my friends were fine arts majors,” says Gerard. “When we graduated [from Vasser college] in 1990, we ran right smack into the recession. I was very aware of how difficult You don’t have to be *rich or famous to attend a Gen it was for young artists to get started.” Art event. You don’t even need ownership of a single pair of The original concept for Gen Art emerged from Manolos or an abstract expressionist print. All you need is a Gerard’s notion that young professionals with mildly dispos- genuine interest and a reasonably priced ticket—although a able incomes could own original art and help their peers strug- Gen Art membership always helps, too. gling to make a living in the art world. Young visual artists were Gen Art seeks the audience that might feel unwelcome having difficulty convincing galleries to take a chance on them. in the artistic community. Gerard, himself an outsider at Gen At the same time in New York, young professionals were seek- Art’s conception, understands intimidation. “We wanted [art] ing original art, but couldn’t afford SoHo price tags. In expos- to be accessible and affordable,” he says. “We weren’t really ing the needs of his peers and framing an alliance, Gerard’s Gen catering to the art world. We were catering to anybody who Art became a generational empowerment. liked art. It’s hard to believe that what once began with just five “Our mission,” Gerard adds, “is to showcase emerging thousand dollars in borrowed money, a single laptop, a fax talent of one generation and actively support it, while providing machine, plus three Gen-Xers in a dorm kitchen, has since access to the consumers.” changed the lives of over 150 fashion designers, 200 filmmak- Speaking of consumers, let’s not forget the sponsors. ers, and 500 visual artists. Market savvy companies would be foolish not to court Gen Art’s Gerard was in a key position to bridge the worlds of his loyal following of twenty-one to thirty-five-year-olds—corpo- old friends struggling in the art world and professional peers at rate America’s darlings. Major sponsorship from brands such law school. After running the idea past his brother, Stefan, who as L’Oreal Feria and Acura enable Gen Art to hold events at at the time worked in publishing, and bringing on Melissa some of the hottest venues and award ten thousand dollar cash Neumann, a 23-year-old analyst whom Gerard had known from prizes. In creating this symbiotic relationship, Gen Art 50 Citizen Culture issue5-FINAL2.qxd 4/1/05 1:18 PM Page 53

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acknowledges its reliance on consumerism without shame. provide a platform that will help inform a more national audience Gen Art enables artists to focus their energies on creat- about the arts," andinclude art enthusiasts from of all walks of life ing, rather than on getting their work out in the public eye, a task in its non-exclusive haven for creative talent. that can be prohibitively expensive. Filmmaker Matt Goldman The world of art is currently ablaze, with significant believes that the organization “offers a backdoor to success by thanks due to Gen Art. In sowing the seeds for the next genera- giving the filmmaker screenings to the general public. That way a tion, the Gerarad brothers and their company have planted an art film can be seen and hopefully the word can be spread so that world accessible to everyone. That’s not to say the wild world of eventually the industry will have to notice.” Goldman premiered creativity has been tamed—its still a jungle out there—but at least his film The Perpetual Life of Jim Albers at Gen Art’s Chrysler- a path has been paved for the less rugged to enjoy. sponsored PT studios event in 2003. After showing with Gen Art, his film featured at that year's Sundance Film Festival. Fashion designer Katie Zorn attributes much of her suc- cess to Gen Art as well. “Without them, I wouldn’t have had some of the great opportunities that have crossed my path. I have had some of my most exciting and proudest moments professionally ShowingShowing OffOff thethe NextNext WaveWave with them,” she says, after receiving positive press after her par- On December 3, 2004, Citizen Culture Magazine ticipation in both Gen Art’s International Styles Competition in 2004 and the 10th annual Fresh Faces of Fashion runway show. launched Issue #3—the Entertainment Issue—with a With Gen Art’s help, Katie learned that even though “the business fashion show to showcase up-and-coming of fashion is a hard one . . . there is still a lot of fun to be had, and independent design talents. there are many other [designers] in the same boat.” She is cur- rently working on her fall and winter lookbook, featuring designs The 300+ person party, which was held at the club that enhance the beauty and independence of modern women. Avalon (formerly Limelight) in New York City, In 2004, the nonprofit organization facilitated fashion’s role in pop culture. Working hard behind the scenes, Gen Art featured looks by To Tie For, Lacroix Designs, AR managed the open call for Bravo’s Project Runway, where Presence, and Kreations by Kahri. Fashion Director Mary Gehlhar was the lead judge to sit on the selection panel. NBC’s The Apprentice also sought out the expert The New York Observer newspaper promoted the opinion of Gen Art’s fashion division when selecting emerging event for us, while VIPs—including Kevin Young, designers for its fashion assignment. Olympic gold medalist and world record holder for In uniting the world of art under one supportive canopy, Gen Art breaks down existing boundaries within the art world, hurdles—enjoyed cocktails provided by Iceberg creating a synergy among the arts. “Each event promotes all the Vodka. Effects wizards Adams House Productions others. If they get good up-and-coming designers to participate supplied the models’ visual accompaniment. in their shows, it may help them to get like-minded filmmakers and artists and so on,” says Alfredo Cabrera, womenswear www.citizenculture.com/images designer and Gen Art alumni. Filmmaker Tom Putnam agrees. “They’re able to get people from these different areas to support one another and view one another’s work. That’s a special relationship that very few film festivals (if any) can claim.” Putnam’s short film Tom Hits His Head played at the Gen Art Film Festival in 2003. Since then, Filmmaker Magazine has featured him as one of the “25 New Faces of Independent Film.” Gen Art’s infusion of the arts into the mainstream is catching on—in some nightclubs, for instance, the term “cocktail” has taken a new meaning. No longer content with the bar scene, clubgoers are looking for more out of their cover charges. In San Francisco, you can party at 111 Minna, an art gallery by day and bar by night, and enjoy an array of entertainment: fashion shows, film screenings, and art openings. On the east coast, the Galapagos Art Space (and bar) in Brooklyn, New York, provides a Zen-like atmosphere for immersion into dance, film, visual art, live music, and, of course, beverage. But if crossing the bridge is too far a trek, Gen Art hosts its own multimedia festival. Catching fire this summer, Ignite! will feature emerging filmmakers, visual artists, DJs, and performance artists in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. As a source of financial aid, guidance, and information, Gen Art continues to change the lives of young fashion designers, filmmakers, musicians, and visual artists, while also supporting its alumni. Looking toward the future, Gerard says: “We hope to

Promotion issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:12 PM Page 54

15 Minutes with MaryMary Gehlhar:Gehlhar: Gen Art’s Fashion Director on Surmounting the State of the Industry

hy is it so difficult to make it as a fashion and press. We've even had designers set up a temporary show- designer in today's market? room in their hotel room to bring people in and hopefully sell to w them, and at the same time build a consumer audience. The Fashion is highly creative, but it’s ultimately a business. You one thing that sets Gen Art apart from runway shows is that we have creative talent that is bringing innovative new ideas, but aren’t just exclusive to the industry. The fashion press is there, stores are also looking for someone who can run a business, the buyers are there, the industry is there-but we also open it up manage the cash flow, and manage to produce the items they've to Gen Art members: people who aren't in those industries but designed with a high level of quality and get it to the stores on are very enthusiastic about new talent and fashion, and that time. Stores are taking a risk but they also are excited to get brings a whole energy to our shows that other shows don't have. new things to their customers. It's that combination of creativ- And that also starts to create a connection between the design- ity and the commercial that makes it difficult. er and the ultimate consumer.

What doesan organization like Gen Art offer buyers, How does an up-and-coming designer get the chance stores and other major players in the industry? to appear in a Gen Art show?

When editors and buyers are running to more than 160 fashion It depends on the show. Designers should first send us a look shows during fashion week it's hard for them to choose from all book or photos of what they design, and then they are all these names they've never heard of. Gen Art has become a well- reviewed. We work [in] a couple of different ways: for exam- known name to them, a source they can trust. They know the ple, the event we have coming up next is the Styles shows will be in a professionally produced venue and some Competition—in its 7th year—the Styles 2005 International place that is convenient for them, and even though they might Design Competition. There's actually an application on the not have heard of the designers in the show they've heard of website and all you have to do for that is submit photographs of Gen Art. And its because of that-the fact that we have been able two outfits (or two items if you are an accessories designer) and to provide a platform and it has been successful for many peo- you send those in with your application. In April we'll sit down ple, in addition to the industry support-we are out in the street with a group of about 25 market editors, retail buyers and styl- going to showrooms and studios, small stores, talking to editors ists from the industry who'll look at every single entry and score and buyers and really having a dialogue with the industry to them. That's how we pick the finalists who will be in the Styles help find the next new names. 2005 runway show in May. It's an international competition- People have come through Gen Art and have done well and last year we got over 700 entries form all over the world: 25 built businesses and have developed strong name recognition, countries and 25 U.S. states. people like Rebecca Taylor and Chaiken, Shoshanna and Zac Otherwise we work primarily from look books and photos. Posen and Louis Verdad, and when they first showed with Gen Anyone can submit to Gen Art. Generally, you should be Art no one had ever heard of them. They were brand new, we designing under your own label for seven years or less and ide- gave them the platform and they took the opportunity and ran ally (except for the Styles Competition) should be selling in at with it, and the industry responded. least one store; buyers from established stores want to know they could pick up the runway item and that the designer has a What types of expansion efforts has Gen Art taken to little experience delivering production to a store. reach beyond New York, and why? Our only competition is the Styles Competition I men- tioned. The Fresh Faces in Fashion show is the big anchor In addition to 10 years showing fashion in New York, we've event-it has been running in New York City for 10 years. We been showing new talent in LA for 7 years and have recently also do shows in LA, Chicago, San Francisco and Miami. In been not just showing local talent, but bringing some New York New York it's eight designers on the runway (six womenswear and Los Angeles alumni to shows in Miami, Chicago, and San designers, two menswear) and four accessories designers who Francisco. We've been doing that for 2 years. build their own installations at the event. It's their runway pre- There's an audience out there that is hungry for fashion mier. They each show a small collection, only 10 looks each, but and really excited to see something new. [The cities] are all this is their big break and they need to be ready. If someone markets where there is huge opportunity to really appeal to the from a store wants to write an order they should have a factory consumer audience-and also there's a big fashion culture there contact or way to produce that item. They should know their and good stores for the designers to sell in, so when we bring pricing and should be ready to do business. It's no longer just say, a designer from New York to Chicago or Miami, they can designing in the studio to be creative, it's realizing that in order not only do the runway show but [they] can meet with buyers to continue designing they have to sell those clothes.

52 Citizen Culture issue5-FINAL2.qxd 4/4/05 3:26 PM Page 55

Danza Fashions offers the fabulous style combination of exquisite fabric and intricate hand beading. Make a demure statement with our simply beautiful, Then there is the February Fashion Week show for three designers who are new but a little bit more established. They timeless and elegant dresses. have gotten a little buzz, have bigger collections, but still need that next level of exposure. Prom Social Occasion Cocktail Evening How does Gen Art make money? — — —

We are funded primarily through corporate sponsorship-part- nering with companies interested in supporting new talent and wanting to align with creative fields. The companies gain expo- sure to the audience we've built over the years: young, cutting edge, forward-thinking people who are interested in the new and the arts.

About how many people are applying to become a part of all this?

For the Fresh Faces shows we receive look books and press kits all year long, several every week. Our next Fresh Faces show is in September. In June we start going to studios and meeting designers and seeing samples. The quality is impor- tant—not just the idea and concept—the way the items are put together. We look for a collection: there can't be 5 things that are completely random, there has to be cohesiveness. And then we start narrowing it down.

What's the success rate of the people who have appeared in Gen Art fashion shows?

There have been people in our shows who are now out of business. That's just a reality of the business. It is difficult and frustrating. In fashion, sometimes an extremely talented designer might have great responses from the press and strong interest from the stores, but still can't keep the business going because of the difficulties of cash flow and the extraordinary investment it can take to get really going. It doesn't happen overnight. It takes several seasons. A designer the other day, 10 years into the business, told me that sometimes he has seasons when he doesn't break even and sometimes has seasons that are great. It is a very challenging business; a lot of peaks and val- leys as you go. It's always the business side—the cash flow issues—that becomes the detriment of even the most talented designers. There's a lot of pressure from the press to become an overnight success, but that's not really possible. It takes time to build a loyal customer base.

