The Review We Didn't Need

Filmmakers or any other artist trying to redress cultural shortcomings in past iconoclastic works of art face an uphill battle in the ever so slippery slope of political correctness and presentism. Steven Spielberg's latest effort, an updated retelling of the classic "West Side Story" is no exception even though the veteran director went out of the way to make sure that the cultural portrayal was accurate. He and his team went  to Puerto Rico for consultation with historian, cultural experts and community members, and they asked the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College to advise them on their production so that they could get the cultural nuances right. Once the film was released, the very consultant from Hunter College wrote an op-ed piece for The New York Times (Dec. 15, 2021) that slammed the film, discarding it as a "a remake that we didn't need." How about that? Spielberg and his team went to her for advice, which we can only assume she provided, and then she takes a shot at the final product. 

Scene from "West Side Story"(2021) Source: aldianews.com

Her descent from PC Egalitarianism to PC Authoritarianism (terms coined by the conservative critic Jordan Peterson; PC Egalitarianism strives to establish equity and fairness for all; PC Authoritarianism uses victimhood to push an agenda and steamroll criticism or opponents) begins with the very first sentence she writes: "I have to confess that I never saw the original 'West Side Story.'" This is surprising since as a professor of Anthropology she would be expected to contrast and compare different events, objects, people, etc. How can she claim to take an unbiased approach if she has not seen the original film? For me, this debunks any credibility she tries to project throughout the rest of her essay and allows her allegedly analytic view to be contaminated by her own political beliefs. The French philosopher Frédéric Gros once wrote that, "We are shackled by our judgements," and it appears that as an anthropologist Yarimar Bonilla has not been able to extricate herself from these invisible constraints.

Bonilla argues that, "The film is littered with symbols of Puerto Rico’s nationalist movements, but there is no recognition of how people who embraced these symbols have long been surveilled and criminalized by the federal and Puerto Rican governments. There is a particular irony to the scene in which the Sharks are singing the Puerto Rican revolutionary anthem as they walk away from the police. As the cultural critic Frances Negrón Muntaner has argued, in real life such an act would have likely landed them under F.B.I. surveillance." These are fair points and ones that most Americans may be unaware of, but is "West Side Story" the proper place to exhibit these elements? Bonilla seems to forget that "West Side Story" is a retelling of "Romeo and Juliet", but within a Puerto Rican community in New York City in the 1950s. Her presentist approach would like to turn the narrative from love story to political docu-drama. Any director would have to greatly extend the length of the production to include this. Bonilla assumes too much when she says that the Sharks would have been arrested for singing the Prerto Rican revolutionary anthem. This would only happened if the police understand the lyrics. For them, it probably sounded just like a song that young people sing. There really is no place for this "reasoning" in "West Side Story". If her version of "West Side Story" were to include this, then she would also have to mention the 1954 shooting during the US Congress session by four members of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party. By then, no vestige of the original "West Side Story" would remain. 

Members of Puerto Rican Nationalist Party in 1954. Source: 
USA Today and AP

The issue of language comes up in Bonilla's disquisition. She assails Spielberg's decision to not include English subtitles when the Sharks sing the Puerto Rican  revolutionary anthem, saying that many Puerto Ricans do not speak Spanish and would not understand as a counter to Spielberg's assertion that he did not want to give English more power overSpanish. Bonilla attacks Spielberg's overall "imperialist" approach with "West Side Story", but uses an imperialist lens in her criticism of the exclusion of English subtitles. She points out the perceived pejorative nature of the word "prieta"--which is a descriptor for someone who is dark skinned. Recall that this controversy was stirred up with the summer release of "In the Heights", which also took place in a Hispanic neighborhood in New York City. "Prieta" is not necessarily a derogatory term. I have lived in Cuba for seven years and it is used frequently to describe someone. I am surprised that someone who claims to be an anthropologist would fail to consider the diversity of the Spanish language and its culture regarding this word.

Bonilla complains that , "The over-accented Spanish, coaxed out of U.S.-born actors by dialect coaches, ultimately becomes a kind of linguistic brownface, providing little more than a façade of authenticity as thick and corny as the brown makeup worn by the actors in the original version." Sure, you can see her point, but if she did not see the original film, how can she refer to it? Dialect coaches often are called in for dialog, etc. Americans have to learn British inflections and intonations and vice versa. I was born to a Bolivian mother and while I speak Spanish, it is with an accent. It took me a long time to come to terms with that, but I have accepted it and embraced it. There is no real issue with the "over-accented Spanish" to anyone other than Bonilla.

