Sunday, February 19, 2017

Bonus Post

There were three things that got me through this week:

1. Seeing the 20th anniversary tour of Rent

2. Going to a Rent-themed SoulCycle class

3. This video that Einat sent me:



I kind of thought I was "over" Rent. It's, like, kind of passe now, right? But I think it's fair to say that Rent changed my life, as it inspired a deep empathy and curiosity for HIV/AIDS, which placed me on a long trajectory towards a career in healthcare. And Rent changed art, too. It was super avant-garde in the 90s to have a multicultural cast that featured characters who were junkies, drag queens, and lesbians. We're still paying homage now to those bold choices (read: Hamilton), and it's still -- oddly enough -- considered avant-garde.

I guess what I'm particularly struck by, as I reenter an obsessive Rent period, is how important art becomes in the fight for what we believe is right. I think often of "Untitled" (billboard of an empty bed) and its strange magic that made people really *see* what was already in front of their eyes. 

I'm super tempted to close with a lyric, but I'll save it for Adam and Lin-Manuel.

Happy Sunday <3

1 comment:

  1. MoooooooooOOOoooo
    But if you had to choose a lyric which would it have been?
    You're not aloneeeeee. I'm not aloneeeee.

    ReplyDelete