It is with dismay that The Savannah Dramaturgy notes that much of the Congressional right-wing find the idea of arts funding something to give them the fits and blind staggers. The arts, evidently, are in no real need of stimulus from the government.
To answer Eric Cantor (R-VA) and Jack Kingston (R-GA) and their charges of "pork-barrel" spending in regards to the arts, The Savannah Dramaturgy has to ask how money to the NEA is any more pork barrel than highways, bridges, or ANY OTHER SPECIAL APPROPRIATION TO ANY OTHER INDUSTRY? To quote Rep. Kingston from the Boston Globe "We have real people out of work right now and putting $50 million in the NEA and pretending that's going to save jobs as opposed to putting $50 million in a road project is disingenuous." This begs the question, then, of why artists aren't "real people."
Assuming that Mr. Kingston is willing to admit that your average artist is a homo sapiens (which, while the vagaries commited by the current leadership of the Republican party are many, denial of this is far-fetched even for them), then one may make the safe assumption that Mr. Kingston is simply not interested in jobs for artists. One might tell such artists to simply "get real jobs." Jobs like, waiting tables or somesuch. And yet, certain bankers have produced no more tangible product than an actor... but nobody tells them to get real jobs.
And herein lies the rub. Harry Hopkins, aid to Franklin Roosevelt, was once asked about the hiring of thousands of artists during the Great Depression. He reportedly said, "Hell, they've got to eat like everyone else." I don't think that artists' dietary requirements have changed, but they are no longer considered professionals. We here at The Savannah Dramaturgy are all trained in our fields, and if our field was anything other than the arts... the concept that we were unable to find gainful employment in our field would be decried as sheer travesty by the right. I guess we simply need to start writing odes to the wisdom of Rush and O'Reilly if we are to get any support.
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4 comments:
Oh, haven't you heard? Artists have a special organ designed by our lord Jesus Christ that allows for the easy digestion of oil-based paint and David Mamet scripts.
Apparently the bohemian lifestyle of artists in Savannah must be dead. Things are hard all around for everyone and we all might have to work a few extra jobs on top of our already hectic lives. We all choose the arts for different reasons. What’s yours? If you choose it for monetary gain or be famous, get out now. If it’s using your gifts and talents to better yourself and others around you, then you have chosen wisely.
What is the point of having extra money for the NEA if all of our patrons are stuck at home watching TV? It is free after all, why pay for a bad show? Want a real stimulus plan, continue to present the very best that our industry can and the patrons will keep coming back.
Also, for those who may have missed it, there was $50 million slated to go the NEA through the stimulus bill that has already been passed.
Bryan, I don't think that Eric, or anyone in Savannah for that matter, is looking for "monetary gain". I would imagine that the vast majority of money given to Savannah Theatres would go towards funding the organizations themselves, allowing us to improve our "bad shows", and perhaps furnish the people at the top of those organizations, some of whom easily work as much or more than people in "real" jobs, with a living salary. Even if some of the money found it's way to the performers, is there really anything wrong with a desire for making money off one's passion? Your implication that there is something wrong with artists who don't desire the "bohemian lifestyle" is quite frankly insulting.
Bryan,
My choice of the arts is because I love what I do. If I could get paid for what I do, I could spend more time, care, and attention on it and improve its quality.
Hence my desire for funding.
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