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Destroying the Sacred Dyad: Cameras in the Classroom as Shadows on the Cave Wall

I currently teach in an old Midtown building in the center of New York City that used to house a secretarial typing school.  Legend has it that because there were lots of nefarious “students” in and around the “school” in the past, video cameras were placed in every corridor and cranny to record any crimes for the police that might take place.

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Suspension of Disbelief

The “Suspension of Disbelief” is a vital notion in any live stage performance.  We know we are sitting in a comfortable theatre in Washington, D.C. watching actors — and not in a gloomy, dark, forest in Germany watching murderers in the night — and we willingly suspend reality in favor of disbelieving what our eyes and minds are telling us is not real.

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Against Breaking the Fourth Wall

Think of a live performance stage as having four invisible walls that box in the action area.  When performer then “breaks the fourth wall” that means there is a direct interaction with the audience by shattering the pretend “wall” that invisibly stands between the live space and the perceivers.

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Cracking The Sadr City Wall

Last Spring in Baghdad, USA occupying forces built a new “Berlin” wall in Sadr City.  Just like the infamous Berlin Wall before it, the Sadr City Wall is used to “protect” the troops, it serves as a “checkpoint” and it slows the flow of people in and out of the area.  Just like the Berlin Wall before it, the Sadr City Wall is cracked and weeping people.

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