March 2, 2010
I watched the finale of The Bachelor last night. Having viewed this prime time drama, I am left feeling that television is perpetuating a dangerous view of what love is and should be. I am aware of the cliches that have been ingrained in me by years of consuming tv romance. I understand that love is something deeper and more complex than what tv relationships generally illustrate, but I do on occasion find myself affected by the constant barrage of images of people "falling in love". The interesting thing about The Bachelor this season is that all the people I have spoken to seem to acknowledge the immaturity of Jake and Vienna's relationship. Yet the couple talk about it as if everyone is seeing them wrongly and that regardless their "love" will prevail. I find this scary, if the person we love causes us to shut out others and the rest of the world that is dangerous. Love is not about finding someone who does not see any of your faults, but about finding someone to support you, who builds on your strengths, but is not afraid to shine light on your weaknesses. I am also concerned about the way that tv romance deals with feelings. Jake ends up so confused and has trouble making his decision regarding Tenley and Vienna. He is portrayed as tortured by the end of the final episode. And no one asks him why. No one challenges him to look to the future, to look at himself, to acknowledge what environmental factors are having an effect on his decisions. Tenley does in the After the Rose episode, but Jake just gets defensive. We should not have to defend our choices in love, but we do need to be able to talk about why we made certain decisions and the consequences of those decisions. Especially regarding the people that we choose to spend time with. I work with middle schoolers and it struck me how similar Jake's and my middle schoolers' answers were. Tv romance is no more mature than middle school crushes. How are we as a society supposed to mature when the relationships we view are perpetually immature? Love is something beautiful, but it is not a given. The fact that a man would go on tv to find a wife and commit to choosing one out of 25 random women is weird. It gives the illusion that love is something that we get regardless of how we live our lives, treat ourselves and treat those around us. I have met many 20 and 30 somethings who are jaded at the thought of love and I think it has a great deal to do with the way it is portrayed in popular culture. Instead of it being a moment of joy when it does happen, it is a constant negative when it doesn't. If the next bachelor or bachelorette had the view of Alice Walker in the following quote, "I have learned not to worry about love; but to honor its coming with all my heart." how would this affect our expectations and thoughts on love?
Posted by Sarah McCann. Posted In : Love
March 1, 2010
Over the last three years, working as a community artist in Baltimore, it has become increasingly clear to me that one of the most important components of a successful community arts project is support. Going beyond the obvious need for monetary support, one must also have the investment of the partnering organizations, members of the community, and volunteers. I have learned the hard way how to recognize when this support may or may not be present. I now realize in hindsight that there were ...
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Posted by Sarah McCann. Posted In : Community Arts
February 28, 2010
Dancing is a way to have voice. A way to express who and what we are and to embody all the joy and feeling of life. When people are fully present in the moment, in the music, in the song, it is not only a beautiful thing to witness, but also to experience. I danced last night at the Ottobar's
Prince vs. Madonna vs. Michael Jackson Dance Party and there was a really great feel there. It was not the usual meat market bars tend to be, people were there to dance. And we did. I didn't used to danc...
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Posted by Sarah McCann. Posted In : Love
February 26, 2010
There was an article on counterpunch yesterday about prosecuting George W. Bush for war crimes. The focus of the article was
Charlotte Dennett and Vincent Bugliosi. Dennett who ran for attorney general in Vermont in 2008 made a campaign pledge to appoint Vincent Bugliosi as a special prosecutor to seek a murder indictment against George W. Bush for the deaths of U.S. soldiers in Iraq. Dennett did not get elected, but she and Bugliosi are continuing to work to hold the former president account... Continue reading...
Posted by Sarah McCann. Posted In : Responsibility
February 25, 2010
How and what we learn has nothing has nothing to do with school. Learning is about choice. People are naturally curious and will seek out the things that they need and want to know. If allowed to follow these paths, their education will be rich and meaningful. Unfortunately, very few are able to learn in this way. Compulsive schooling requires that students learn what is in the curriculum, whether or not it applies to their lives. It punishes creativity and often critical thinking (students t...
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Posted by Sarah McCann. Posted In : Education
February 24, 2010
Why is it so easy to have an open and honest discussion with some people and so hard with others? I think it is a matter of questions. Whether or not people are comfortable answering them and able to ask them will either make or break a conversation. I was not always able to answer questions. One of my mentors in grad school once asked me what I wanted, and I was stuck, I could not come up with anything. I realized that questions made me extremely uncomfortable so I started a project called
A... Continue reading...
Posted by Sarah McCann. Posted In : Communication
February 22, 2010
"Limitation is willful and childish" I believe this, but I also believe in boundaries. What is the difference between limits and boundaries? Limits are something one cannot exceed or pass, a restriction. Boundaries are something that mark a limit, but can be expanded, redrawn, recreated. I limited myself as a young person, often defining myself in negatives. I did not eat meat, I did not drink, I did not do drugs, I did not like this or that, I would never do this or that. All these things I...
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Posted by Sarah McCann. Posted In : Communication
February 20, 2010
What is it? That je ne sais quoi. That attraction. That magnetism. That indescribable
something that some people have. It is not just a physical attraction. It is something more, something deeper. Something that from within a person, draws me toward them. Something that makes me want to be near them. Something that makes me forget myself. Something that is beautiful, joyous, and magic. It
is magic. It is a magic that one can feel, an electricity, a chemistry. It is something that doesn't happ...
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Posted by Sarah McCann. Posted In : Love
February 20, 2010
I have had the immeasurable pleasure of working for the last two years with the Stadium School Youth Dreamers, a non-profit organization dedicated to decreasing the amount of violence youth are exposed to after school by opening a youth-run youth center. There is something incredible that is happening at this organization. The young people involved and their adult allies are some of the most amazing people that I have met in my life. The environment that teacher/director Kristina Berdan creat...
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Posted by Sarah McCann. Posted In : Community Arts
February 18, 2010
I am again addicted to caffeine. I had kicked it and then during a trip to New York, I somehow fell into old habits again. I have only been drinking a half-caffeinated cup of coffee a day, but now I need it. Last week I didn't. Addictions are an interesting phenomenon. I am also currently addicted to sugar. I am glad I have never been addicted to anything stronger because I have a hard enough time with coffee and sweets. My lifestyle at the moment does not really support an addictionless life...
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Posted by Sarah McCann. Posted In : Responsibility