I do not dismiss the point that Bonilla makes, but if she really wants "The mood, the tone, the feeling and the message of a historical text to resonate with the audiences for which it is intended," then she should produce a documentary, not dismantle a musical centered on romance. 

Gros wrote that, "One needs to be unconstrained to think far." Unfortunately, Bonilla cannot see beyond her own philosophical and political blinders to truly asses "West Side Story". 

Shifting Perceptions of History Books

 Today Goodreads.com published its nominations for "Book of the Year 2021". As an avid read, especially of history and biographies, I immediately went to see the books nominated in the category of "Best History & Biography" hoping to find Ada Ferrer's excellent Cuba: An American History in it. I was stunned not to see it there.  More surprising, I saw Malcolm Gladwell's "The Bomber Mafia" included in the list. Gladwell is a very well respected observer of pop culture and noted pundit of social phenomena, but I am surprised his latest effort would be included in the history catalog. Granted his topic is historical (he discussed the role of technology during World War II), but his formal background isn't in history. 

Ferrer, on the other hand, is a recognized and highly acclaimed historian who teaches at New York University. Check out a recent interview she gave here. 

For me, Ferrer's effort sits alongside Paul Preston's magnum opus Franco: A Biography. Her narrative is excellent and instructive and she deftly avoids oversaturation of facts, names and citations. Her pace is very easy for the casual reader.  I lived in Cuba for seven years and have a strong grasp of Cuban history, but I still learned a lot from Ferrer's book. 

So why didn't her book make the Goodreads.com "Best Books of 2021" list? I think part of the issue is that people, in general, do not read history as much as they used to. Any author whose thesis tangentially includes history, will be considered "history". But for me, the real issue is that many Americans are not that familiar with Cuban history, informing their knowledge of that country by propaganda foisted on the public by the Cuban exile community in Miami. It is not an exaggeration to say that for many Americans, Cuban history began in 1959. Many Americans know who Fidel Castro and Che Guevara are. But very few know who Gerardo Machado, Ramon Grau San Martín, Frank País, Salvador García Agüero, Antonio Maceo and José Martí were. Ferrer addresses this when she writes, "People interested in Cuba make the mistake of thinking too much about Fidel Castro." Referring to how Castro survived his incarceration, she adds, "Fidel received his freedom, thanks to civic activists, many of whose names have bee lost to history." But where Ferrer really succeeds in her masterly work is displaying the US relationship with Cuba that extends to before the creation of the North American country. American conception of Cuba is formulated on two poles: 1) it is communist; 2) it is a victim of American imperialism. Until now, not much attention has been given to its relationship with the US, especially around slavery and sugar mill ownership (US senator James DeWolf owned a sugar mill and slaves in Cuba in the early part of the 19th century); or the progressive elements that briefly entered government in 1933. 

I like the depth of Ferrer's research and her writing easily transmits a wealth of historical information to the reader. It is unfortunate that Goodreads.com deemed Cuba: An American History unworthy of inclusion in the list of best books of 2021.

Historical Reflections

The historian Arnold Toynbee, in a 1947 article for The New York Times, posed the following question, "Are we asking whether history is governed by inviolable laws, which have not only taken effect in every past case to which they have applied, but are also bound to take effect in every similar situation that may arise in the future?"

A Norwegian and an American are, unwittingly, putting that thesis to the test. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has managed Manchester United since 2018, arriving with the accolades that he received as a player for that team. From 1996-2007 Solskjaer scored 126 goals in 366 matches for the Red Devisl. In 1999 his last-minute goald in the UEFA Champions League final lifted Manchester United over Bayern Munich, cementing his legacy with his team's fans. After retiring in 2007, Solskjaer managed Molde, a team in his native Norway and Cardiff in Wales, before being appointed interim manager of Manchester United in 2018.  He signed a three-year extension on July 24, 2021.  

Across the pond, Aaron Boone, was named manager of the New York Yankees on December 4, 2017. Boone's claim to fame for Yankees fans occurred on October 16, 2003 when he it a game-winning home run off of Time Wakefield of the rival Boston Red Sox to win the series and propel the Yankees into the World Series. Like Solskjaer's late-minute goal against Bayern Munich, this became Boone's signature moment. Unlike Solskjaer, Boone had no managerial experience when was selected to be Yankees manager.

