Our places in the world - October 2023 Issue
Over the past several years, Sarah Edgcumbe has made several trips to Palestine, including to Gaza and Nablus. She wrote about her experiences of and perspective on the ongoing conflict in the region several times. In light of recent events, we have been revisiting her work and find it to be of continuing relevance:
"Just as we should not tolerate anti-semitism, Islamophobia or any kind of racism in society, so too we should not tolerate State policies which harm millions of people and strangle an entire nation."
- PALESTINE SOLIDARITY: COMPULSORY DEFENCE OF HUMAN RIGHTS, NOT ANTI-SEMITISM - Sarah Edgcumbe, August 2018
"Calls for conversation-based reconciliation and an end to armed resistance are disingenuous. These are not calls for peace. In real terms, these are calls for the Palestinians to roll over and die quietly."
- “NEUTRALITY”: A TOOL OF SYSTEMATIC MURDER AND OPPRESSION - Sarah Edgcumbe, May 2021
As always, we stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people, and against the disproportionate state violence inflicted on them by the government of Israel, its occupying forces and its international supporters. Our thoughts this month are with the many who have been killed, injured, or lost loved ones in recent days due to genocidal policies and agendas.
This month also saw the release of the 2023 'State of the Climate' report, in which over 15,000 scientists warn that we are "entering uncharted territory" due to continued warming of our planet by anthropomorphic climate change. As the global picture becomes increasingly uncertain, we bring you two different local perspectives on environmental issues. New contributor Geo Polley revisits the moral questions around environmental stewardship through recent incidents of harm to Norfolk wildlife, while Jemma Luck and Sophie Willis from Norwich EcoHub preview an upcoming local event that explores the question of what it means to lose your home to climate crisis.
Meanwhile, our longstanding contributor Carmina Masoliver brings us a report from London Bi Pride and a review of the new student production Real Boy, while Sunetra Senior continues her study of the representation of Borderline Personality Disorder with an in-depth look at 2022 Marilyn Monroe biopic Blonde.
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BI PRIDE LONDON 2023 - A REPORT
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DEADLY DOMINION - FINDING BALANCE IN OUR DUTIES TO NATURE
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HOW BLONDE (2022) POWERFULLY DEPICTS BPD
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IN SEARCH OF A TRANS BAD BOY: REAL BOY REVIEW
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NO PLACE LIKE HOME? A WEEKEND OF REFLECTION WITH NORWICH ECOHUB
by Carmina Masoliver
Entering Bi Pride felt as if walking into a rainbow of purples, blues, and pinks, gravitating towards bright and glittery stalls, taking note of books I hadn’t yet read. Despite the joy that many still experience at the London Pride march, many have also become more and more uncomfortable with the commercialisation, police presence, and divisions that exclude trans people and erase bi people. Bi Pride’s regular work involves consulting with the wider Pride organisation, but this one specific event is devoted to the B part of the acronym - and filled with stalls, performances and talks. As well as a celebratory space, filled with joy, it was important to me to delve deeper into what these spaces mean today, so I attended two talks on the ‘I am Proud’ stage, focussing on representation and colonialism.
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by Geo Polley
Content warning: mentions of animal death
Norfolk is home to the oldest Wildlife Trust in the UK, and with over 25 local nature reserves, we are right on nature’s doorstep. But with proximity, comes responsibility. We need to change our perspective if we are to be effective stewards of the environment.
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by Sunetra Senior
This Autumn marks the one-year anniversary of the release of Andrew Dominik’s controversial film Blonde: a fictionalised biopic of the iconic Hollywood star Marilyn Monroe, whose life was famously fraught; the movie is based on the novel by the same name by Joyce Carol Oates. Aptly, October is also the month of mental health awareness in the UK, where, Blonde has been highly contested upon screening, regarding the talking point of misogyny: namely, whether the film is ultimately progressive in this arena or not. Many felt that the overtly gritty personal depiction of Monroe was sadistic, exploiting the already oppressive experience of Fifties womanhood. However, there are many dimensions to this film which would indicate that much of the immediate backlash may well be disproportionate. One of the lenses through which it was incredibly successful, for example, was its loyal depiction of raw BPD, or Borderline Personality Disorder: a greatly misunderstood and underrepresented mental health illness.
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by Jemma Luck & Sophie Willis
In 2022, 32.6 million people were forced to leave their homes due to floods, droughts, wildfires and other climate induced disasters. That’s more people than were displaced through conflict in the same period. Entire cities have had to relocate, communities have been disbanded, and as the world gets hotter, the number of people being displaced will continue to grow.
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by Carmina Masoliver
CW: mentions of transphobia and misgendering
Real Boy is a play that exists for the community it is about and primarily for, whilst asserting that trans issues are human rights issues, for any members of the audience that may be in any doubt about that. The introduction to the play text of Real Boy states it is “written by a trans-man and a Black woman,” highlighting the importance of trans people telling their own stories. Writers Finn A. Evans and Ramonah N.J. Gibson joined forces to create the play during their respective MA courses. The fact that the casting includes a leading trans actor, who was involved in the creative process, also reinforces the importance of trans’ voices and confirms that it’s not just talk.
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Between conflict, climate and conferences it's been a month of hard news for many of us. As always we encourage you to look after yourself and those close to you, to explore alternative, less-exploitative sources of news and information, and to stand up where you can against the powers that disregard the value of our lives.
In Solidarity,The Norwich Radical Team
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