From: patriot-AT-mip.net
Date: Thu, 27 Feb 1997 05:51:15 -0200
Subject: Re: Puppets/Politics/Religion


At 08:41 PM 2/26/97 -0500, you wrote:
>I would like to reiterate that religion and politics have always been
>essential aspects of puppet theater, and still are.  To attempt to
>disengage them is peculiarly "modern" and perhaps peculiarly American.
>This is not to say that we shouldn't avoid inadvertent insults because of
>the sensitive nature of these subjects.  

While I would say, rather, that they are a "recurrent" aspect and not an
"essential" one, one must immediately see that the teleology is quite
different in these cases.  Puppet theater, while it "may" at times make a
political or religious statement, fundamentally intends to "entertain",
else it's performer was apt to have starved.
The purposes of "xtian" puppetry are solely to sugar-coat the process of
"indoctrination" and to promulgate the myths and promote conformity to the
norms - as expressed by that particular religion. Quality, artistry,
excellence and entertainment value are less important.  Religious puppetry
or theater or music or art would avoid at all costs negative comments on
their subject matter.  
The commercial versions of theater and puppetry, while persuing a
"religious" theme, might do so to the embarassment of a "church" by showing
some of the vagaries, foibles, excesses and outright "sins" of religion and
the religious, not to even mention the myriad murders and "purifications"
and exterminations of those who dissented through the ages - the heretics,
witches, dryads, and divers other adherents of religions considered
"pagan".  You will surely see that the "xtian" puppeteers and their
puppetry have no such ends in view.
  Many puppeteers and other performers have been "purified with fire" by
the "religious" just for such "sins" (called heresy !) in the past.    
The suppression of ideas and peoples throughout history, Galileo and
Copernicus being good examples of the one and the Gnostics and Templars and
Jews examples of the other have been exhibited throughout history, no ?
One only has to look to Ireland and Iraq to see it still alive and healthy
now.
While one could argue that a "religious" puppeteer might, conceiveably
write a play about Thomas a Becket which shows the state oppressing the
"church", it's unlikely they would write one about the Inquisition or the
mass extermination of the Indians in the Americas by the actions of and the
full co-operation of the "church".  Quite the contrary, religious
puppeteers would portray that genocide as "bringing the word" to the
Indians !  Remember too that Rome wasn't the only offender, the Puritans
were in there "killing for God" as well as also have been those of Islam.
But first and foremost, a "xtian" puppeteer would argue that the ONLY good
use of puppets and theater was for the proliferation of their own
institutional religious views and that the quality of the puppetry was not
really important.  They would, therefore, overlook the "art" of puppetry
and be concerned only with the results - in other words, as in history, the
end would justify the means.  True artists concern themselves at least
equally, some exclusively, with the means.
That's my two cents worth and why =I= object to religion save in churches
and from the pulpit where it's easy to avoid !  Would that it could be
banned from TV where it's become a major money-making industry with very
little "religion" involved.  I object to puppetry decending to the same level.
David M. Adams
Frederick, Maryland



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