Bitter Rivals Get the Last Laugh

Source: Peter Powell/EPA, via Shutterstock

This month both managers suffered humiliating defeats at the hands of their most-hated rivals: Liverpool for Manchester United and the Red sox for the Yankees. On October 5th the Boston Red Sox ended the Yankees' playoff hopes with a resounding 6-2 victory at Boston and on October 24th Manchester United were bludgeoned by Liverpool 5-0 in their own stadium--Old Trafford, known as the "Theater of Dreams". Liverpool rewrote the script into a "Theater of Nightmares". How bad did it become for Solskjaer? As the game for Manchester United progressed from "extremely poor" to "catastrophic", Liverpool fans sarcastically serenaded Solskjaer by singing "Ole's at the Wheel". They were not going to let him forget that he was at the help of the car wreck that played itself out before his very eyes. 

In Boston following the Yankees' defeat, fan chanted "YankeesSuck", this has become a tradition over the years. But the Liverpool fans showed more creativity, spirit, and let's be honest, rhythm in their "homage" to Solskjaer. The "Yankees Suck" chant sounds cultish in its repetition. Neither Boone nor Solskjaer seemed visibly affected by the derisive chants that rained down upon them.  Perhaps this ability to shake off negative comments is a strength of their personality. But does that make them good managers? 

Source: Today in 24

Boone has been soundly criticized for having been hired despite having no managerial experience. Even with his past efforts leading Molde and Cardiff, Solskjaer has been hammered in the press and social media world for not coming close to the level of top coaches such as Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool), Pep Guardiola (Manchester City) and Thomas Tuchel (Chelsea). Boone has frequently been outmanaged by Alex Cora, manager of the Boston Red Sox. Solskjaer and Boone have pleasant and calm demeanors. Solskjaer is avuncular and is comfortable with the press, speaking English as it if were his first language while Boone is passive but sometimes struggles with his communication as if English were his second language.

Moving Forward

Over the last few years there has been a tendency to hire relatively young and inexperienced coaches to manage teams. Chelsea hired its former star player Frank Lampard to manage the team, despite no previous managerial experience. He was fired earlier this year. In baseball, the Philadelphia Phillies hired a former player, Gabe Kapler, who had very little experience. He was fired after one year, although to be fair, he led the San Francisco Giants to the playoffs this year.  Will there be a change in hiring practices: opting for the hard-nosed, sometimes abrasive leadership styles over the friendly, laid back and passive style that Solskjaer and Boone display? Already there are rumors that the Italian coach Antonio Conte is being considered as a replacement for Solskjaer. Conte is driven, intense and pushes his players hard, but is a master tactician. The Yankees decided to resign Boone to a three-year contract not longer after he was outmanaged by Alex Cora in the wild card. Cora, by the way, has publicly stated his support for Boone to remain as Yankees manager. Clearly, he enjoys outwitting Boone on the baseball diamond. Eventually, the Yankees will go back to having a driven and intense manager such as Billy Martin, who became infamous in 1978 for yelling at his player Reggie Jackson in the dugout at Boston. But for now, the team prefers to have a milquetoast running the team. If only we could get someone similar to this guy (below) to manage the Yankees!

Life Imitates Art

In his 1928 book Man Who Knew Coolidge, Sinclair Lewis imbues one of his characters with a wild imagination. In sharing the novel he would like to someday write, the character describes the plot where an American marries a princess in Wales and convinces her to leave the royal family and return with him to the US. It is almost as if he predicted the decision by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to leave England and live in the US. This has nothing to do with Manchester United or the Yankees; I just like seeing how sometimes historical/fantastical ideas come true.

The Yankees and Manchester United have grand histories and traditions. But they also have bitter rivals which make those trophies shine with such a bright sheen. Nowadays, the tables have turned and the hated rivals are at the top of their game and the Yankees and Manchester United must adapt and improve. While the Yankees have consigned themselves and their fans to three more years of stultified baseball, Manchester United have yet to make a decision, keeping their fans on edge as to what direction the team will go in. 

"History is an endless conversation," observed the literary critic Ken Burke years ago. Right now that conversation is one-sided and Liverpool and the Red Sox are talking the loudest. 