Does Gen Art help at all with coaching designers on the business side of the industry?

We have a business seminar series: the CFDA Gen Art Business of Fashion Seminar Series. It's free for the designers. They get business advice from experts in the industry: legal issues, incorporating, handling PR, how to pick a sales show- room, how to approach stores, financing. No one is really teaching those things, even in fashion school; they are learning the creative side but not the 101 on being an entrepreneur. We also have networking parties where designers can come and meet each other. Young designers are a great resource for each other, and they commiserate with each other well. ~T.M. Tel: 626-441-3919 Fax: 626-403-1687 www.danzafashion.com issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:12 PM Page 56

Vena Cava Designe ~by Anna Collins Washington, D.C. Sophie Buhai & L

ena Cava (pronounced VEE-nuh CA-vuh). Saying this out loud, one hears a melody of hard consonants alternating with v airy vowels. There is symmetry and mystery to Vena Cava, even if one is familiar with the medical term for the body's two largest blood vessels. It is the sound of Vena Cava, rather than the meaning (hollow cave), that compelled clothing designers Sophie Buhai and Lisa Mayock to adopt such a name for the design company they formed upon gradu- ating from Parson's in 2003. Just shy of two years later, Vena Cava has already held three well-received shows and will soon begin brainstorm- ing for Spring 2006. The young women (both are in their early twenties) grew up in Los Angeles, where they first met through a mutual friend the day before heading to New York's prestigious Parson's School of Design. Buhai and Mayock have in common a passion for clothes. More impor- tantly for their business, they share an aesthetic sensibility and design philosophy. A look at their lines for Spring and Fall 2004 reveals a taste that is both discreet and composed, as well as just bold enough—a suc- cessful combination that has garnered attention from Vogue, Elle, and The New York Times, among other publications. Most recently, they showed their collection for Spring 2005 through the patronage of emerging artist supporter Gen Art. With a presence in New York, Miami, San Francisco, and Chicago, Gen Art seeks new talent in fashion, film, music, and visual arts. (Learn Gen Art’s story on pages 50-54.) When Buhai and Mayock were approached by Gen Art to pres- ent a line for Spring 2005, they had two fashion shows and positive press behind them. The experience, however, would differ greatly from their previous shows, in that they were provided with significant pro- duction and technical support, which helped ensure a fluidity and smoothness to the program. For their previous shows, the pair worked on very low budgets and with the help of many of their friends. Gen Art gave them the opportunity and the challenge to create a line that would appeal to the audience—a mix of high-end fashion buyers, commercial and corporate fashion buyers, and investors—and display their brand identity. Of the latter, Buhai and Mayock has a firm grasp, even though theirs is a new brand. Buhai explains that Vena Cava produces clothing that women of different ages can wear: “Even though we are young, our mothers wear our designs; women of different body types wear our designs. Our clothes are quieter. We are really into the reality more than the fantasy of fashion.” Indeed, their three lines contain themes of understatement, elegance, and a playful kinship with detail. Their vision is infused with quietude. Perhaps it makes sense then, that their mission is to build their brand understatedly, steadily. The Gen Art collaboration has brought on exposure and the chance to do what they describe as a "more legitimate" show. Often, new designers suffer from overexposure or unrealistic expectations. Vena Cava seems aware of this pitfall, but maintains a course that seems to preclude hasty decline. They successfully delivered a show that was true to their identity and was understood by the bottom line-conscious audience. When asked how they achieved this, Buhai commended the individuals who worked on the music and the casting 54 Citizen Culture issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:12 PM Page 57 signers: ai & Lisa Mayock

for their show, two elements to which they were able to give special attention because of the funding provided by Gen Art. The cohesiveness his out of the music in the show and the look of the models is a lesson they have ng with taken with them and will employ in their next show in Spring 2006 a Cava, (which will be independent of Gen Art.) dy's two In the meantime, they are committed to filling orders for seven accounts, mostly small boutiques, in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, hollow and Japan, building their brand, and running a successful company. Mayock There is a sense of discipline in the team of designers-a small irony con- gradu- sidering their last collection was inspired by Baroness Elsa von Freytag- ava has Loringhoven, the mother of Dada whom some considered to be brilliant, storm- others crazy. Her use of ordinary objects in extraordinary adornments influenced their use of zippers that can't be unzipped and grommets w up in that can't be undone. Making functional objects un-functional allows he day them to be appreciated for their form. In this way and others, they sign Design. their clothing, yet they do so with restraint. "We start with small collec- impor- tions and improve upon them without upstaging them. Consistency is design the most important [thing]." a taste Buhai and Mayock agreed on “Vena Cava” because they want- —a suc- ed to avoid the obvious device of combining last names. It is by avoid- le, and ing the obvious that they have marched steadily forward with their y, they brand. Vena Cava has a strong, focused, young team pulsing with life nage of and carrying it forward creatively, one small collection at a time. w York, ashion, -54.) o pres- ositive ly from nt pro- ty and worked Gen Art t would mercial brand though lothing ng, our ear our y more ement, ed with o build on has a "more ealistic tains a livered bottom Buhai casting C 55 CM issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:12 PM Page 58 Designer: Lulu Frost Lisa Salzer

hat does an ambitious, just-out-of-college founder of a fashion start-up do these days? Call up Barneys New York? Leave a message and waltz right in the next day? w You do if you're Lisa Salzer, the woman behind Lulu Frost, an antique-inspired jewelry, accessories and clothing line. After she moved to New York City, Lisa phoned Barneys and was directed to a buyer's answering machine. She pitched Lulu Frost to the machine, gave the buyer the website information and any other details she could think of. The buyer called her back the very next day. They really liked her work, and could she come in as soon as possible? The following day, all her pieces in hand, Lisa found herself at Barneys, presenting her work to a group of buyers from one of the most exclusive stores in the world. She did not disappoint: you will find Lulu Frost's one-of-a-kind updated antique jewelry creations at Barneys New York, on the 7th floor Coop. Lisa started what would become Lulu Frost while a junior studying art history and studio art at Dartmouth. She began by making tee shirts and jewelry to for herself to wear. The pieces quickly caught on, and people throughout the Dartmouth community started buying. Pretty soon Lisa realized she had a business on her hands. Dartmouth— hardly a Mecca of the fashion-forward—was for Lisa the ideal place to start out without pressure. She incorporated in her senior year, and quickly learned that she needed help with the business side of things. She enrolled in business boot camp, in the form of Dartmouth's presti- gious Tuck School of Business summer course, and learned about pric- ing strategies, corporate financing and accounting-things left out of her art history education. For Lisa, the inevitable move to New York City came in early October, soon after graduation. Just six days after the move, the lifestyle website Daily Candy called with good news: they wanted to do a profile on Lulu Frost. The day the article ran Lisa received 25,000 hits on her website. She was officially catapulted onto the New York Scene. Lulu Frost—Lulu is Lisa's nickname and Frost is her late Grandmother's (and fellow style-enthusiast's) last name—is a fusion of the old and new. It is hand made, Victorian, art deco and art nouveau- inspired shirts, belts, and the jewel in the Lulu Frost crown: one-of-a- kind necklaces and earrings made of antiques, blended with modern

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design elements. Lisa finds the antiques in an array of places: from flea markets, garage sales and estate auctions to her grandmother's attic. "That's my hobby, my main love," she says, "finding beautiful old things that have been forgotten over time and resurrecting them and combin- ing them with modern elements into new things that people can wear again." Though orders have increased to the point of needing some of her work produced, and aside from the occasional PR freelance help and her small but loyal army of interns, Lisa is Lulu Frost. Prices vary: tanks tops and tee shirts run around $200, the reversible belts between $70 and $90, and the found-antique-based pieces of jewelry (the items on sale at Barneys) between $200 and $900. Despite Lisa's age, her clothes and accessories are by no means just for hipsters; sales assistants report that women of all ages and lifestyles have inquired about and bought her pieces. Lisa takes the most pride in the uniqueness of her work-different types of people can incorporate it with their own individual styles. Lisa plans to continue focusing more on her one-of-a-kind jew- elry. She has also started a men's accessory spin-off, Johnny Frost, which she hopes to develop further. This is a woman who dreams big: she'd like not only to be in many more stores throughout the U.S. and increase her overseas sales, but perhaps one day open her own store, maybe even create different companies. It hasn't all been a dream come true for Lisa Salzer and Lulu Frost. There are the boutiques for which the line is in the wrong price range. Then there are those buyers that fall squarely into the category "wrong place and wrong time." And Lisa hasn't seen much profit yet; most of the revenue has gone straight back into the business. But the story of this young upstart is overwhelmingly positive, almost discon- certingly so: magazines are calling now because of the Barneys stock. Orders are increasing. She foresees a small, permanent staff in the near future, and will apply to organizations like Gen Art to get her work in shows. Still in her early twenties, life is good for Lisa: "I'm really happy every day," she beams, "doing something which is my main passion in life, working for myself and making it happen." We should all be so lucky-or talented, as the case may be. ~T.M.

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eep your eyes open and you'll see more people wearing ties than just professionals, new wavers and punk revivalists. Amy Weis, founder of To Tie For, creates halter tops, bags and t-shirts out of funky men's ties (her website reads: "the k tackier the better"). Amy launched To Tie For in June 2004, after a seven-year stint in social work. Career changers take notice: To Tie For products can be found in stores in several states, and owners of her colorful, one-of-a-kind pieces include starlets Mandy Moore, Alicia Keyes, Sarah Jessica Parker and tennis über-star Serena Williams. How does a 32-year-old former social worker begin to turn flamboyant—and sometimes even gaudy—ties into stylish women's shirts and accessories? Well, by taking a hint. The first design Amy sketched was on a napkin in a restaurant. Her dad was getting rid of some old ties and she made a halter-top, then she started wearing it around. "People were stopping me on the street," Amy says, "and that made me realize it was really something." Today the halter-tops, which are priced at around $100 and are made from up to six ties, remain the most popular pieces she sells. The tank tops cost $50 and the denim, suede, and velvet bags go for $120. You can even customize a pur- chase—for a fee—by emailing suggestions or a theme to Amy; she’ll hunt down ties that fit your tastes. Amy has a relatively low overhead; she works out of her apart- ment and employs only three seamstresses. Customized orders or not, she spends much of her time looking for ties: scouring New York City, scouting in China, and trolling the Web. Searching is Amy's passion. There are challenges, however, in gaining industry respect—especially for a newcomer with no formal background in fashion. "One of the hardest things is getting my stuff into stores," Amy says, "because a lot of buyers treat smaller vendors as second class citizens." She is up against designers who have been working for years, either in major fashion houses or in fashion schools. Almost all of her profits have gone back into the business. To Tie For is sold in New York City's East Village boutique Tahir, as well as boutiques in New York, Georgia, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. Amy also sells at the Young Designers Market on Manhattan's Mulberry Street on Saturdays, and online. There are many opportunities on the horizon: Amy wants to start developing gowns, blazers, eveningwear, and perhaps even baby clothes. Her line will be featured on "Soap Talk," on the Soap Network, and she hopes a character on ABC's "General Hospital" will wear one of her designs. But one thing Amy doesn't foresee is making men's clothes—her ties belong on women. Amy is adamant about eschewing mass-production; keeping her clothes and accessories original and one-of-a-kind is a top priority. "I don't want to run a sweatshop or anything," Amy laughs. "I'd like to keep it small, but make enough money to have a nice, comfortable life." ~T.M..

