Ok, so I know the idea of feminism has been done to death, however there is generally little place for it in religion. Most societies in the past were patriarchal, and some still are. Because of this, I thought about examining the relationship between religion and feminism by proposing a fascist society, run by a women. Think Iron Lady ruling in Stalin’s Russia (which I realise was communist, but it’s the public terror I’m trying to replicate). My symbol reflects this.
Without further delay, my 5 rules are:
Enforced curfew; not very imaginative, but realistic I feel. V for Vendetta style, with military patrol.
No Freedom Of Speech; again pretty standard, but control of the media leads to control of the public. Even today in North Korea.
Making homosexuality illegal; Not my views I’d like to point out, but this is a religious faction, derived from Christianity, with Mary Magdelene as the figurehead instead of Jesus. The denial of homosexuality has been synonymous with Christianity for century’s.
Sex Before Marriage Punishable by Death; On the same thought trail as above, keeping with puristic Christian views. Discouraging promiscuity.
General Sexism; This isn’t a rule as such, but a collection. Like Jim Crow laws used in South America to encourage racial segregation, these encourage gender segregation. Men are paid less, the law tends to side with women, men often get blamed for womens crimes etc. Not necessarily segregation physically, but in every other sense of the word. Maybe even revoking mens right to vote.

Also my symbol is feminism with Jesus on the Cross. Not only because Jesus is the symbol of Christianity, but because the think Jesus is weak for dying and he is weak because he is a man. They’re pretty sexist. I’m not.

So I listened to Adam’s ‘Scanner Darkly’ monologue, and something clicked in my mind. I’ve been playing a lot of horror games recently and the two just felt like they went well with each other. The recording Adam did, with transcript can be found here. 

Anyway, I think it makes it sound a lot more real? I dunno, it just shows how much can be added with a few sound effects, a humming and a reverb on the voice.

I’m supposed to act like they aren’t here.
Assuming there’s a “they” at all.
It may just be my imagination.
Whatever it is that’s watching…
… it’s not human…
It doesn’t ever blink.
What does a scanner see?
Into the head?
Down into the heart?
Does it see into me, into us?
Clearly or darkly?
I hope it sees clearly, because
I can ‘t any longer see into myself.
I see only murk.
I hope for everyone’s sake
the scanners do better.
Because if the scanner sees only darkly,
the way I do…
… then I’m cursed and cursed again.
And we’ll only wind up dead this way…
… knowing very little and getting
that little fragment wrong too.

UPDATE: I really liked what Jack did with the track here; I had an inkling early on that ASD would be an interesting connection for what we’d eventually end up doing. Whilst it doesn’t line up perfectly, the film/book’s depiction of America not only shares alot of the elements we discussed (total surveillance, paranoia), it’s oddly prescient as well – the film was released in 2006, and the opening describes it as taking place “Seven Years in The Future”.

Per Wikipedia:

“The United States has lost the war on drugs. Substance D, a powerfully dangerous drug that causes bizarre hallucinations has swept the country, and approximately 20% of the total population is now addicted. In response, the government has developed an invasive, high-tech surveillance system and a network of undercover officers and informants.

Bob Arctor is one of these undercover agents, assigned to immerse himself in the drug’s underworld and infiltrate the supply chain. Sometime in the past, Arctor was abandoned by his wife and two children, leaving him alone in a now-rundown suburban house in Anaheim, California; the house has since been repopulated by Arctor’s two drug-addicted, layabout housemates: Luckman and Barris. The three spend their days intoxicated and having long, paranoiac conversations. At the police station, Arctor maintains privacy by wearing a “scramble suit” that constantly changes every aspect of his appearance and he is known only by the code name “Fred.” Arctor’s senior officer, “Hank”, and all other undercover officers, also wear scramble suits, protecting their identities even from each other.

Since going undercover, Arctor himself has become addicted to Substance D and he has befriended the main woman he has been spying on: a cocaine addict and Substance D supplier named Donna. Arctor hopes to purchase large enough quantities of Substance D from Donna that she is forced to introduce him to her own supplier, but he has also developed seemingly unrequited romantic feelings towards her.”

For those who want to watch the film themselves, a link to it is below:-

http://putlocker.cz/embed/a-scanner-darkly-tt0405296/

So, I actually love the religious overlord dystopian route for a performance so I thought it might be a good idea to look at some real examples of extremist religions and compare them to our earlier discussion of ‘rules for the dystopian society’.

Most of you will probably know that I grew up in what’s deemed quite a harsh religion, Mormon. Though by religious standards my family is quite tame, I will relay to you some of the typical rules of the Mormon Church (if you are familiar with The Book of Mormon Musical, though somewhat exaggerated, the fundamental points of the beliefs expressed in this show are all true). So without further ado:

• Controlled language – Mormon’s are forbidden from swearing including ‘bugger’ or ‘damn’
• Controlled food intake – Mormon’s are told their body is a temple and they must treat it as such. Any potentially harmful or addictive substance are forbidden, including, tea, coffee, alcohol and caffeinated drinks
• Uniform – More of a dress code, but Mormon’s are expected to cover their shoulders, chest, midriff and knees at all times. During Church sermons or meetings dresses or suits must be worn
• Families – Traditionally Mormon’s have quite large families but couples are forbidden from having sex before marriage. In fact you’re not supposed to live with the opposite gender unless you’re related, just in case.
• Initiation – Mormon’s are admitted into the church from birth and baptised at 8. It is sold as the person’s individual choice, but family play a heavy influence. At 16 members can receive “a patriarchal blessing” predicting their future ‘blessings’ as long as they remain faithful to God.
• Leader – There is a living prophet, Thomas S. Monson, who speaks directly to God
• Surveillance – Well ‘God’ kind of has that covered. Members are expected to pray in the morning, evening and before each meal. More if there’s a church service.
• Payment – Members are expected to pay a tenth of their earnings to the church each month
• Crime and Punishment – Though in the earthly world there is no physical punishment (almost anything can be forgiven with humility and ‘a fresh start’) there are supposedly three levels of Heaven. God will judge where you belong based on this life.
• Sermons – Routinely these are 3 hours long on Sunday’s consisting of prayers, assigned speeches and hymns. There’s the traditional bread and water as well (no wine for the Mormon) in remembrance of the promises you make and renew with God each week. There’s a strong focus on youth of the church, including personal family meetings each Monday, activities nights on Tuesdays and 6.30 am bible lessons on weekdays. Pretty intense.

The list goes on but I found it quite interesting to compare these two supposedly seperate concepts and see just how much overlap there really is. Perhaps the utopian ideals of modern religion aren’t so far from the dystopian worlds of our imagination.