Sporting Rebound

We are now into our second week of the European Championships (Euro 2020), which was delayed a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. As always we have been privileged to see gripping performances, fantastic play and epic goals. But what struck me the most is the solidarity and sportsmanship shown by players and fans following the on-the-field collapse of Danish attacking midfielder Christian Eriksen on June 12 during a first-round game against Finland. Everyone on on the field and around the world was stunned. Thankfully, he has recovered and is undergoing continuing treatment at the hospital. 

What has followed has truly been inspirational. Finland captain Tim Sparv expressed his concern following the incident. He and his team wore warm-up shirts in support of Eriksen. Even though I cannot speak or read Danish, I intuited that  "Hele Danmark er med dig, Christian" (a large sign displayed by Danish fans) meant "All of Denmark is with you, Christian". The power of empathy and solidarity is truly amazing. For me, this is the beauty of sports. They can overcome linguistic barriers and extricate the best of humanity from the deepest recesses of our current selves. I was moved when after the moment that Eriksen collapsed Finnish and Danish fans chanted his name from one side of the stadium to the other. When the Danish team returned to the field, emotionally devastated, the Finnish team stood and applauded them. I have always enjoyed the "guard of honor" which we have seen football (soccer) teams has used to show respect for opposing players and coaches. But this gesture touched me. I wish all sports could showcase humanity like this. 

Kevin De Bruyne

But the most endearing and sincere gesture came from Belgium and super star Kevin De Bruyne. Just before the game began, Belgium's Jan Vertonghen presented Denmark with a Belgian shirt covered with signatures from the Belgian players encased in a frame. This is pure class.  But for me the most poignant moment came when Kevin De Bruyne scored the goal that won the game for his team and broke the hearts of millions of Danes. Instead of engaging in a wild celebration, De Bruyne displayed no open exhilaration and extorted his teammates not to show up the opposition. He did this out of respect for the Danish team and their fans. This is what being a great sportsman is all about. I follow Burnley and De Bruyne and his Manchester City teammates frequently wallop that team in the Premier League, but I tip my hat to him. He is class and we need more people like him in this world. 

And then we have Bo Schemblecher, who was coach of the University of Michigan football team from 1968-1990. Recent revelations by his son Matt accuse a former university team doctor of sexually abusing him and that his father, Bo, did nothing about it. Now amidst this scandal, some former University of Michigan football players have started a petition to defend the now deceased coach's legacy. We have seen a similar reaction in wake of the firing of Pennsylvania State University's (American) football coach Joe Paterno for his failure to act to prevent the abuse of young boys by one of his coaches.  I have always had misgivings about how sports-centric the US has become. But now it appears that sports allegiance has superseded morals and ethical values in our society.

Football (soccer) is far from perfect, but it is more likely to provide shining moments that remind us that we have more in common that we acknowledge. Right now, in Europe they are celebrating humanity, while on "our side of the pond" we celebrate celebrity. 

 

My experience-Micaela

The (Dis)United States of Floyd

For the last several weeks the US has been bookended by two cases that are symptomatic of what is ailing our society and country. For just under a year now the US has had to do some soul searching following the horrific death of George Floyd at the hands of the now former police officer Derek Chauvin. Chauvin was recently found guilty of all three charges in the death of George Floyd and is now in prison awaiting sentencing. This has bought a measure of relief to the Black Lives Matter movement and to the wider African-American population, especially to those who live in the Minneapolis area. 

The other case that has our country in its tight grip involves Dejywan Floyd, the man who succumbed to road rage and shot and killed the passenger (who happened to be white) of a vehicle that had passed him on the I-95 highway in North Carolina on March 25th. The George Floyd case is representative of the police violence perpetrated against Black men that we have seen far too often. The Chauvin conviction is a small first step to addressing this issue. The Dejywan Floyd is more complicated. The issues at play are the easy access to guns and the phenomenon of road rage that turns normally calm people into violent lunatics. 

Source: https://www.wgal.com

The Dejywan Floyd case has not received the same media attention that the George Floyd case has. And that is understandable given all that is at play in the Chauvin trial. But I think a far more insidious factor is that our country is not really ready to tackle the issue of road rage (we could also make the case about violence against woman since the murder is a male and the victim a female). We have already seen the strong resistance to any form of gun control.  The violence committed against George Floyd was egregious; the violence committed by Dejywan Floyd is harder to pinpoint because it is almost ephemeral, evaporating like the morning dew on a late summer morning after the act was committed. Road rage lasts seconds and dissipates where the violence exhibited by Chauvin lasted longer, was more embedded in his personality and, more importantly, was captured on video. In the Dejywan Floyd case, there were no witnesses to the crime other than the father and children who watched their wife and mother die needlessly. 