Special fashion section reporting and profiles ~ by R.M. Schneiderman & Theo Mazumdar New York, NY Special fashion section coordinated 58 Citizen Culture ~ by Damien Power Boston, MA issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:13 PM Page 61

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C 59 CM issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:13 PM Page 62 Steelo M Designer: P Matt Levine t att Levine, 22, has created quite a buzz for himself as the over the country, pushing his way through every door, building up a founder of Steelo, a two-year-old independent men's fash- base clientele. ion line with products in the U.S., Japan, and Canada. And That was no easy task. But Steelo has an advantage: Levine's m he's partially colorblind. been throwing parties in New York City since high school, an invaluable Many onlookers might see this as a big disadvantage for some- aid that provides him with funding and "the type of PR that other com- one who spends all his time designing clothes (imagine of an opera panies would pay thousands for monthly." At his most recent party, singer who is slightly deaf), but not Levine. He thinks his colorblind- Levine says more than 2,500 people showed up. Nina Sky DJed the ness gives him a leg-up, a stylistic edge in what he describes as a fash- event and rap mogul Jermaine Dupri made an appearance. Not bad for ion world soaked in monotony and conformity. "There are all these a 22-year-old “kid.” rules," he says. "Like you can't do blacks and blues, you can't do pinks Now, Steelo can be found at better boutiques across the coun- in fall. All those [rules] don't apply. That's why we have fashion." try, stores such as Michael K in New York City, Skye in Denver, and Part-maverick, part-entrepreneur extraordinaire, Levine Beams in Tokyo. Levine's 2004 line (both spring and fall collections) doesn't simply want to carve out his own niche or create the next Old was a panoply of bright colors and boldly patterned plaids. The blazers Navy. He wants the public to embrace the vanguar, to dress the mass- would make Payne Stewart swoon, and the terry cloth shirts and zip ups es in his own eccentric vision. Levine says Paris Hilton, Lindsey Lohan, often ambiguously play off fame, with slogans such as "I love paparazzi" Andre 3000 and Quddus from MTV’s TRL are already rockin' his gear. and "I'm famous." Still, Levine says his next line will bring something It seems he's well on his way. totally different to the table. Eventually, he wants to start designing Levine created Steelo while attending Muhlenberg College, jeans. where he majored in business and started designing vintage t-shirts to But like an artist who never wants to see his vision tainted by sell on campus. "I devised the name Steelo cause I always had my own overproduction and mainstream mores, Levine wants Steelo to remain style," he says. "People would ask me: 'what are you rockin'?' I'd be like: an exclusive line for people who want a fashion forward look, for dudes 'that's my Steelo.'" With no formal background in fashion, Levine grad- who kick and scream and curse when they see someone walking down uated a semester early, ready to expand his business and learn more the street wearing the same shirt that's hanging in their closet. "Some about design. He moved back home to Long Island for the summer and of these other clothing lines just throw their logo on a regular polo col- enrolled in a class at FIT. lar," he says, "and people just buy it. I never want to get to that level. I But after the first day, he dropped the class and asked for a don't want to overwhelm the buyers. I want to be able to take off my tag refund. "You can't teach fashion," he says. "It's more something that and still sell this product because it's hot." you have in your mind." Levine then hucked his t-shirts to stores all ~R.M.S. issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:13 PM Page 63 Morbid Downtown Designer: ~by Meridith Rohana Patrik Rzepski New York, NY he establishment took notice when its paper of record covered twenty-year-old designer Patrik Rzepski's Spring/Summer 2004 show. In a rare moment of abandon, New York Times Editor Guy Trebay gushed that the collection was "a revelation, beautifully pieced from fabric fragments" and "classical, subdued and ingenious." But Patrik's influences t are far from traditional—he claims Myra Hindley, the notorious English murderess, as inspiration. The show began with a model in the role of Pauline Reade, one of the child victims Hindley left buried in the English countryside. The dress she wore may have been red linen in its previous life, but it was treated to appear bruised and sodden, as if it had just risen out of the earth. Another dress bore the slogan: "I Want Moor Myra." How could someone so young make clothing so sadly beautiful? My discussion with Patrik about what's important to an emerging young designer these days—including the burial of a dress, dressing Maggie Gyllenhaal, and a pants-optional social life—was conducted through that most modern of communcation methods: the Instant Message.

All of your collections have been inspired by violence and the desecration of inno- cence. What is it that draws you to these subjects?

I am drawn to layers, stories, things that aren't all on the surface. You literally have to dig to unearth meanings, concepts, and the story.

How does your mother, a child psychologist, feel about, say, your fascination with JonBenet Ramsey (muse for the Fall/Winter 2003 collection) ?

I'm not sure. I guess my fascination, as you say, has more to do with what I call the "rabbit in the headlights" scenario. I am intrigued by people who push others and by the people who are pushed into doing things that aren't consensual.

How did you come to dress the actress Maggie Gyllenhaal?

A friend of mine was styling her for some magazine and apparently she really loved this one prom dress I had done, and two weeks later I saw her on the street and introduced myself. A week later she called me and said she needed something for the Independent Spirit awards. Of course, that photograph showed up everywhere.

Any other celebs you'd care to dress?

Courtney Love—for personal reasons—Scarlett Johansson, Zooey Deschanel, Chloe Sevigny, and that girl from The Sweet Hereafter.

Where do you see your vision headed for the coming season?

It's all about the corruption of a fragile mind due to an unhealthy correspondence. Very new romantic.

Are you influenced by pop culture at all? By what you read or the movies you see?

Sure, but by the subtleties. I never take things literally and if I do they are very obscure. I may look at a movie and think of the clothes but for me it's much more about the situation the woman is in at that moment that dictates a mood or a feeling and I go from there. My current inspirations are death, depression and Kate Moss.

What's the hardest part of being a young designer? What would you do for money?

The money, or lack thereof. Rephrase to what wouldn't I do. issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:13 PM Page 64

peanut gallery critics—FILM PublicityPublicity & PrejPrej ~by Rebecca Keller Reading, PA

went to see Bride and Prejudice today.” Austen's Pride and Prejudice, boasts no key Hollywood players. “What's that?” My friend's “I think I saw something about that somewhere” (Long how-should-I-describe-this pause) comment suggests the film industry is saving its publicity “i “That colorful Indian movie with all the singing. You know, money for the mainstay let's-blow-things-up-and-call-it-enter- the one with that guy from Lost?” tainment films that continue to thrive in Hollywood along with “I think I saw something about that somewhere. I love Lost. predictable storylines and lukewarm characters. So, do you really think Hurley's numbers are bad luck?” The film’s premise is esteablished point blank within min- utes of its opening. The Bakshi Family of Amritsar, India is preparing to attend the equivalent of an American engagement What you've just read is an actual* conversation I had with a party/co-ed bridal shower/rehearsal dinner, and the mother friend recently—an exchange that left me startlingly irritated. makes clear to her four daughters that the party should be more My friend's inability to focus wasn't what fueled my aggrava- business than pleasure. Especially for Jaya and Lalita, the two tion, though: should I fault her for wanting to steer the direction eldest daughters, who are of marrying age and should see this of our dialogue away from a subject that was completely foreign wedding as an opportunity to meet suitable future grooms. to her? (Of course not.) What bothered me was the fact that the The actors’ performances hinge on their authenticity and film was completely foreign to her, and like her, to so many endearment. Aishwarya Rai, who has made a name for herself other blockbuster-focused American filmgoers. as a leading Bollywood actress, shines as Lalita Bakshi, the Bride and Prejudice is an entertaining cross-cultural beautiful woman who steals two men’se quietly rebelling glimpse that is being wasted by under-promotion and a relative against the pressure of marrying for convenience rather than lack of media attention. Sure, reviews have been written, and love. Rai was 1994's Miss World, and lends Bakshi, whose cul- the occasional elaborate commercial can be seen during prime ture and family have molded her into a woman with firm iden- time television once a night—if that. But let's face it. The only tity and clear desires, an innate grace and beauty. advertisements most people remember for longer than the com- Nadira Babbar is an overbearing mother and matchmaker mercial itself are the ones that are played three or four times extraordinaire. When her daughters’ marital prospects seem a throughout a half-hour time slot. Your average reader skims bit overcast, she utters dejectedly, “I will end up living in that reviews of films starring “big name” celebrities, then tends to rotten house with no grandchildren.” Contrasting her personal- skip the critiques of lesser-known topliners. ity (in typical married fashion) is the quiet and understanding Yet as of March 16, Bride and Prejudice has been showing Anupam Kher, a major force on the Bollywood circuit. His ten- for as much as nine times as long as some of the latest big- derness is engaging, and explains how Lalita turned out as well league blockbusters. I was forced to drive nearly an hour to the as she did. Nitin Chandra convincingly portrays the annoying closest theater showing the film, because not one of the five Mr. Kholi. movie theatres within twenty-five minutes of my home. Few Martin Henderson (The Ring, Windtalkers), however, who seem concerned that they are missing what is, above all, a cul- plays Will Darcy, is credible as the arrogant, spoiled American turally enlightening film. but less so as the charming leading man. The chemistry Bride and Prejudice, obviously an adaptation of Jane between Darcy and Lalita isn’t exactly the stuff of fairytales. Still Henderson, who is attractive enough for his role, could have shirked some of his stiffness while wooing a real-life beauty queen playing one as well. Balraj Bingley (Naveen Andrews of Lost) is a character whose storyline failed to devel- op, a disppointment in that Andrews never has a chance to showcacse his talent. Director Gurinder Chadha, the mastermind behind What's Cookin? and Bend It Like Beckham, interweaves American and Indian cultures without threatening or alienating either. The film could have been overpowered with cultural differences, but Chadha created a fun and realistic balance between the two societies, as embodied by the relationships that form among Bride’s characters. issue5-FINAL2.qxd 4/1/05 1:19 PM Page 65 Prejudicerejudice

Bride and Prejudice is a Bollywood film. As such, the movie highlights Indian culture and customs, and places an emphasis on family. In Bollywood films, a romantic storyline is decidedly unromantic in the stereotypical sense: there is an intentional lack of kissing or, indeed, any physical contact other than the rare peck on the cheek or brief embrace. Bollywood films ooze with bright colors—which are sometimes characters in themselves—and musical numbers that seem extremely out of place at times make for some foot-tapping, smile-because- it's-so-silly fun. That said, when the streets of Amritsar break into a whirl- wind of song and dance, I couldn't help but expect to see a man and his monkey, Abu, weaving through the crowd, singing about keeping “one jump ahead of the lawmen.” And when the four sisters bopped around Lalita's room in their pajamas, mockingly belting a tune about Mr. Kholi's “no life without a wife” motto, I anxiously waited for Rizzo to chime in, drolly donning her blond Sandra Dee wig. The dancing was even lift- ed straight from the Grease choreography book, and it's been awhile since we've seen such classic moves on the big screen. Bride and Prejudice's cheesiness is the essence of its charm: I don't know about anyone else's beach, but I've never seen a robed choir standing on bleachers along the ocean, and I know I've never been circled by singing and dancing lifeguards and surfers at sunset. (But if anyone knows where I can find that, let me know. It might be fun.) issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:13 PM Page 66

