DETOX | Better late than never

WHAT’S UP?

As you can see, we’re back to discussing things that should be a given. That said, we are witnessing a defining moment: A moment where women are speaking up against what has been silenced. Women are rightfully angry, and they’re demanding to be heard; they’re demanding that past shortcomings and mistakes be confronted and accounted for. 

We are listening, and we are trying to learn. Everyone has a role to play so that speaking up doesn’t have to be yet another trauma every survivor needs to deal with. 

We have a responsibility to lighten each other’s loads, because life is difficult enough. We need to be more sensitive, and, in short, less stupid — less selfish. We are hopeful that this current wave is a turning point, and that the circle of silence has been broken — for good. 

READ 

-Now is probably a good time to revisit artist and filmmaker Salma El Tarzi’s research on sexism in mainstream Egyptian cinema, part of which was published in Mada last year. Also in Mada, we recommend Rosaline El Bey’s personal account on the fear women inherit and pass on, written in light of the recent Ahmed Bassam Zaki accusations.

-For Arabic readers, make sure you check out Jeem’s recent series, Manufacturing Masculinity. 

-We also suggest you take a tour of Sarah Ahmed’s Feminist Killjoy Blog, where she shares her thoughts on the intersections of feminism and race as well as multiple reflections on her work. The first two posts, which deal with the notion of “complaint,” focus on discrimination in academic settings, yet they are particularly relevant as the issues they dissect easily apply to the consequences faced by women who speak out in general, regardless where, when or against what/whom. 

-Inspired by one of Ahmed’s posts, we share this moving 1978 poem by Audre Lorde, titled “A Litany for Survival”:

For those of us

who were imprinted with fear

like a faint line in the center of our foreheads

learning to be afraid with our mother’s milk

for by this weapon

this illusion of some safety to be found

the heavy-footed hoped to silence us

For all of us

this instant and this triumph

We were never meant to survive.

Read the full poem here. 

-And as a bonus, our friend the Anxious Daffodil shares some guidelines on how not to be a douche. They might seem pretty basic to some, but repetition is the best teacher:

• Do not concern yourself with the actions of others. Do not judge anyone. Focus on being better; question yourself — always. 
• In the future, think before you act. Do not be self-centered, extend your thoughts to others. Be considerate, sensitive, a compassionate partner. 
• Your past mistakes are not going anywhere. Be brave enough to acknowledge that the reason they’re coming back to chase you is you and you alone. Be open to criticism: listen, apologize, learn. 
• Reflect. We are going through a moment that will change the nature of how we deal with one another, how we manage our relationships.
• Remember that harboring a desire is not enough reason to act on it. Nobody owes you anything. Communication is key. 
• Allow yourself to hurt, to be confused. It’s the only path to change.
  
• Know that your so-called progressive ideals are not a shield.
  
• Take cues. Recognize discomfort. Don’t overstay your welcome.
  
• If you are in a relationship, do not take it for granted. Even long-term commitments evolve and take different forms; be attuned to your partner’s needs and mood shifts — give them space when they ask for it.
  
•  Finally, do not take advice from your male friends at face value; it’s been proven disastrous. 

WATCH 

We are currently drowning in Season 3 of Netflix’s German production Dark, so expect a reflection on it once we’re finished watching. Until then you can check out Dark’s official website to explore the complex family relations at the heart of the show.

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LISTEN

American singer and songwriter Sufjan Stevens has announced a new album this September with the launch of a new single titled “America,” which will be included on it, earlier this week. On this occasion, as well as its 15-year anniversary, Ahmed al-Sabbagh recommends Stevens’ folk rock experimental album Illinois (2005), which was a turning point in the artist’s career. 

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The 45-year-old musician has a unique style in his approach to the alternative folk and baroque rock genre, using traditional instruments such as the guitar, banjo, piano, saxophone and drums as illustrated in his albums Carrie and Lowell (2015) and Illinois, and sometimes introducing electronic riffs as he does in The Age of Adz (2010) and Planetarium (2017), where he collaborated with Bryce Dessner of The National, Nico Muhly, and drummer James McAlister. 

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Stevens also has several experimental projects that rely largely on electronic music, where he adds some sound effects to his vocals and elevates the rhythm with a deep baseline. His music is often encapsulated in a dreamy, melancholic atmosphere that makes the listener feel that someone out there shares their feelings of loneliness, which is what initially attracted me to his work when I listened to him for the first time around five years ago.

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In Illinois — Stevens’ second album in his “50 States” project, in which he planned to traverse the United States through music and which is now, it appears, suspended — the artist utilizes his vocals along with a diverse choir and orchestra-like music in most of the songs. His lyrics are inspired by the geography, landmarks and history of the state, as they’d been in his 2003 album Michigan, a tribute to his home state. In 2007, in what could be considered a final extension of the “50 States” project, Stevens released The BQE, “a mixed-medium artistic exploration of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway” in New York City: it premiered as a show where an original film directed by Stevens was screened while an orchestra performed a live soundtrack of avant-garde classical music (also composed by Stevens). 

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The state projects are fairly different from Stevens’ later albums, which are largely inspired by his own personal life and in which he poetically reflects on loss, love, sex, anxiety and loneliness. In Carrie and Lowell, for instance, he mourns the passing of his mother and expresses his appreciation for his stepfather, who helped him establish his record company. In The Age of Adz, meanwhile, Stevens searches for himself and the meanings of god, lost love and death.

On the track “Vesuvius”, he sings: 

“Though I know

I will fail

I cannot

Be made to laugh

For in life

As in death

I'd rather be burned

Than be living in debt”

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Stevens has also contributed to the original soundtrack of the film Call me by Your Name (2017) with three tracks — two new ones, and one that was remastered. The song “Mystery of Love” was nominated for a Grammy for “Best Song Written for Visual Media” that year. 

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You can listen to Illinois in its entirety below: 

SALAM

In conclusion, dear readers, we leave you with Sufjan Stevens’ The BQE — a treat for the eyes and the ears:

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