Former ETC player Peter Kim, 33, confirmed his departure with WBBM on Thursday.
“I really think [Trump] gave people carte blanche to act and behave hateful,” he told CBS Chicago.
Monday, October 17, 2016
'Trump-Emboldened,' 'Racist' Crowds Feed An Exodus At The Second City In Chicago
Former ETC player Peter Kim, 33, confirmed his departure with WBBM on Thursday.
“I really think [Trump] gave people carte blanche to act and behave hateful,” he told CBS Chicago.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
It's odd to think about just how much politics affect all facets of the world, with this article pointing to one of the more obscure results that I've seen thus far. Second City employees are fleeing en masse from the troupe thanks to audience participation becoming vitriolic after Trump-fueled rhetoric has become more and more common. As one of the players in Second City put it, Trump gives people carte blanche to be hateful. If a man who is in contention for the highest elected position in the free world can say it, why can't a lowly office worker at a hole-in-the-wall comedy club, regardless of the fame? It's not hard to see the narrow-minded people who subscribe to Trump's brand of hatred buying into this mentality, and therein lies the real shame. Audience verbal shout outs becoming an issue for an improv troupe is the hardest thing to come to grips with. The entire spirit of improv is taking the things that happen around you and weaving them into a scene that blurs the line between show and reality. But when the verbal space you inhabit is one of racism and hatred, the improvisation can take the players to dark places that they neither agree with nor feel safe going to, so I see the value in leaving the troupe and getting a change of scenery. Hopefully, after this election, people can go to work and not have to be scared of the inherent evil in people that Trump has dredged up. But then again, who knows.
Wooooow. That is just absolutely disgusting to learn about, the fact that PAYING audience members feel like they have the right to shout such horrendous and despicable words at not only the actors but fellow members! This makes me really sad because I've been to shows at Second City in Chicago and luckily, no issues have come up during the times I've been. However, I'm just imagining how indescribably awkward and uncomfortable it must be to be performing and having a racist comment like that being shouted out. It would definitely change the atmosphere of the show and would mar the rest of the night. This whole political debate makes me crazy because I don't think any presidential election in our time have enabled people to feel like they can get away with saying rude things like this. It's a scary time to be living especially because it feels like the majority of the population is more educated about this election than ever before. I feel afraid because if this is occurring in a supposedly tame and lighthearted setting like an improv show, I wonder how many other settings will be invaded.
It's incredibly scary to think about how much politics and hate-filled rhetoric have pervaded even the safest of theatrical spaces. I feel like the mainstream media is to blame for much of this, although I don't think that they could have done anything differently. When you have a candidate like Donald Trump who is openly spouts hate speech on the regular and gets little to no blowback, it sets an example for the American people- that they can do the same. I know it's the norm for people to be loud and obnoxious during improv shows; I've done the same. But buying a ticket doesn't give you a right to make other people uncomfortable and fear for their safety. Especially with comments like 'sitting next to a Mexican' which are just unfathomable. That being said, there's still the argument of free speech (which, coincidentally was the name of the Second City show I saw this summer). In this instance though, Second City has every right to throw those people out, just as you would throw a drunk patron out of a bar. It's unacceptable in this day and age.
It ridiculous that Trump is still in the running. It makes me hate humanity as a whole. The idea that a candidate, running on a hate based platform is a major candidate shows just how horrible a large majority of people are. It not only shows how horrible people are but it shows those filled with hate that its common and okay to be hateful. All social pleasantry is thrown out the window and no one can have a political opinion without being judged for character. With Trump at the head being a republican is no longer a political stance it is advertisement of racism, sexism and hate whether that is what you believe or not.
The fact that people feel justified to be hateful in such inappropriate settings is just as ridiculous at this years election.
There is a time and place for everything. At home, you may have more liberties, but if you are out in public, specifically at an event with a certain status quo, where it is neither interesting or funny or courageous to step out of it, unless encouraged, for example a wedding, a funeral, the Al Smith Dinner, a fricking performance. There is challenging the status quo, being an individual and there is being rude, crude and overall un-humanitarian. And like my fellow commentators above, we all fear a country who is run by the person of the later. I mean, how can people still support him after all this time? Sure Hilary is less than desirable (in my opinion), but at least we can trust that she will stick to the politeness and not completely undermine our democracy. But then again, with people, who are encouraged by that person, who think it is okay to shout out a discriminatory comment in a diverse group of people, no wonder he is still running. It is absolutely shameful.
I keep seeing these posts online that are always along the times of "2016 will be that long weird year in your child's history book" or "this year has been to much". It is always shocking when the real world barges into theater and starts to actually affect our lives, rather than simply serving as an event to comment upon. I feel that we, as an industry, tend to only look outward at events, rather than having those same events impact how we work and feel. I agree with everyone above - Trump is a terribly candidate and is making a joke of our country and he is downright dangerous. But his campaign is exposing a group of people and a huge problem in our culture that we have consistently ignored. Trump is a product of the american people. These same racist undertones have existed for years. They were small and easy to ignore if you didn't live in an area or culture where they were a fact of everyday life, but it has always been there. Regardless of the outcome of this election, that mentality will continue to exist, and people may or may not continue to vocalize there thoughts. I think that after this whole mess is done, it is our job, as theater practitioners, to not let people forget what happened. If we just let the same sentiment die back into silence, it hasn't disappeared, and it hasn't been addressed. It will still be taught at home, and sometimes in the classroom (racial bias in textbooks is a real problem). Just because you can't see it at the moment doesn't mean it's not there.
Post a Comment