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ne afternoon I received a link from my friend in Seattle bers’ testimonies, I gathered that there are many theories circu- to an international news website called common- lating about the killers’ identities. The most common theory dreams.org. She highly recommended the site to help implicates the Juarez police; others look at black market trad- o me choose a graduate thesis topic. Having recently ing, snuff porn filmmakers, and an organization of male bus moved to Santa Barbara, California, I immediately became drivers called the “Los Chauffeurs” that transport the girls from interested in the cross-cultural relationship between native the factories to their homes. Californians and immigrant Mexicans. My new surroundings Looking at the family's photographs of the victims—and inspired me to conduct an Internet search for "Mexico" and identifying characteristics—one can't help but wonder if the "Woman's Rights." murders are the work of a highly-organized team of serial crim- Surprisingly, this first query produced a link to a chilling inals. All the victims have shoulder length black hair, dark skin, article about hundreds of young girls being abducted and killed and are thin and attractive. When the bodies are found in des- in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. I was both appalled and embar- olate dumping grounds or the desert, they are often found with rassed that I had never heard of this so-called “femicide,” which their breasts bitten off, limbs bound, raped, beaten and with a was taking place only a day's drive from my home. My passion inverted "V" carved above the buttocks with a knife. The major- grew. What began as a simple search in virtual space has esca- ity of them work in U.S. factories (known as maquilas in lated into a very real and personal effort to help by visually Spanish) on the Mexican side of the boarder. They are not drug drawing attention to the atrocities. Photographically speaking, dealers or prostitutes—just young girls struggling to make a liv- a name is nothing without a face. ing by working or attending computer school to obtain a better The most obviously problem at hand is the killings of the position in the factories. The system’s loophole—its Catch-22— young girls. The secondary problem, as I saw it, was the lack of is that these girls come from low- or no- income backgrounds, media attention on these criminal acts. Photography could which prevents them from getting their cases solved. The fam- play an important role in the investigative process and even ilies cannot afford to hire forensic specialists to help seek jus- prevent these murders from happening in the future. Three tice for their daughters’ death. Thus, the killings continue. months later I visited Juarez for the first time. The main limi- Solving or, more importantly, preventing these murders in tations I was faced were the sensitivity and mystery of the topic Juarez from happening in the future is to educate the public. If within the community there, and my safety while doing the the killers know they were being watched or that efforts to solve research and photo documentation. The drug lords of the the murders are unifying, they are likely to think at least twice Mexican boarder called the Juarez Cartel rule the people of about their actions. Ciudad Juarez. They exercise complete power over the people It is also pertinent that we look into the history between by instilling fear and death. Mexico and the United States. In the 1970's, the United States Four hundred girls between the ages of fourteen and twen- created a movement called Bracero that imported thousands of ty have been found brutally murdered in a city of two million Mexico's most strongest and intellectual men to the U.S., leav- since 1993. What struck me, besides the lack of urgency on ing the women behind to work in the boarder factories. The solving these brutal hate crimes, is that only one man has been ensuing dramatic change in the woman’s role as part of a tradi- convicted for one of the murders, leaving three hundred plus tional and machismo culture, may have caused the vital shock- murders left unsolved. waves we see today. Who are the girls that are getting killed? The girls in Ciudad Juarez deserve their lives without fear Why do the murders allowd to continue? of being kidnapped, raped and murdered. Each of them was Of course, the answers are far from simple. Mexico's polit- someone's daughter or sister. Their families deserved to watch ical structure, economic struggle, and gender evolution are all them live beyond their teen years. complicating. From periodicals and the victims’ family mem-

Left: A group of college students from the University of California Santa Barbara participate in a Day of the Dead vigil for the murdered women of Ciudad Juarez. C 65 CM issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:13 PM Page 68

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Left: The memorial of Neyra Cervantes and five other girls sits on the side of the high- way entrance to Chihuahua City. This is to remind all visitors that the killings have spread south to the capital. Alejandra visits often to reflect and clean the perime- ter where candles, trash and flowers have been left. issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:13 PM Page 69

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Left: This memorialresides on the top of the hill of Anapra approximately ten minutes outside the city center of Ciudad Juarez. There are eight girls fromthis neighborhood who are victims of the 'femicide'. This neighbor- hood has the most victims because it is the last stop on the bus route, where he last girl on the bus can be abducted to murder with no witnessses.

Below: Alejandra Cervantes, nicknamed Candy, often sleeps in her sister's (Neyra Cervantes) bed. The Cervantes family has left Neyra's bedroom exactly the way it was since the day she went missing in May of 2003.

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Right: Someone always accompanies Alejandra Cervantes when she leaves her home. The boys in her neighborhood boys often escort the young women on their errands and at night for extra precaution.

Above: Alejandra Cervantes struggles between the explo- ration and repression of becoming a woman. Every day she copes with the death of her sister and deals with the fact that, much like her sister, fits the mold of a probable murder victim.

Above: Camanita Arqueta shows her friends and family a new book on the murders in Juarez. Her son, Miguel David Mesa Arqueta, is in jail and charged with the death of her niece Neyra Azucena Cervantes, 19, from Chihuahua City. Her family and human rights activists say Mesa Arqueta is a scapegoat. Relatives say they believe he was set up by state police officers that forced him to sign a confession. 68 Citizen Culture issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:14 PM Page 71

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Below: The parents of Juarez keep a close eye on their daughters because the murdered girls are now being abducted from the city center, in the outskirts of town and at all times of the day.

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ON THE FENCE: AIRPORT SECURITY

From the Right ~by Ben Barron Davis, CA

f there is anything this half-completed decade has proven, The media is on it's that massive tragedy is the most powerful means of provoking widespread self-sacrifice. watch to ensure that i Two such tragedies have assured themselves places in security practices history textbooks: the September 11th attack and the December 26th tsunami—the latter of which has stolen nearly a quarter and powers are not million lives and deprived a million more of work and means. In America, eyes were glued to television sets three abused. But the line and a half years ago, watching as news networks repeatedly played the collisions, the fire, and the blanket of smoke that should be drawn denied New Yorkers sunlight for hours. Those same eyes, wide with sympathy, stared at the massive waves that rose and tum- between examining bled over villages, wharfs and beaches across the islands of the South Pacific. results and But perhaps more astonishing, and of equal worth to historians, is the philanthropic fervor in the wake of both disas- criticizing policies ters. Americans nostalgically remembered their unity following just because they the terrorist attack, when they raised funds as vigorously as they hoisted their Star-Spangled Banners. On September 22, breach comfort levels. 2001, an A-plus-list of Hollywood celebrities that included Tom Hanks and Brad Pitt took part in “A Tribute to Heroes,” a telethon that contributed millions to the money raised by other charities. The September 11th Fund took in more than $500 million, and the Chronicle of Philanthropy estimates donations for the terrorist victims reached as high as $2 billion. Of course, that figure is a drop in the bucket compared to the astonishing amount of funds raised in the wake of last year's tsunami. The United States government will give $950 million to the relief effort, and its people have opened their wal- lets to the tune of $406 million donated through private chari- ties, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy. International 70 Citizen Culture issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:14 PM Page 73

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aid from governments has hit $4 billion according to CNN; underneath passengers' clothing. With the technology, individ- Saudi Arabia alone offered $100 million. uals like Reid and perhaps the September 11th bombers, who Does it—or should it—really take an event of that mag- were equipped with non-metal box cutters, could have been nitude to create a sense of self-sacrifice among people? detected in the six seconds it takes for the machine to run. I ask because it strikes me as odd that we are overtak- But there was a catch to the new device: it produced en by a sense of self-sacrifice when the lives and welfare of oth- images of everything underneath the clothes. “You feel like ers (indeed, many thousands of them) have been lost or are strangers are really looking at you,” Stacey Goldstein said to endangered. In the face of the terrorist threat—a danger clear CBS. “I don't know; it would really creep me out.” Shaking her and present, perhaps imminent, as proven by the falling of the head, CBS reported, Diane Marsh told its reporter, “Oh no. I Towers—many among us squirm as we ponder how to secure don't like that. No I wouldn't like that.” The technology hasn't ourselves against those who seek to murder us. been released yet, but one can only imagine the amount of neg- Those who would question security officials’ practices ative press it will generate if the TSA has the backbone to put it because they feel they “uncomfortable,” as if the flames of para- in the terminals of a major airport. noia have been stoked. Also those who question the quantities Security is a double-edged sword. Increases in safety of money spent on the Iraq war despite the fact that it has had measures have created more than longer waits in airlines. They an obviously positive impact on global security, not to mention have created greater invasions of privacy, as well. At Los the likelihood that it will yield a more peaceful Middle East. Angeles International Airport, my bags are inspected in the But let's tackle one issue at a time. main foyer, in front of everybody around. Chances are, it'll get In December last year, the news networks dedicated a examined again before reaching the airplane. I have to get to few weeks to the story of a new airport security tactic: a pat- the airport two to three hours ahead of schedule, whereas four down of women that, some felt, bordered on a “feel up.” years ago I could get there an hour ahead of time and rest Women across the country expressed their outrage to assured that I would make my flight. Lines to enter the termi- reporters, explaining that their personal discomfort upon feel- nal have grown longer, as security officials take more time to ing the hands of strangers on their chests was more important examine carry-on baggage, pat down a selection of passengers to them than the security hazards of not checking there. and, of course, take a close look at everyone's shoes. Nevermind that the pat-downs were, as per I don't mind any of it, but I am disturbed when securi- Transportation Security Administration (TSA) standards, per- ty officials back down from effective security measures simply formed only by women. Nevermind that the pat-downs were because they are potentially offensive. performed between the breasts, never on the surface of the I'll even take an highly un-PC step forward: I want my breasts themselves, and that they lasted only a moment. airport security officials to give special attention to people born Nevermind that individuals such as Richard Reid, the infamous in and who have visited any—and I mean any—Middle Eastern Shoe Bomber, had proven that terrorists will use any means country. That list, mind you, includes me. available to carry out their plans. In Israel, for instance, women This does not mean that I want them to go for the peo- haveon several occasions served as human bombs for Hamas. ple with turbans and beards. The face of the next suicide Let us also not forget the reason the policy was creat- bomber could easily be as white as that of John Walker Lindh, ed by TSA in the first place: last August, two suicide bombers the Marin County youth now known as the American Taliban. blew up a Russian airplane, killing all 89 people on board. The While in a perfect world I would rather these people not be has- bombers were—you guessed it—women, and chances are better sled with a potentially offensive pat-down, I'd rather ensure the than not that they carried their explosives in areas security offi- safety of my neighbors’ butts than preserve the sanctity of our cials' hands dared not tread. upper torsos. “I was absolutely astounded at the fact that they thought they could violate my Fourth Amendment rights, vio- * late my privacy, violate my body because of some secret law,” There are occasions when the media critique of airport Helen Chenoweth-Hage, a former congresswoman from Idaho, security gets it right. Reporters at ABC News and in the British told CNN. But wasn't her privacy violated the moment security press have made headlines by revealing that they have slipped officials touched any part of her, scanned her luggage, or asked fake plastic explosives onto airplanes. Other news outlets her that infamous question: “Has anybody other than yourself recently reported that a number of airport security officials handled your baggage”? have been caught stealing medication and other valuables from By the end of December the TSA relented under the luggage. media blitz. The organization repealed the practice, pat-downs Thankfully, the media is on watch to ensure that secu- were limited to the middle torso, and airlines are now more rity practices are effective and powers are not abused. But the dangerous. line should be drawn between examining the results of broad- ening TSA power and criticizing its policies just because taking * necessary steps breaches some people's comfort levels. The backlash wasn’t that unexpected. We heard a The same restraint should be exercised with respect to similar story in July 2004. the Patrioto Act, maddeningly unsupported criticisms of which The TSA had long searched for a technology that could have been hefted into the collection consciousness by the Left. scan the body for plastic explosives, which do not set off metal In the years following the September 11th attack, the Patriot Act detectors and are thus very difficult to find if well hidden. Last seemed at times more like a punching bag than a measure that summer the organization discovered an airport security offi- saves lives. Liberal bastions such as Arcata, Berkeley and Santa cial's dream machine: the Backscatter X-Ray, which used low Cruz, all in California, have voted to forbid their city officials levels of radiation to create an image of dangerous items tucked from assisting federal investigators on any matter related to the C 71 CM issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:14 PM Page 74

