While the director of the National Theater revels in offending Christians, he is ultra careful not to offend Muslims. What's worse, he offends Christians by introducing extra-scriptural material (such as Jesus being "a bit gay"), which is offensive for the simple reason that it is not warranted and misrepresentative of Christianity; that is, it has no scriptural backing. With Islam, however, if anyone ever had the guts to make a movie or play about any early Islamic figure, and no matter how much they adhere to the authoritative sources (Koran, hadith, sira) -- indeed, precisely because they closely follow the sources -- such a production would undoubtedly be very "offensive," to Muslims and non-Muslims alike (though for very different reasons). "Hytner 'is afraid of offending Muslims,'" by Tim Walker for the Telegraph, July 30:
Nicholas Hytner, the fashionable director of the National Theatre, has been happy to offend Christians by staging shows such as Jerry Springer: The Opera, in which Christ was portrayed wearing a nappy and saying he was "a bit gay".However, according to Simon Gray, the leading playwright, Hytner is wary of putting on anything which could upset Muslims.
"If there's going to be a play about 'inside radical Islam', it'll be a profoundly sympathetic, inquiring play, I'm sure," says the writer of such acclaimed works as Otherwise Engaged.
"I can't imagine a play that's violently opposed to Islam … you can't be publicly … and certainly not at the National Theatre." Graydescribes Hytner's "fearlessness in attacking Christianity" as "a very easy sort of liberalism that allows [only] yourself, so to speak, to be beaten up".
[...]"It seems to me that you should say that the reason we didn't bring that play was because we didn't want to be bombed," he says in Standpoint magazine. "I don't think you should be proud of putting on Jerry Springer."
Let me see if I can get this right -- it's perfectly fine to ridicule Christians, Jews, Buddists, atheists, gays, women, etc, etc, etc -- but don't you go ridiculing the overly sensitive muslims or they just might bomb you. What a crock of sh*t. When are the governments of the world going to wake up and realise that there are a bunch of religious nutjobs who are using their religion as a reason to kill people and destroy stuff just so they can live in a feudal 7th century world.
The more this type of stuff continues the worse the backlash is going to be when the world finally reacts to the muslim nonsense ....
CC
We've already seen that muslims worldwide are serious when they say "We are the religion of peace" and they're willing to kill and maim in order that we not forget it.
What a despicable double-standard Mr. Hytner exhibits.
Re: "The National, he adds for good measure, is "run by a Left-wing orthodoxy"."
And I might add, a bunch of cowards too.
CelticCoyote,
I consider feudalism as a form of government/society a serious step up from the 7th Century tribal Arabia that muslims, thanks to the Wahhabs, seek to impose on us now by their pushing shari'a down our throats. At least serfs had value, and killing them off was counter-productive, as opposed to dhimmis who could be cleansed every so often for the good of muslim self-esteem. And did these 7th Century dolts ever create something like a London, where once 'city air breathed free'? That is, getting to London and living there for a period freed one from serfdom. Did the Arabs ever develop something like that? Or would they not have bothered and just burned the place down, raping the women as they went about their fiery jihad?
It's the little things from our Western history that make us who we are today. And it's the nothingness of tribal religious nihilism inspired by Ol' Moe that makes islamic societies what they are today.
Rick - good point, maybe fuedal wasn't the proper word for what I was ranting about. It seems that whenever I call muslims a "cult of death", my posts get deleted. Maybe this one will stay. If not, I don't blame the site owners or admins, just the people who seem to be offended that I use that term to describe them...
CC
Meanwhile, in the Great White North:
From the National Post -
Kenneth Joel Hotz, better known as "Kenny" from the reality TV competition Kenny vs. Spenny, makes a living out of trying to beat his best friend at stupid competitions. Yesterday, Mr. Hotz commissioned a plane to fly across Toronto harbour carrying a banner that read, "Jesus sucks!"
Brianna Goldberg asked Mr. Hotz what he was thinking.
Q So ... what happened?
A The competition this week is who can piss off the most people. I was going out and actually getting beaten up a couple of times, because I went into a baseball diamond and I stole a team's baseball. They all beat me up.
Q Are you all right?
A I'm OK. But I just realized I didn't really want to hurt individuals. I just thought it was mean and unlikable. So I decided I'd just rather piss off large groups of people instead.
Pity the banner didn't read, "Allah sucks" or "Mohammed blows". Then he would have really seen a reaction!