Our country has closed the book on Derek Chauvin and justice has been delivered to the aggrieved George Floyd family. Now it is time to turn our attention to another chapter in this most difficult narrative that we are living: road rage violence. Both of the Floyd cases reflect a part of us that we do not want to admit to. In his novel Cousin Bette, the French novelist Honoré de Balzac writes, "Love is the gold, but hate the iron of that mine of emotions that lies buried within us." Thanks to social movements like Black Lives Matter we can dig through our many strata of ignorance, racism, indifference and lack of knowledge and empathy to bring to light important events and issues that must be faced as a nation. There are so many diamonds and minerals that must be examined in their own right; no one diamond shines brighter than the others. We must not forget this. 

Taking de Balzac's quote further, the United States is like a coin; one side is made of gold and the other is made of iron. As we all experience the upheaval of social justice, we should be very concerned with which side shines brightest when we are back on our feet again.

What the New York Yankees Can Learn from Burnley

They come from two very different worlds (baseball and football [soccer in the American vernacultar]), but they comingle in my being, for I am a fan of both teams. I have been a life-long Yankees fan (nearly 45 years), and I have been rooting for Burnley for the last 12 years, first following them when they toured the United States in 2009.  One team, the Yankees, has a payroll of over $200 million; the other, Burnley, features a payroll that just tops $35 million. 

But it is Burnley that has shown more heart and grit this season. Featuring no super-star players they depend on the strength of community, teamwork and a solid defensive organization. For the last several years, they refuted the critics who predicted that they would be relegated from the Premier League to the Championship (they finished in 10th place last season) and they frequently "punch above their weight" as the saying goes. They embody the true working-class spirit of their region in Lancashire, United Kingdom.

The Yankees, on the other hand, have been lethargic, languid and almost feckless in their play and results. Losing is one thing (more on that in a minute), but to show no effort or dedication or passion during a run of miserable play is disappointing. The Yankees have won five and lost 10, recently being swept by their division rivals, the Tampa Bay Rays. I watched their games on Friday and Saturday, but did not watch the Sunday game. Why? Because I had watched Burnley play a superb game against the powerful Manchester United at the venerable Old Trafford stadium.  They really put it to Manchester United and in the words of many commentators, "made them look ordinary."  Given the huge differences in payroll, this is quite a feat. They pressed the Manchester United defense and improved their pace in possession, something they usually do not do and forward Chris Wood was a constant threat. One Manchester United fan commented that "Wood was a handful". Another Red Devil fan from Norway agreed, saying, "Yeah, and such a great attitude. Arm in the back-no diving, no whining. 'All in' duels, hard but fair. Great positioning. Fun to watch and gave our guys a challenging match." 

In the end, Mason Greenwood and Edinson Cavani did Burnley in, scoring in the final ten minutes of the game to seal the victory and douse the Clarets with bitter disappointment. I was dismayed by the result, but proud of Burnley; they gave 110% throughout the whole game and were sunk by the brilliance of the young and mega-talented Greenwood. As I mentioned earlier, there is no dishonor in defeat as long as you have played well. Burnley played with the abandon of a team that refused to be daunted by an opponent with a much larger payroll and a more luminous pedigree.

I do not see this passion or effort from the New York Yankees and after the Burnley-Manchester United game I decided to forego the Yankees-Rays game; I was not ready to come down from the high of passionate and gritty play to the desultory form and output we have seen from the Yankees so far this season. It is hard to believe but I now find the Yankees boring to watch. There is no spark, no pulse it seems to get excited about. The season is still early, of course, but right now I am not compelled to watch a team that does not evince passion or excitement. 

What can the solution be? Who knows. But contrasting the managers, Sean Dyche for Burnley and Aaron Boone for the Yankees, we can see a glimmer of why the teams have different attitudes. Dyche is fiery and extremely organized at the back and has the respect of his players. Boone is low key and although considered a "player's coach" we have yet to see him bring out the passion that Dyche does with his Burnley players. 

The recent revelation that six Premier League teams and others in Europe want to break away and form their own Super League, where the best of the best play each other weekly and no other teams, especially those with small budgets can participate, is symptomatic of the crisis facing football. What I love about the Premier League is that small teams like Burnley can play against the top-flight teams like Manchester United (they beat Manchester United 2-0 at Old Trafford last season). I would hate to see this change.