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Patriot Act. At least 89 cities have joined in the movement to of a law that has likely saved thousands of American lives. ban the Patriot Act, according to the Washington Post. To an Finally, there are those who would criticize the War in observer of the liberal media who is blind to the outside world, Iraq on the ground that it has tallied an exorbitant cost. The it would appear that America had entered an Orwellian night- Center for American Progress, a Left-leaning organization mare. based in Washington DC, published an article last August dis- But isn't it odd that the media has been bereft of sto- cussing alternative uses for the money spent on the Iraq War, ries on the abuse of the Patriot Act? Given the media's loathing which at that time neared $150 billion. It broke that money of George W. Bush, and the fact that an election year has just into bits as high as $10 billion, hypothetically granting it to passed, one would think that the New York Times and its news- everything from bolstering the Coast Guard to putting more network minions would have jumped at the chance to highlight police officers on city streets. the slightest abuse of the Patriot Act and defame our President Despite the merits of highlighting potential deficien- in his most vulnerable hour. In the hubbub of stories on the cies in national security, any sports fan will note that a strong Abu Ghraib abuses, Texas Air National Guard records, weapons defense is only half the key to victory. Without a potent of mass destruction, casualties in Iraq and foreign distaste for offense—specifically, without a drive to extirpate the roots of President Bush, the media must have forgotten to add Patriot militant Islam—our expanding defense will only leave us with Act abuses to the swell of stories maligning the president. an unending effort to secure ourselves against future terrorist Somebody should have told them about it! attacks. We can put more police officers on the streets, but we As a matter of fact, there was major media outlet that will assure the Homeland Security Department's color code a focused significant attention on alleged abuses of the Patriot permanent resting place along CNN's scrolling newswire. Act: Fahrenheit 9/11—a film that made every attempt to give a Indeed, many pundits speculate that it was precisely fair and balanced analysis of the President's policies. In the because we ignored Osama bin Laden for a decade prior to movie, we find references to two such abuses of the Patriot Act: September 11, 2001, that we suffered the attacks; we were blind First, the story of a man allegedly interrogated by FBI agents to the fundamentalism festering across the Middle East. after he derided President Bush at a health club. Second, a The point of the Iraq War is to quash fundamentalism peace group in Fresno, CA was infiltrated by an undercover fed- at its source and thereby prevent any need at all to spend $300 eral officer who spied on their meetings. billion to bolster homeland security. As Fareed Zakaria dis- Moore surely would search for every possible instance cusses in his book The Future of Freedom, liberal democracies of Patriot Act abuse to use as a wedge in his attempt to single- have historically tended toward peaceful and mutually benefi- handedly oust the president from office. But are these the best cial co-existence with other democracies. Middle Eastern total- examples he could come up with? Not only am I skeptical of itarian regimes have thrived for decades, drawing wealth from their validity—How many millions of people have criticized oil rather than from taxation. This has propped up govern- President Bush in the last year? How many of them have been ments that rely on wealthy sheiks rather than prosperous pop- investigated?—but they do not present a Justice Department as ulaces, according to Zakaria. By creating a liberal Iraqi govern- close to resembling the insidious Ministry of Truth that many ment that is politically and economically dependent on the will on the Left believe it to be. of its people, we will set the starting block for an era of peace While the Patriot Act broadens the Justice and liberalism across the region. Department's powers in investigating terrorism, those powers Indeed, democratic fervor is spreading across the are not unprecedented or without checks. FBI officials are Middle East. We have seen national elections in Iraq, (still) required to receive approval from a federal judge before Afghanistan and Palestine. Even as terrorists’ threats loomed, conducting any wire-tap. The Attorney General is required to Iraqis danced in the streets on January 30, 2005, and proudly present Congress with a complete report of Justice Department waved their purple fingers. Israelis and Palestinians have review of business records every six months. FBI agents are entered peace talks yet again—but this time, with genuine opti- only authorized to investigate suspected criminal acts; dissent- mism. Free elections for local officials were held across Saudi ing groups that do not violate federal or state criminal law can- Arabia in February—the first of its kind for the fundamentalist not be targeted. Additionally, many of those powers granted to nation. The Lebanese people oustered the Syrian occupiers of FBI officials have already been used by them in other types of their country and established precursors to a democratic criminal investigations—the Patriot Act merely extended those regime that will prove its mettle with elections this May. powers to the investigation of suspected terrorism. Ukraine's rigged election was overturned by the will of its peo- Nevertheless, the possibility at least exists that there ple. The new Ukrainian leader, Victor Yushenko, is dedicated have been abuses of the Act. All organizations have fallible ele- to liberalism and free democracy. The world has changed much ments. Media outlets such as CBS have reported that, just fol- in the past six months. lowing the September 11 attacks, FBI officials verbally berated President Bush is right: taking the War on Terror to Middle Easterners in custody and used their powers to conduct the Middle East has pushed that battleground away from a too-wide sweep of Arab Americans. Federal judges have American soil. Establishing democracies in Afghanistan and accepted challenges by American citizens opposing the Iraq has forced Al Qaeda to fight on three fronts rather than to demands of the FBI and, at times, those judges have sided focus on America—five, if you count Western Europe and Saudi against the federal officials. I support the American Civil Arabia in the coalition. We have disrupted Al Qaeda’s activities Liberties Union's lawsuit against the FBI for alleged abuses of and captured a good portion of their leadership, the federal the Patriot Act, but remain appalled that local governments government has told us, quite possibly preventing or fore- would scorn federal law and thereby sacrifice the nation's secu- stalling the next September 11th and its untold cost. rity for the sake of an unsupported (and thus irrational) hatred Our money well spent.

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From the Left

~by Ari Paul Chicago, IL

nce upon a time, American airports were infamous for the two questions you received when checking in: “Did you pack your bags yourself?” and “Have your bags o been with you at all times?” A simple “yes” and “yes” got you to the security gate. As long as you were not carrying a weapon, or did not joke about carrying one, you got through without a hitch. Of the many changes in airport security after the What will ensure air- events of Sept. 11, none has been more controversial than the racial profiling of Arab and Muslim passengers. More security plane safety on air- agents have been hired, the freedoms granted to passengers have been limited, and the national still-shocked-and-awed- planes, we have post-Semtember 11th-consensus maintains that these steps contribute to our security. learned, are the steps Unfortunately, what we have created is not an appara- tus of protection. Rather, we have in place a system that creates passengers don’t an illusion that the government is combating possible threats while simultaneously reminding people that they should be scared. Autocratic political ideology in mind, the Bush admin- actually see—like sin- istration has shirked its duty to take real steps to protect the public. gling out passengers Because the 9/11 attacks involved hijacked commer- cial airliners, the nation has become obsessed with protecting on the basis of suspi- our airports while overlooking more important aspects of national security. For example, passengers are forbidden from cious behavior rather bringing benign objects like letter openers or hairpins onto an airplane, but anyone can buy an assault rifle on the street. Airport guards check all passengers for explosives, but bringing than race, ethnicity, a bomb onto a train is a cinch. Could the new safety procedures possibly be that use- or religion. less? Americans stand in long lines, obey the commands of mil- itary guards, and strip to be searched. But because we have turned our airport terminals into shopping malls, we can just buy all the dangerous objects we need on the other side of X-ray machines. Case in point: the Sept. 11 attackers used box-cutters to hijack planes. Would not the broken glass of a souvenir beer mugs have done just as much damage? But the changesare for

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show, and make no substantial contribution to airport security. ly nothing. The Bush administrations have preferred to ignore What will ensure airplane safety on airplanes passen- the Constitution and various international treaties by detaining gers don’t notice, including (but scarcely limited to): more suspects without due process of law and treating them inhu- advanced X-ray systems, reinforced cockpit doors, more air manly while imposing Orwellian surveillance measures on the marshals on international and long-distance flights, and the public under cover of the Patriot Act. It is more interested in practice of singling out passengers on the basis of suspicious imposing a state of fear on the public and restricting the liber- behavior rather than on the basis of race, ethnicity, or religion. ties of the average citizen than it is in taking care of the vulner- So what do the controversial security measures abilities a potential attacker can exploit. accomplish? The presence of more security officers, the con- Could these oversights be products of institutional stant security announcements made over airport public address ignorance, rather than negligence, within the administration systems, and the presence of National Guardsmen act as and the federal government as a whole? Why doesn’t the reminders that America is at war and that all Americans are administration take steps to reinforce security at our seaports? under a constant threat. Apparently, the racial profiling of Why is this administration so eager to open up the border with Arabs and Muslims is a reminder to Americans that these peo- Mexico despite the safety risks involved? And why wouldn’t this ple are also a constant threat. administration consider reducing the amount of commercial Some insist that Arabs and Muslims must give up an activity at airports in the interests of safety? essential civil liberty and the constitutional right to be treated Half of the Bush administrations’ ideology seems to be equally by the government for the sake of national security. “Free Trade or Die.” Shun that which might hinder unhindered Racial profiling in airports, they contend, is done with the best commerce. Perhaps the federal government might, say, consid- intention of stopping future attacks. After all, they say, the er resurrecting regulation of air transport, enabling the finan- things we know best about the World Trade Center attackers cially strapped airlines that survive the process to access the were their age, gender, nationality, and religion. capital they will need to enact the highest safety assurances? How can we expect the same law enforcers who Something creative like that. ignored reports that potential attackers were flying planes to But no, for another side of the administration’s ideol- preemptively spot future attackers who are just sitting on ogy runs deeper and more sinister than simple profit motive. them? They didn’t identify Richard Reid, and he had a bomb in According to the CNN exit polls conducted last his shoe. Innocent Arab families, South Asian-American airline November, the two aspects of Bush’s character that motivated workers, and folk legend Cat Stevens (now known as Yusuf people to vote for him were his religious faith and his ability to Islam) have been excessively searched and forbidden to fly, but be a strong leader. we haven’t heard much about these practices nipping would- Yet Leo Strauss, a German-Jewish philosopher who happen attacks before they become all-too-obvious. taught at the University of Chicago, believed that religion and hyper-nationalism were the best ways to keep the masses deceived—and thereby, one assumes, quietly complacent. He Surely any militant organization* knows not to try the loathed liberal democracy, blamed it for the rise of Nazism. and same trick twice, especially when the enemy is on the lookout. envisioned a world order wherein the enlightened elite rule the But anti-Americanism is on the rise, and for good reasons. Still, ignorant masses through deception, religion, and nationalism. if there are still legions of Islamist militants trying to attack the Strauss figures centrally in the neoconservative ideol- United States—and the government constantly tells us there ogy that pervades (and pervaded, last term) the Bush adminis- are—why have’t they been making themselves known, in our tration. Some see him as the intellectual guiding light of airports and elsewhere? numerous stalwarts closely aligned with the Bush government, Any more September 11th attacker-wannabes out including the American Enterprise Institute, the Project for a there are surely looking at other tactics. So why hasn’t the gov- New American Century, and Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul ernment refocused its attention likewise? The Department of Wolfowitz. Homeland Security is all too eager to enforce new security road- “Strauss thinks that a political order can be stable only blocks at our nation’s airports, but it has yet to adequately if it is united by an external threat…Following Machiavelli, he address safety concerns at our seaports and on our freight maintained that if no external threat exists then one has to be trains. John Kerry raised the point in one of his debates with manufactured,” writes Shadia Drury in her book, Leo Strauss President Bush, but the public was relatively unjolted, and sub- and the American Right. Like Machiavelli and Thomas stantial changes to rail and waterway security remain to be Hobbes, Strauss was a firm believer in ruling by fear. effected. Journalist Robert Locke—a self-proclaimed In addition, President Bush has moved to implement a Straussian—explains that, in addition to ruling by fear, the phi- policy originally drafted under the Clinton administration to let losophy calls for “the people [to be] told what they need to know Mexican trucks cross the border into the US and be allowed free and no more.” Keep the masses ignorant of what the rulers are access to American highways. He and his allies in the corporate planning; issue Department of Homeland Security terror alerts world like this plan—it skirts around American labor and envi- detail-free. Impose security measures that remind passengers ronmental regulations. Granted, this measure places responsi- to be afraid of September 11th, and hint that without constant bility for the security of these trucks with Mexico so they they and extraordinary diligence, more attackers might slip through don’t further tax our resources. But can the United States the cracks in even the most “perfect” system. Run Bush reelec- afford to leave the fate of its national security to Mexico? tion advertisements that feature menacing wolves waiting to Instead of responding, the Bush administration has pounce rather than an exposition of the policies that will keep concentrated on frivolous measures at airports that do relative- them at bay.

