Caryl Churchill’s “Love and Information” is a breath of fresh air
OK, I haven’t been able to write any articles lately–and I couldn’t even find time to upload a meme when I couldn’t right one, which is in violation of my about this blog info page. Sorry, lol. 🙂 …Aaaaaand looks like instead of an article on the last Friday of the month… I’m doing it about a week later. Yeah… lotta chaos lately. But, I’m back. I recently attended a performance of Caryl Churchill’s Love and Information at my alma mater, Portland State University. This production was directed by Theresa Robbins Dudeck, a theater professor at the school. Any theater friends that have known me for more than five minutes, will know that Churchill is my favorite playwright. I’ve heard about this play here and there, and I gotta say, when I first heard about it, I thought to myself “oh, Christ, another person talking about how technology is making us horrible people, millennials and Gen-Z’s are mindless, and blah blah blah. Not you too, Caryl!” But worry not, I gave her the benefit of the doubt–and I was right to do so!
If I hear one more goddamn person say that my generation, or that Gen Z’s are mindless drones under the thumb of technology, I’ll scream. And it’s nothing new. Have you ever noticed that pretty much every generation says that? For example, these assholes. Ain’t it funny how he’s chastising BABY BOOMERS, given the unfortunate battle that boomers have with us millennials? This speech does say some valid things, but it’s taking a lot out of context and placing blame on the wrong people and things. It’s cheap. And I’m so sick of seeing people do it. And to be fair, getting older does that to a lot of people–I don’t like to judge, but I do think it’s important to call out toxic behavior. Like this piece of shit. Also, hey, I’m in my early 40’s. So yeah, I’m getting my dose of seeing times change. That’s just part of life. There’s nothing wrong with having difficulty struggling with that. But there is something wrong with shaming future generations for it (as if there was anything to shame). Especially since we’ve got our problems too. Trust me. We got screwed over just as much as any generation so fuck off with this anti millennial anti technology shit.
To be clear, the play isn’t specifically about generational divides, but I know people will take it that way and hence, use it as an opportunity to pounce on millennials. In classic Churchill style, Love and Information takes us on a journey of finding our humanity, where we see the blending of realism and non realism. Her play presents real authentic people. Navigating life: it’s love, it’s hate, it’s pain, it’s joy, everything. It shows characters overwhelmed with the rapidly growing technology, and the fast world which we feel like we can drown in technology. She shows us overwhelmed by it. But what the play doesn’t do is call us vapid, or stupid, or say we’ve lost our humanity to a cell phone.
OK, so where do we go from here then?
It’s interesting how this play doesn’t give clear cut answers. I would argue, it’s not supposed to. Like many great plays, it’s meant to be felt, not “understood”. Which is the perfect representation of life. That’s good theater.
So… is all this innovative technology and inventions a bad thing? If you wanna get rid of cell phones and the internet, why stop there? Why not just get rid of electricity, cars, and all other modern conveniences? Hell, why don’t we just go back to the stone age.
Or…
Why don’t we keep these things, but use them responsibly? How about embracing renewable energy, electric cars, science, etc.
And the real irony here? All the memes I’m posting is stuff I got while endlessly scrolling my cell phone, laptop, etc. But then again, that’s kinda my point. I’m still managing to get these important messages because of technology. In spite of it? Because of it? A little of both? Who knows? The point is, I’m still me. My values, my personality, and everything that comes with it. And good messages managed to get their way into my tech filled life. The important thing is, I know how to stay on guard so I don’t let technology overtake me.
Both the director and dramaturg of this production invite is to sink into this show, and let it wash over us. I enjoy that recommendation because it lets us see what the play does for us. Well, here’s what it does for me. I think technology is a good thing, but only when it’s used for advancement. Advancement of the mind, body, and soul. Advancement of the planet. As I walked into the theater, I was surrounded by screens. There were vignettes throughout the show of a character wandering aimlessly and in a bit of distress as she was surrounded by people buried in their screens. This distress was present in everyone on the stage. But do you know what was also present? Their humanity. Keeping our humanity and using advancements responsibility is possible. We gotta stay on our toes but live our lives. In a word, this play reminded me that we should use technology to make living our lives easier, not to let it run our lives. Yes, the rampant technology can be scary. But we’re not hopeless or helpless. This is the bittersweet message that I got from the play. And I can’t tell you how glad I was that it was written and that it’s performed.
And here’s my biggest point: this play was written by a flesh and blood human being. Not AI. Let’s keep art that way. Let’s keep life that way. The fact that we have the ability to ask ourselves whether all technology is ruining us, is proof that not all technology is ruining us! It won’t ruin us… if we don’t let it. So let’s have our cake and eat it too. And as for the powers that be? Let them eat shit.