Except, were as with the baseball team he just took an ass whoopin', the muslims would have once again shown they are the "Religion of Peace" by religiously blowing his butt into pieces. And of course the producers would have to apologize for his not blowing up in the proper dhimmi manner.
What's worse, he offends Christians by introducing extra-scriptural material (such as Jesus being "a bit gay"), which is offensive for the simple reason that it is not warranted and misrepresentative of Christianity; that is, it has no scriptural backing.
................................
Well, I agree. It is also true that Christians may get angry, but Hytner is in no danger for this silly and offensive portrayal. Odd--for all the nattering Muslims do about their "reverence" for Jesus (Isa), they are never overy troubled by such things, either--not that I would want to see them murderously inflamed over yet something else, mind you. But that "reverence" for what they clearly regard as a minor prophet--really, more just an assumed symbol--is not very deep.
more:
"Graydescribes Hytner's "fearlessness in attacking Christianity" as "a very easy sort of liberalism that allows [only] yourself, so to speak, to be beaten up".
.....................
Yes--and Hytner is not the only one. Remember British artist Grayson Perry--who's work is also quite offensive to many--admit that he was too scared to take on Islam as subject matter?
"I've censored myself," the Times quoted him as saying. "The reason I haven't gone all out attacking Islamism in my art is because I feel real fear that someone will slit my throat."
It is easy to be disgusted with people like Hytner and Perry, yet in some ways these artists are the brave ones. Oh, not brave in the same way that Theo van Gogh, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Geert Wilders, Kurt Westergaard, Lars Viks and Gregorius Nekschot are brave, certainly.
But at least they admit they are censoring themselves, and say why. How many other artists--novelists, playwrites, script writers, painters, cartoonists, and more--do you suppose censor themselves every day, and hide their abject fear behind "high-minded" references to cultural sensitivity?
It was just the same with US publications reprinting the Danish "Mohammed Cartoons". Not only did very few publications have the courage to run the cartoons, but many went on about how they wouldn't reprint them out of concern for "Muslim sensitivities". One of the few editors to come clean was at the small Boston alternative paper, "The Phoenix", who admitted it would not run them out of fear for the safety of the staff and facilities. He also had the decency to be abashed by this fact.
What makes Nicholas Hytner think that muslims won't kill him anyway? He treats Christians abusively and the filth of Islam knows that he would do it to them too if he thought he could get away with it. One day soon when muslims are slaughtering Brits and making the UK an Islamic State, he will long for the kindness of those whom he mocks. He will discover that "even the kindness of the cruel is cruel" as the Scriptures say.
It is easy to be disgusted with people like Hytner and Perry, yet in some ways these artists are the brave ones.
Nothing couregous about it, they are not brave just because they admit to picking on an easy target. They are cowards and hypocrites.
....he will long for the kindness of those whom he mocks.
If not him his children and grandchildren. He is contributing to the very atmosphere that is eroding the U.K.
He can pat himself on the back as he passes this mess down to future generations.
We need to do more than just gripe here. I found this contact email for the theater:
feedback@nationaltheatre.org.uk
Here's the note I sent:
I read this article and could not believe what my eyes were seeing.
It’s fine to offend Christians by presenting an obscenity like 'Jerry Springer-The Opera'. But doing a show about Islam – even something factual – is unthinkable? The level of hypocrisy being shown here is appalling.
I would like to hear an explanation for this. (And a personal explanation, not the generic “I’m sorry you’re offended” line.) This is a serious topic and it deserves a serious response.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mandrake/2472422/Hytner-is-afraid-of-offending-Muslims.html
What if he presented a work where Mohammed was depicted as being a "bit gay." Hytner's severed head would look compelling displayed on a spike outside of the Barbican Theatre.
I pitty the UK people for they cannot be safe in their own homes. It is very difficult not to offend something that is self offessive and self mockery. islam is prone to criticism, mockery, satire, making fun of and so on. islam appears to contradict its own principles as if it were without a principle.
You will know when you have offended islam when you feel a sharp knife stab in the back and by then it is too late. My advise for the director is to hire a couple of armed body guards as you can never be sure.
"The National, he adds for good measure, is "run by a Left-wing orthodoxy". "
This is typical of the smug leftists in my country. They are prepared to be "brave" when there is absolutely no risk to themselves. It's a form of cowardice that these people call bravery.
Typical of the left in my country they actively promote freedom of expression, sexuality, hatred of religion etc. BUT not when they are confronted by a violent, homophobic oppressive system. In that case they bend over backwards to say how great it is.
They are like the person who punishes the victim of a paedophile for fear of being attacked by the very same paedophile.