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Reader LETTERSResponse @CitizenCulture.com

~by Tori Reimann Albany, NY

n light of September 11th, we are indulgent of airport securi- ty overkill only because we calm ourselves with the idea that we are being saved from imminent destruction while walk- I am not a terrorist. iing shoeless through the airport. In reality, we are more likely to engage our fellow airport patrons in inadvertent biological I do not know how to warfare, then pass the resultant foot fungi on to those we visit than we are to stop a “shoe bomber” from razing the airport to make my shoes into the ground while we attempt to board a Christmas Eve red-eye. If we were to acknowledge the outrage that is one pat- bombs, nor do I want down away from breaking out of each frustrated traveler's mind, we would wreak a form of havoc on holiday travel previ- to learn from the ously unknown to any system of human transport. For the san- dangerously detailed ity of all travelers, I hope airport personnel loosen up a little on responsible traveling parents, siblings, relatives, and friends news coverage which since all of them will be most likely going to or coming from a stressful, last-minute holiday shopping spree or family event will inevitably ensue where they are expected to entertain shoppers or family mem- bers whose personal stories they might rather hear over the each time a new phone while in their own living rooms, holiday fires ablaze and “A Wonderful Life” in full swing, or not at all. device for destruction I often fly one-way sans luggage to or from school, work or family and subsequently, as one who has not yet expe- is invented. rienced such a security encounter might guess, I am often pulled out of line from my fellow travelers. I am then patted down, in my stocking feet, shoes cast askance, carry-on luggage piling up, unattended at the end of the motorized search gadg- et, by an imposing authority figure whose presence I no longer respect since, in pulling me out of line, he has made a mistake that could cost me my life on the plane. I am not a terrorist. I do not know how to make my shoes into bombs, nor do I want to learn from the dangerously detailed news coverage that will inevitably ensue each time a

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new device for destruction is invented by someone whose coun- try could not support a more positive entrepreneurial venture. I have yet to think of a system which would allow pre- viously preferred travelers (like me) to regain the status that once encouraged us to befriend airline personnel and fellow travelers, complimenting their service and enjoying their com- pany. Flying used to be a luxury, but now more closely resem- bles a punishment—as if we all were terrorists in training. I can't say the feelings of disdain and suspicion sys- tematically manufactured by the uniformed federally mandated security personnel will affect my holiday cheer, but I wouldn't have guessed we would brew such sentiment in response to the hatred shown to us. My pride for America's resilience in the wake of September 11th is as strong as ever, even as I wait in line holding my boarding pass, ID, coat and removing my boots. However, I can't help but wonder, in what less derogatory way we might protect ourselves and what other security measures might be in my future if we continue to react this way. A seda- tive at check-in, that is, if airport personnel truly expect each patron to act so irrationally that we must be herded into and out of the plane? Perhaps those who wanted to avoid the delay and inconvenience could submit a federally approved background check months prior to travel. When I see hundreds of well-behaved patrons lined up at airport security unable to enjoy the company of their family and friends, I can't help but worry where the real risk is hiding. Instead of a last minute boarding pass check, I would feel safer with a free self-defense class or the ability to meet my surrounding seatmates before boarding. As a patron of the air- line, I am reminded of the terrorist threat and more frightened every time I wait in a security line or hear the luggage announcement over the intercom. I would feel secure if the air- port safety manuals contained a paragraph next to the flotation device directions devoted to self defense from another person, with or without a weapon, who might have found his way onto our plane as personnel was confiscating my nail clippers. During the holiday travel season, airlines should encourage families to travel far and wide to be together. Indeed, Americans should see all parts of our world to foster education and awareness and our airlines should support us by making the travel experience a pleasant one. I hate to see our country's airlines and airports losing consumers due to fear that is only reinforced by unpleasant, unnecessary conditions. As airline patrons, we are forced into silence and paranoia by the announcements from the ominous voice overhead warning us to report the unattended baggage of a friend who has gone to the bathroom while leaving it in our care. Shops are scarce and largely unoccupied since demand has decreased in many air- ports. Families can no longer eat together while waiting for a loved one to board his flight, nor greet that loved one as soon as he gets off the plane. Children are unable to wave good-bye while watching a parent's plane take off. These sanctions on our daily freedoms give the impression that we live in a perpetual state of danger. A government that refuses to strengthen our feeling of security is one which can only rule through fear. Law enforcement and security personnel must ensure our continued safety by resurrecting the friendly skies. Otherwise, we will continue flying scared. For the holidays, air- lines must give respect to those law-abiding citizens whose commitment and belief in the laws of our country earns them the right to enjoy its freedoms without impediment. issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:14 PM Page 79 issue5-FINAL2.qxd 4/1/05 1:20 PM Page 80

ccm investigates Scientology’s Night @ the Movies ~by Jonathon Scott Feit New York, NY

hey put a face on ultimate evil, and show us ways to movements (commonly and derogatorily referred to as “cults”), cope. We all know they tell stories that fire the imagi- and the dangers of stereotyping. But its storyline resembles so nation, but sometimes they ask questions that dare not closely the reality of events and perceptions surrounding the t be answered, that touch on the taboo. Church of Scientology that it seems to have been written, in But we casual audiences sometimes forget that main- everything but name, as an exposé of Scientology's seedy inter- stream cinema today is as much communicative as it is com- nal operations. mercial, and religion is one of its most accessible clients, with a wealth of Bible stories and miracles and fanaticism and the * clashes of titans and gods to portray, not to mention a mysteri- Scientology is either Hollywood's latest “dirty word” or its ous afterlife to dream up. (Think City of Angels, What Dreams Holy Grail, depending on who is being asked. In the 21st centu- May Come, and most recently, Constantine.) ry, to denounce it publicly or shun it is to risk being blacklisted Religious films might seem inappropriate in a secular envi- as were celebrities and filmmakers suspected of being ronment with better things to worry about than the supernatu- Communism-friendly in the 1950s. ral—but we are not now in such a society. Ours is continuous- In April 1997, the now-defunct magazine George reported ly—and sometimes traumatically, as in the case of September on the barrage of opposition that befell Germany when it tried 11, 2001 and so many faith-attributed terroristic activities— to brand and ban Scientology as a “cult” in 1997: being rocked by the social factuality and psychological reality of “Helmut Kohl may be chancellor of Germany, but he isn't religion. accustomed to getting mail from the likes of Dustin Hoffman. And reality, of course, makes up 50% of of Hollywood’s Nonetheless, in the January 9, 1997, edition of the business; the other half is fantastic. The entertainment indus- International Herald Tribune, he was the target of an open let- try tends to set trends while at the same time having its prover- ter, signed by the Academy Award winner and 33 other bial finger set squarely on the popular pulse. In a 2002 essay prominent entertainment industry figures, including actress for GQ Magazine, Terrence Rafferty wrote: “In a decade of Goldie Hawn, director Oliver Stone, talk-show host Larry prosperity, we all naturally wanted more, and Hollywood was King, producer Aaron Spelling, Warner Bros. co-chairman happy to oblige…the movies of the past ten years have been a bit Terry Semel and author Gore Vidal. The celebrities expressed like that: obscenely eager to please, heavily reliant on new tech- grave concern about recent ominous developments in nology and certifiably insane…[T]his generation of studio boss- Germany. Invoking Adolf Hitler and the “unspeakable hor- es now believes that it knows precisely what the audience rors” of the Holocaust, they worried whether the heirs to the wants, and will give us nothing else, even by accident.” Third Reich's bitter legacy were once again headed down a That said, from the many religion-tinged movies released potentially tragic path. This time, though, the victims were over the last four to five years we can deduce that religion has not Jews. They were members of a controversial and little- been of wide popular concern. But many of these fused religion understood group, the Church of Scientology. Protesting ‘the with sensationalism, making it public but also graphic, contro- invidious discrimination against Scientologists,’ the missive versial, and disturbing: fire and brimstone, the pure versus the concluded, ‘This organization oppression is beginning to profane and pornographic, Heaven and Hell and Judgment. sound familiar…like the Germany of 1936 rather than 1996.’” Still we see a persistent, nervous penchant for happy endings, Since no career-minded filmmaker would ever disparage hope, and even divine comedy. Scientology by name, Bless the Child bashes the religion-busi- How, then, to explain Bless the Child—a film adapted from ness hybrid through hellish allusions and sinister innuendos. the novel of the same name and released smack-dab in the mid- Consider the list of Hollywood “power players” who ascribe to dle of the year 2000? its members-only philosophical system, according to the offi- Of the religion films released in the years surrounding cial viewbook of the Church of Scientology: Tom Cruise, John Y2K—including Stigmata, Lost Souls, Frailty, The Siege, Bless Travolta, Kirstie Alley, Isaac Hayes, Jenna Elfman, and Lisa the Child, 8mm, The Devil's Advocate, Dogma, Signs, End of Marie Presley, and many others whose resentment might derail Days, Eyes Wide Shut, The Ninth Gate, and a re-released an otherwise up-and-coming, or even a successful, career. Exorcist—only three (The Siege, 8mm, Eyes Wide Shut, and Had Bless the Child's filmmakers blatantly cast Scientology Bless the Child) eschew a grounding in the supernatural, seeing as a cash- and power- hording organization with few qualms religion instead as a human product. They situate religion in about resorting to violent crime in order to protect its secrets society and consider how the two interact; they see individuals and maintain its “integrity,” their work would likely never have acting religiously as choosing to do so—a crucial distinction. been green-lit. Bless the Child in particular comments on religion-in-con- text, institutionalized religion, millennialism, new religious * 78 Citizen Culture issue5-FINAL2.qxd 4/1/05 1:20 PM Page 81

ccm investigates

goyles to that long-horned goat, loom around Stark and his New Dawn. Hubbard believed that society is inundated with— and that we are all surrounded by—social “demons” whose prime objective is to take advantage of the most contributive community members. Bless the Child, in other words, the demonstrates the “Merchants of Chaos” theory that Hubbard explicates in chapter two of Scientology: A New Slant on Life. Although it ascribes to and sets forth no particular demonolo- gy, it teaches a strong personal belief that supernatural evil can be personified. In that same book, which codifies the philosophical system behind Scientology, Hubbard wrote that his target audience is downtrodden and hopelessly gullible: “Once upon a time, perhaps, you were thinking of being married and having a nice home and having a nice family; everything would be just fine…and then you got married and maybe it didn't work out. Somehow or other, he comes home late and he has had an argument with the boss, and he doesn't feel well. He doesn't want to go to the movies and he doesn't see how you have any work to do anyhow—after all, you sit home all day and do nothing…Now this would be a very dreadful situation if nothing could be done about it, but the fact of the mater is that it is the easiest problem of all the prob- lems man faces: changing himself and changing the attitudes of those around him…Scientology has made it possible for him to do so.” “The New Dawn”—the film's other antagonist besides Stark—is housed in a large marble building with an invitation hanging from an entry portico to all newcomers: “Empower Yourself for the New Dawn.” Books and pamphlets abound, with such titles “There is No God But You: Lose Your False Idols to Find Yourself” and “The Road to Self-Empowerment: Do What You Will, Will What You Do.” A tour guide offers an Even Hollywood's practicing Scientologists might miss the introduction to the religion by explaining that “[the New organization's iconography where it appears in Bless the Child, Dawn's] self-realization seminars only require a $400 dona- just as they might be unaware of its alleged historical ties to tion.” Filmed testimonials at the “New Dawn Center” gush that Satanism. “before I found New Dawn, I didn't have any respect for myself, Rumors have long circulated that Church of Scientology I didn't think I mattered to anybody.” founder L. Ron Hubbard and Church of Satan founder Anton LaVey shared an ideological mentor in Aleister Crowley, who headed the influential underground Order of the Golden Dawn. The film version of Bless *the Child breaks significantly At their cores, all three philosophical “religions” deify the from the novel of the same name, by Cathy Cash Spellman: human, but unfortunately, rumors of intellectual descendancy absent from the film are the book's New Age-can-come-to-the- are difficult to verify and over time have started sounding like rescue attitude, its romantic backstory, and its exploration of conspiracy theory. both political and sexual tensions within the clergy. The book's Still, all three are high-mystery organizations whose fictional religious group, Maa Kheru (whose name in Egyptian founders, though prolific, rarely credited their ideas to prede- translates roughly as “voice of truth”), is blatantly magical and cessors, preferring instead to be their own intellectual roots. demonic—but it exists wholly in the author's creative mind. For example, in What is Scientology?, a glossy compendium of The similarities between Scientology and the organization the Church of Scientology's maxims, Hubbard takes credit for in the film version, however, would seem cosmetic if they did- theories long attributed to Charles Darwin: “The concise state- n’t start to seem murderously coincidental with real events. ment of the goal of life itself was one of the most fundamental When estranged New Dawn member Cheri Post (Christina breakthroughs of Dianetics…That man seeks to survive has Ricci) tells the saga of trying to leave the group. FBI Special long been known, but that it is his primary motivation is new. Agent John Travis (played by Jimmy Smits, returning to a role Man, as a life form, can be demonstrated to obey in all his he perfected on NYPD Blue) jumps at the chance to criminally actions and purposes the one command: ‘SURVIVE!’” investigate the New Dawn, and describes it as an iron-clad Viewers unfamiliar with Satanism's and Scientology's fortress of an organization—a perfectly summary of symbols are unlikely to note Bless the Child's references to Scientology's legal M.O.: both. They might not realize that the long-horned goat loiter- “[It] owns dozens of different properties all around the ing outside the home of New Dawn founder Eric Stark (chill- country…[and] has been under investigation before…[for] ingly portrayed by Rufus Sewell and his bug-eyed gazes) is the harboring runaways. There were allegations of tax fraud and same creature that is inscribed within the Satanic pentagram money laundering, but nothing that would stick. See, [the (called a baphomet). Demonic figures of all sorts, from gar-

