So good! I was glued to reading. I love this: "The only thing worse than losing the story is stumbling into cliché." The idea at the end of care and maintenance reminds me of the 60s postmodern dance trend of trying to subvert narrative, like in Yvonne Rainer's Trio A, and the idea of democratizing dance performance with task-based movement structures. Also -- I haven't read Zakaria, so I don't know if this is what I would think if I had... but my thought is that the value of her description of her experiences is that it helps to make her known to a general audience that doesn't have much cultural insight into a Pakistani female lawyer-activist's perspectives. You wouldn't need to do that as much with say Gloria Steinem, there's a sense of where she would be coming from, what she's up against, what is motivating her, what her values are, she has a character that is known in the dominant mainstream culture. PS - Is this whole essay actually just coming out of coping with the end of Game of Thrones? :D
thanks Marie <3 You have sent me into a rabbit hole in postmodern dance trends and it is a delight. Your point about using narrative/anecdotes to forge connection with the audience from a marginalized other is definitely on point, i think Naire's criticism is that zakaria is falling into a trap by doing this dance of trying to bring the audience into familiarity, that this is a pattern in which the audience (often, educated middle class Anglo-american women, women like Steinem) expects a certain performance of vulnerability of marginalized people, maybe in accordance to audience tropes of what a Pakistani woman should be like, instead of just hearing Zakaria's systemic criticism based on research and expertise. Is that a fair criticism? I think so! it also brings up the question: to whom is this written, who is this audience, why is it we are writing to them, etc
A girlfriend and colleague sent this to me today, and I was riveted. So happy to have crossed your path and cannot wait to read everything you've ever written.
So good! I was glued to reading. I love this: "The only thing worse than losing the story is stumbling into cliché." The idea at the end of care and maintenance reminds me of the 60s postmodern dance trend of trying to subvert narrative, like in Yvonne Rainer's Trio A, and the idea of democratizing dance performance with task-based movement structures. Also -- I haven't read Zakaria, so I don't know if this is what I would think if I had... but my thought is that the value of her description of her experiences is that it helps to make her known to a general audience that doesn't have much cultural insight into a Pakistani female lawyer-activist's perspectives. You wouldn't need to do that as much with say Gloria Steinem, there's a sense of where she would be coming from, what she's up against, what is motivating her, what her values are, she has a character that is known in the dominant mainstream culture. PS - Is this whole essay actually just coming out of coping with the end of Game of Thrones? :D
Sorry, to clarify, I meant "the idea at the end (end of this essay) of care and maintenance"
thanks Marie <3 You have sent me into a rabbit hole in postmodern dance trends and it is a delight. Your point about using narrative/anecdotes to forge connection with the audience from a marginalized other is definitely on point, i think Naire's criticism is that zakaria is falling into a trap by doing this dance of trying to bring the audience into familiarity, that this is a pattern in which the audience (often, educated middle class Anglo-american women, women like Steinem) expects a certain performance of vulnerability of marginalized people, maybe in accordance to audience tropes of what a Pakistani woman should be like, instead of just hearing Zakaria's systemic criticism based on research and expertise. Is that a fair criticism? I think so! it also brings up the question: to whom is this written, who is this audience, why is it we are writing to them, etc
A girlfriend and colleague sent this to me today, and I was riveted. So happy to have crossed your path and cannot wait to read everything you've ever written.
Ugh, the Steinem gaze. She really irritates me.