Nothing is safe from race-based drama!
This week started with Aleister reporting on Penn State’s costume-shaming campaign targeting Halloween garb.
However, despite the fact that a Muslim leader originally commissioned the work and the opera has been performed over 1,000 times since its debut in 1886, a British university is shutting down a musical based on Giuseppi Verdi’s Aida due amid charges of…cultural appropriation.
It is a story of war between two nations, the conflict of love rivals and the looming fate of death.But the antagonistic themes of Aida seem to have spilled into the wings after a student production of the musical Aida was cancelled amid a row over suggestions of “cultural appropriation”.A theatre at the University of Bristol said yesterday it had cancelled all showings after a revolt by students.
The musical version, by Tim Rice and Elton John, centers around an Ethiopian princess, Aida, who is held prisoner in Egypt. There were accusations of “white-washing” (i.e., assigning white students the roles of non-white characters).
Perhaps the fact the school is located on the British Isles, filled with white people, might have been a limiting factor in the diversity of the cast choices? Here is the cast as it was assembled:
Any university that allows operas and musicals to be the victims of student-organized social justice warfare can no longer be considered a serious institution of higher learning.
This sentiment has been appropriated by others:
One outraged Facebook user wrote in response: ‘The cancelling of this production of Aida on the grounds of “cultural appropriation” is outrageous censorship of the worst variety.’Aida is a great work of art and belongs to the world. The whole student body is the looser here.’Conrad Young, of Bristol Against Censorship, told the Tab: ‘although MTB seemed to approach a sensitive topic with great humility and care, Aida was not to be.’The affect that the fear of cultural appropriation has on modern campuses is a sad affair and in this case has damaged the student experience of the people involved and the prospective student audiences.’
Or, as one Brit put it:
Consider everything that goes into the making of a grand opera: Orchestration, singing, costuming, stage design, choreography. Aida is an iconic masterpiece, and its production would have enhanced the resumes of any student who participated and enriched the lives of anyone who saw it as well.
Additionally, the university could have reaped some profits in ticket sales. Nearly everyone loves stories of ancient Egypt…as the enduring success of Aida shows.
So, when the affected art students find themselves working as baristas and living in basements, they can thank the race dramatists for their lifestyle. And when the university has to cut its art budget, administrations can also thank race-baiting activists.
Sadly, this isn’t likely to be the last race-based drama on campuses, either. What a tragedy.
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