[Communique: 03.29.03 - 10AM]

I have been writing an application for a fellowship with Cornerstone. In describing neverland to them I was rereading what I wrote about it in January. Here is something from a letter to a friend:

I didn't see neverland as being as apocalyptic as you did. The theme of armageddon, as I understand it, is one that romantics and revolutionaries often use in the service of their visions. While it is very powerful (and appeals a great deal to me), I don't think it is the whole truth. It's just as important to remember that the world is not ending, that life goes on, and that humans are primarily a danger to themselves. As for the ideology behind X's vision - you will see that in the story it is pretty explicitly Marxist. I opened it up to the performer and asked him to create it new every night, which is why it changed so much. I was uncomfortable with his choice to propose the murder of all children, but I also think that he did that completely within the rules of the game and that putting such terrifying images on the table was part of the deep work of the project. I think that in all my watching of Holocaust documentaries and horror films and anti-capitalist videos and everything that has to do with murder and sickness and genocide, I have never heard anyone propose the murder of children in general.

For me, X is a visionary in the anarchist tradition. At its most radical, this is indeed negativity towards the history of human beings (to the extent that history begins with writing and civilization and therefore with structures of dominance and slavery) and white people (to the extent that whiteness is a construct based on colonial domination) and Americans (to the extent that America is the largest and most powerful empire in history). Ideally this kind of radical anarchist perspective does not mean that you hate all history (which is also the history of love and justice and peace) or all white people (who are not inherently dominant or evil) or all Americans (who are not all emperors). But I think the tale of X, as you will see in the short story, is about the difference between a romantic utopian anarchism which is fundamentally disconnected from the world and a complex historical materialism which is essentially cynical and relativist. My own proposal would be something that combines historical materialism with romantic anarchism, but this is not something we see a lot of in "Elegy," which is a very dark story. In "Elegy," both options suck. The visionary X leads his friends into destruction, disillusionment, and murder, while the historical voices (the radio, for example) talk constantly about war and military coups. Everywhere you turn, violence.

I was also offended by some parts. On this project I rejected some of the assumptions about the director's role. I would not at all be willing to take responsibility for everything the actors said and did. Traditionally the director has all the agency and actors have none, but in this case I gave them responsibility for their words and actions.