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organization's founder] is well protected politically and keeps a pack of high-priced lawyers in attack mode year-round…he'll bury you if you come after him without grounds…His whole outfit stinks.” But Cheri knows too much. Before she is beheaded (behead- ed!) in a New York City subway station, she refers to “this religion [as] more like the opposite of religion” and laments that “[its lead- ers] don't like people quitting their club.” The Church of Scientology found itself at the bleeding heart of a similar scandal in 1995, when a female member in Florida who tried to defect was allegedly falsely imprisoned and died before receiving emergency medical care. The conspiracy-tinged, and generally odd circumstances were exacerbated in 1993, when Congress granted tax-exempt status to the Church of Scientology. Internet chatter buzzed about the “leak” of a “secret” transcript from an Internal Revenue Service hearing that should normally have been publicly available. Critics charged that the exemption grant was politically convoluted, since the Church has been in tax trouble dozens of times in his half-century history. Court documents report that on February 20, 1973, the organization’s vice-president was subpoenaed by the Audit Division of the IRS, but he showed up emptyhanded, explaining “that he was no longer an officer of the Church and that he had neither control nor possession of the records because he had resigned as director and vice-president of the Church four days earlier.” * Bless the Child was released by Paramount in 2000, but the based religion, but avoids discrediting all new religious move- prescience of its possible anti-Scientology intentions grew last year. ments; even Satanism is given more credence than Scientology: The technical notes for the film reveal that it was produced by Icon “Only a secret inner circle practice traditional Satanism Productions, Mel Gibson's production company, which most con- but…other groups…are spreading a powerful message: God does spicuously also made The Passion of the Christ. With any other pair not really exist, therefore we can all make up our own rules.” of films, the producers' identities exert only a slight tug on their In the end, Gibson may have been Icon Productions’s saving final forms. But with The Passion, Gibson evinced to the world his grace: only his professional proximity to—and likely friendship status as an invincible Hollywood heavyweight who disregards pop- with—his Scientologist colleages in the industry, not to mention ularity in the face of ideology with nary a second thought. In so the game of Hollywood politics, explains why Bless the Child doing, he followed predecessors like Steven Spielberg, whose bludgeons Scientology cryptically, never in so many words. Schindler's List was a controversial project of personal conviction. Ideologies, therefore, may well have influenced the decision to craft an anti-Scientology, pro-Christianity vehicle out of Bless the Child. The movie pedestals Christianity as the epitome of faith-

COPYCAT, OR COINCIDENCE? Top: The 8-pointed Scientology cross, from the Church’s viewbook What is Scientology?, shown with the first book laying out the “philosophies” of Scientology. Above: Screen shots depicting the inside of “The New Dawn Center,” from the Paramount Pictures and Icon Productions film Bless the Child. issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:15 PM Page 83 mosque.qxd 4/1/05 3:02 PM Page 2 From Islam, ~by Faroque Ahmad Khan Jericho, NY

s an American-Muslim I feel particularly challenged in the a post-9/11 environment. The good news is that there has been a great interest from amongst our fellow citizens to learn about Islam and the practices of the growing, diverse Muslim population estimated to boast 7-10 million believers in the U.S. alone. As the spokesperson of the Islamic Center of Long Island, a vibrant Muslim community center in Nassau County, New York, I have been privileged to speak with and meet numerous men and women in houses of worship, civic associations, uni- versities, public schools, libraries, and elsewhere around the community. At events organized to foster cross-religious understanding among the Abrahamic faiths, the attendees have been invariably positive, cordial, and receptive. The impression that most people seem to leave with is, “There is more in com- mon than we thought.” However, there is also disturbing and increasing resent- ment and anger against Islam and Muslims, giving rise to a more frequent occurrence of the term “Islamophobia,” with random acts of violence, harassment and vandalism targeting individuals, communities and Mosques. Anyone with a beard and turban is a potential target of anti-Muslim hate. Case in point: one of the first post 9/11 fatalities involved a Sikh grocer who was mistaken for a Muslim as he had a beard and turban— a requirement of the Sikh religion. Sadly, opinions of America in our global village are at an all-time low. American Muslims can especially identify with this basic cause of the widening gulf between America and the rest of the world, leading to, and fuelling further increasing vio- lence and terrorism. In The Imperial Hubris, author Michael Scheur, a former senior intelligence official for nearly two decades and head of the Osama bin Laden desk at the C.I.A., with a long experience in national issues related to Afghanistan and South Asia, clear- ly outlines his impressions, about the reasons for the current state of affairs. Scheur explains that a growing segment of the Islamic world strenuously disapproves of specific U.S. policies and their attendant military, political, and economic implica- Information of the United Nations which, on December 7, tions. He states that Osama bin Laden's genius lies in articulat- 2004, organized an all-day seminar titled, “Confronting ing a consistent and convincing case that Islam is under attack Islamophobia: Education for Tolerance and Understanding.” by America and its allies. Al Qaeda's statements condemn The well-attended seminar held at UN headquarters in New America's protection of corrupt Muslim regimes, unqualified York City was the second of a series; the inaugural talk, held support for Israel, and the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. earlier this year, dealt with anti-Semitism. On a somber note, Scheur concludes that unless American lead- Opening the seminar, Secretary-General Kofi Annan said ers recognize this fact and adjust policies accordingly, Osama that seeing Islam as a “monolith” and distorting its tenets are bin Laden's anti-West offensive will find a wider audience and among the many practices conducive to Islamophobia. “Islam's increase in scope and power. Michael Scheur’s opinion, in my tenets are frequently distorted and taken out of context, with view, is shared by the vast majority of Muslims in America and particular acts or practices being taken to represent or to sym- the rest of the world. bolize a rich and complex faith,” he told the seminar. “Some claim that Islam is incompatible with democracy, or * irrevocably hostile to modernity and the rights of women. And Commendations are in order to the Division of Public

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first person With Love Annan stressed the pivotal roles that the media and Internet need to play so that proper information about Islam and Muslims is dessiminated. He emphasized the need for new immigrants and long-time citizens to understand one another's expectations and responsibilities, so that they might together act against common threats like extremism. The need to recognize Islamophobia in a policy context must be recognized. Annan pointed out that “the historical experience of Muslims includes colonialism and domination by the West, either direct or indirect. Resentment is fed by the unresolved conflicts in the Middle East, by the situation in Chechnya, and by atrocities committed against Muslims in the former Yugoslavia. The reaction to such events can be visceral, bringing an almost personal sense of affront. But we should remember that these are political reactions against Western values, sparking an anti-Islamic backlash.” During my travels in the Muslim world I have often been asked: If the U.S.A. and U.N. facilitated the independence of Timor from Indonesia, why don't they apply the same princi- ple in Chechnya and Kashmir? Is it possible that the double standards applied are based on religion and not principle? According to Annan, “efforts to combat Islamophobia must also contend with the question of terrorism and violence carried out in the name of Islam. Islam should not be judged by the acts of extremists who deliberately target and kill civil- ians. The few give a bad name to the many...All of us must con- demn those who carry out such morally reprehensible acts, which no cause can justify. Muslims themselves should speak out as so many did following the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, thus showing a commitment to isolate those who preach or practice violence, and making it clear that these are unacceptable distortions of Islam. Indeed, the Muslim tradition of ijtihad, or free interpretation, of both cul- tures and pay, their cultures and others, may well offer a very useful path.” Among my deepest concerns is for America’s eroding rep- utation within the global village as we develop our own case of collective xenophobia. Our American-Muslim community, like in too many circles, disparaging remarks about Muslims are every other, has made major contributions to all aspects of allowed to pass without censure, with the result that prejudice public life in America. We have the resources, contacts, knowl- acquires a veneer of acceptability.” Still, Annan said that no edge and will to move forward in combating terrorism and one should underestimate the resentment and sense of injus- closing the gap between “them” and “us.” tice that “members of one of the world's great religions, cul- But the single largest question still looming unanswered is tures and civilizations feel as they look at unresolved conflicts this: Will policymakers and leaders ask for our input in craft- in the Middle East, the situation in Chechnya and the atrocities ing new measures, or will they continue marginalizing against Muslims in the former Yugoslavia.” (I would add to the American Muslims with suspicions of nefarious activity (or, at list the ongoing unresolved conflicts on in Kashmir, my birth- least, support for it)? We live in one world, and need to under- place.”) stand and respect each other, agree to disagree in a civil man- Annan continued to say that “like other religions, the ner, and embody the best of our respective traditions. Islamic world grouped together modernizers and traditional- ists, and the most populous Muslim countries are not Arab, but are located in non-Arab Asia, from Indonesia.”

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dump the shrink...... see the Rabbi

~by David Wolpe Los Angeles, CA

ot troubles? See a therapist. That is the mantra of money, like sexuality, like identity, fungible pervades every modern society. Everyone should be shrunk, since area of life.) But although most clergy have charitable funds, g no one is perfectly adjusted (including shrinks, pre- and you can contribute if you want, clergy counseling is free. sumably.) These days you can't even write a good hit (3)...Rabbis will refer you to therapists, but therapists are TV show without the obligatory therapist (see hardly inclined to do likewise. Sopranos, Desperate Housewives, etc. etc.) One of the most important parts of clerical training is to But if we are not dealing with a clear case of mental ill- learn what one is not trained to do. As a Rabbi, I often recom- ness, there are reasons to go see a Rabbi first (or a Priest, a mend counseling for individuals, couples and families, and Minister, an Imam, a monk—choose your spiritual model). keep a list of psychiatrists and psychologists in my drawer for No matter that you haven't stepped into a church since referrals. But if someone walks into a psychologist's office your First Communion, or a synagogue since your Bar or Bat seeking guidance on life or how to unravel a spiritual dilem- Mitzvah, or a mosque since your Amin ceremony—all of ma, do you think the therapist has a local clergy referral list? which occurred before the viral spread of voicemail across the planet. If it is life guidance you seek, no matter your religious (4)...Your Rabbi knows your parents, and nobody operates in orientation, here are a handful of considerations: a vacuum. Psychiatrists get pictures of the family, all too often, only from the patient. But the clergy— if your family (1)...You won't go forever. Unlike therapists, most clergy will has been part of the synagogue or church or Mosque—knows only counsel someone a few times. They are not trained as something about your background, your parents, etc. This therapists, and know that serious long-term counseling is not can be a disadvantage; it may prejudice him or her. But don't their expertise. So the interest of the clergy is to return you to assume the Rabbi has not formed his own views of your fami- life, not to return you to the office again, and again, and again, ly; he may understand much more than you suppose. because clergy don't charge. (5)...The Greeks said of Plato that whatever road of life you (2)...Early on therapists decided that not only should they walked down, you found him on the way back. Religious tra- charge for their counseling because it is, after all, their living, ditions are like that: you think you've got a new problem, but but it is an important part of the therapeutic process. (Talk to human dilemmas just aren't that original. Everything has a therapist about money, and it will often be seen as part of changed since Abraham's time except human nature. The the issue you have come to discuss. This makes sense: details may differ, but great religious traditions have had 84 Citizen Culture issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:15 PM Page 87

first person

thousands of years of the finest minds and most sensitive souls times when we are troubled, we need not only to explore, we meditating on the human condition. They have something to need to receive some wisdom, some direction, some guidance. say. Part of the point of exploring experiences is to learn a life lesson without having to endure its painful side effects oneself. (8)...The clergy is in community. You see a therapist, even in The collective experience of a tradition has something worthy to group therapy, and you do not have the option of joining a com- say, and after all, you will filter it through your own perspective. munity with whom to celebrate, to grieve, to worship, to learn. The house of worship is one of the few multi-generational com- (6)...You are a soul. Yes, you have emotions, intellect, instincts, munities left in America. If you feel that spiritual counseling is a synapses, but also a soul, and you should be thought invaluable. beginning, there is somewhere to go. In other words, a clergy Therapists have different views of human worth, but religious counselor can not only return you to your life, she might change traditions—though differing about the nature of human beings— it. together cherish them as sacred. Clergy see the full range of human experience: all ages, all sorts of problems. Spiritual angst, premarital counseling, (7)...You might actually need direction. The characteristic of divorce, loss, decline, wonder, creation and joy. As a Rabbi I most psychology, for good or ill, is that it is not supposed to tell have held the hands of the dying and blessed many babies. you what to do. Ask some therapists if you should go bungee There is an infinite amount I do not know about human beings, jumping in a cactus field, and they will peer at you pensively and and each year convinces me of how little I understood the year murmur “hmmm, what do you think?” until your 50 minutes before. But for some questions, it is worth turning first to the have flown by. one whose calling is to encourage us all to seek what is best in A good Rabbi won't is not a dictator. But she may, after lis- ourselves. Before you embark on an endless exploration of tening, coaxing, asking, tell you what she thinks you should do, important questions, see if someone might dip into a tradition what the tradition would have you do. Strangely enough, some- and present you with an answer. photo & art credits P.5: IRFAN SHABEER/CCM; P.6: DIANE DIEDERICH/ISTOCKPHOTO; P.7: ALEXANDER LAU/ISTOCKPHOTO; P. 8: OLE JENSEN/ISTOCKPHOTO; P. 11: ARIEL MAOR/ISTOCKPHOTO; P. 12: PACKO MICHAËL/ISTOCKPHOTO; P. 13: BENJAMIN LAZARE/ISTOCKPHOTO; P. 14: PAUL SENYSZYN/ISTOCKPHOTO; P. 16: NATHAN WATKINS/ISTOCKPHOTO; P. 18: LORENA MÁRTÍNEZ/ISTOCKPHOTO; P. 19: CLAUDIA LOTTINI/ISTOCKPHOTO; P. 21: MAX BORENSTEIN; P. 22: MARY MARIN/ISTOCKPHOTO; P. 23: KELLY CLINE/ISTOCKPHOTO; P. 25: JESSICA MAZURKIEWICZ; P. 26-30: ANTHONY BRENNAN; P. 32-33: COURTESY OF STEVE ZAHN; P. 33-37: JUSTIN KERCHER/JAKSTUDIOS.COM MARKETING & DESIGN GROUP; P. 38: COURTESTY OF ERIC IOVINO/BULLSEYETATTOOS.COM; P. 40-41: COURTESY OF ANDREA DESHONG; P. 42-43: JOAN MARCUS; P. 44-45: COURTESY OF GINA SEMENZA; P. 47: JESSICA MAZURKIEWICZ; P. 50: JONATHON FEIT/CCM; P. 51: TIMOTHY PATRICK/CCM; P. 54-55: COURTESY OF SOPHIE BUHAI; P. 56-57: COURTESY OF LISA SALZER; P. 58-59: COURTESY OF AMY WEIS; P. 60 COURTESY OF MATT LEVINE; P. 61: DESIGNER: COURTESY OF MERIDITH ROHANA, STAGE: MEREDITH MARLAY; P. 62-63: COURTESY OF MIRAMAX PICTURES; P. 79: COURTESY OF POCKET BOOKS (SIMON & SCHUSTER); P. 80: JONATHON FEIT/CCM, EDITOR’S NOTE: THIS ARTICLE IS ADAPTED FROM AN ACADEMIC ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN VOLUME 3 NUMBER. 3 OF THE JOURNAL OF MEDIA & RELIGION; P. 82-83: STEFAN TORDENMALM/ISTOCKPHOTO; P. 84: PAIGE FOSTER/ISTOCKPHOTO; P. 86: CHARLES HUMPHRIES/ISTOCKPHOTO; P. 87: YOHAN JULIARDI/ISTOCKPHOTO; BACK COVER: PARADISE: ROBERT HUNT/ISTOCKPHOTO, AD: JONATHON FEIT/CCM issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:15 PM Page 88

PRISM

privacyplease

~by Sasha Haines-Stiles New York, NY

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hotel is a familiar city within a foreign destination. Its ordinary lives. They are clichéd as locations for affairs, as conveniences are readily identifiable and therefore romantic destinations meant to spice up relationships. They soothing; its similar appearance to hundreds of other are temporary homes for those without a permanent address. a hotels allows one a dose of the expected. Here, the They are places to crash on your way to something else—some- urban rules apply: to each his own key and lock, his thing better, perhaps, or something more mundane. own thick door and four thick walls, his own toilet, his very own Whatever the reason for a visitor's stay, whether for a few individually sized bar. The hallways are streets, the elevators hours or a few weeks, a hotel room is plastic and pliable enough subways or buses on their regular routes, ferrying passengers to fill any purpose. It can be a bedroom, a hangout, a shelter, a with eyes averted. There is no reason in a hotel to fumble or ask restaurant, a bar, a brothel, a theater, a spa, an office. Here, you for help; arrows point the way at every corner and each room are invited to act on honest, uncensored impulses, in a way you gives clear directions on how to escape in case of fire, how to wouldn’t or couldn’t in your own home. Want a cheeseburger make coffee, how to turn on the shower, how to call the at three o’clock in the morning? No problem. Want to rent concierge, how to watch TV, how to check out without even porn? You can do it anonymously and easily, with the touch of revisiting the front desk. a few buttons. To walk into a hotel room with a bag of personal essentials Like minds, hotels can be sanctuaries of seclusion and dis- and hear the door click shut is to be cocooned, connected by cretion—“Privacy Please”—their four walls often marking the only the most tenuous of threads to externals. This small space boundaries of our better judgment, or at least public expecta- contains all you need: bed, bathroom, water, entertainment, tions. They are places to let things sprawl, to let go, and for that touch-button access to food. With extra pillows and blankets in reason I have always been perplexed by the abundance of small the closet, toothpaste and drawers in hotel rooms: desk toothbrush, razor, comb and drawers, bedside table draw- soap in the bathroom, even a ers, drawers under the sink or shoe horn, there's little rea- built into the closet. On a trip I son to venture out again. am impulsive, variable, unin- You are here to recuperate— terested in the guise of domes- from the blistering wander- ticity implied by unpacking my ings of the day, from your clothes and arranging them plane-induced headache, neatly in drawers, or in tucking from what can sometimes my glasses and book into the (though we are loathe to nightstand before going to bed. admit it) feel like the assault I don’t make the bed, and I of exoticism. fully expect the bathroom to Traveling is a height- deteriorate from its pristine ened state. Ideally, it forces condition throughout my stay, us to detach ourselves from at least until the cleaning serv- location and immerse our- ice comes through. selves in culture. At worst it However far we venture, it makes us homesick, exhaust- is eventually, inevitably time to ed and nervous about how return to ordinary life. It’s much we don’t know. I have always tempting to bring home always found hotels fascinating for the way they straddle this bits and pieces of our foreign experiences, and I have long been boundary between being of a place and being a respite from it. a collector of hotel paraphernalia: bedside memo pads, shower In an ironic sense, hotels are anti-places. Though physical- caps, “Do Not Disturb” signs. I never seem to use these things, ly dropped into the geographic midst of a tourist hotspot, more not even the tiny soaps or half-dry pens. For friends and fami- important is the idea of a hotel—you could be thinking it any- ly I buy museum postcards, books, photos of the city or paint- where. Inns or lodges or whatever you call them are, for the ings housed in local galleries. But for myself I feel compelled to most part, interchangeable, with an instantly familiar anatomy pocket proof, physical evidence of the places where I have of shops and restaurants, uniformed staff, unoriginal and briefly lived. As with the rusted closet hook from my bedroom therefore recognizable names (the Hilton New York, the in the house I grew up in or an old boyfriend's t-shirt, I have a Millennium Hilton, the Hilton Times Square, the Hilton Paris, strange compulsion to hold onto impractical mementos of the Hilton London Kensington). A hotel lobby is a pure theory rooms slept in and half-gratefully, half-ruefully abandoned. of lobbies, hygienic and gleaming. Everything is sharp and bur- I worry about leaving behind a small piece of myself in a nished, the corners, the flooring, the mirrored doors of the ele- space built to reject the personal, and so I inevitably leave the vator bank. A hotel room is all ambiance and no anchored sub- hotel room in a state of disarray—thoroughly searching the stance: wallpaper and watercolor prints you forget instantly, sheets for stray socks and underwear, ransacking every drawer muddy color schemes, the same stained-wood furniture, ubiq- and every cupboard. I get down on my stomach and look uitous white-tiled bathroom and white towels. beneath the bed. I pick through wet towels and scan the bath- When you stay in a hotel, then, it isn't so much about walk- room counter and the rim of the tub for anything that is mine. ing into a particular room; it’s more like disappearing into a lit- Only when I am positive that I'm entirely contained within my tle rip in the lining of the universe. Even as they give us a shot suitcase and myself again do I step into the hall, letting the door of familiarity, hotels also serve as loci of interruptions to our shut tight on a room I'll probably never revisit.

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waxing poetic Blue Jacket ~by Geordy Reid There is British Columbia, Canada Trench coat threads frayed beneath the collar, No Perfect Messenger memento-mori of Sunday’s white mackintosh. Purple labels now melancholy browns, line the ~by Sean Carlson bleached Andover, MA shoulders that slouch towards each button.

Velvet pockets, a dogs ear of clover, Sure, we have choices: two, to be true, comfort the palms but pseudo the warmth. Faded bouquets ripped of ripeness and aroma, more, to be impartial. stale like a box of sapped yellow rosebuds. Amidst the displaced echoes, oscillations, Tailpiece wool once Ralph’s Lauren, butter connected constructions – historical geopolitics, each clot on the back of dirty knees. states, you know; Memoirs of a blazer, unfortunate fool. Wrapped in a pauper’s topcoat. Let's play that sensitivity card: goose hunting everyman's beer everywoman's security The Begging Divinities (hi mom, i'm safe, love you, bye) redefining broader ideals and ideas ~by Sabyasachi Roy into soundbite digestive tract. West Bengal, India

How does it not shred your vocal cords, baby? The god of beggars plunders their begging-bowls The pen could serve as sword, still, and seeps down into the river of tomorrow. but only in maybe less than a dozen Their goddess steals their hunger, plants it on a fractions of the polis, fertile mount. or just at ink factories. Waters them gently. They gave them, in exchange, few hands full of Truly, butterflies. These hands alone carved boab. At dusk the home coming beggars pray packed These hands alone sifted purple sand. hearted. These hands held a ballot, a pencil, and Such bliss, such wisdom… feigned power and voice. They pray again, and then with their lingering nights they prey their god, rape their god- Sure, we have hands: two, to be true, dess. more, to be pragmatic. ‘Once, twice and again’ The butterflies free themselves. But some don't have any, They flutter amidst the darkening homes, under the and we haven't yet found a way darkened roofs. to touch the senseless. Their fluttering wings evolve into symphonies. Symphonies welcome raindrops. Even while they, our choices, go on and kiss the Raindrops fall on the beggars’ head. lipless. Soaked, drenched, saturated- The monsoon makes them feel like a god, or goddess. 88 Citizen Culture issue5-FINAL.qxd 3/25/05 12:15 PM Page 91 issue5-FINAL2.qxd 4/1/05 1:21 PM Page 92 Every Young Intellectual Deserves a Spring Break

Mr. Magazine named us one of the “30 Most Notable Launches of 2004.” We’ll probably be the best re-launch of 2005, too.

With five issues’ worth of Lessons Learned under our literary belts, we’ve taken your feedback to heart. Next steps: revamp and grow, to produce the CITIZEN CULTURE MAGAZINE you’ve asked for.

We’ll be back soon, as CITIZEN CULTURE: LOCAL FLAVOR, an even more relevant magazine for young professional men and women. www.CitizenCulture.com [email protected]