two essays: 'memoralisation' and 'the contract of love'

 

two pieces of writing 

One pertains to the refugee crisis in Europe, with a reference to Australia, as well as to art and research, since it was inspired by a talk I attended at the University of Melbourne given by researcher, Karina Horsti, from Finland. The tilte of the piece is "Refugee to much." The other article took root as a response to the Harvey Weinstein scandal in the US and worldwide, including Italy. I address the meaning of masculinity in our contemporary world, and the male-female dynamic which remains precarious, and as yet defined by patriarchy. 

What does it mean to enter into a contract of 'love'?

If you think you know HW there is no need to think again, because you do. (By this I do not mean to implicate any man in the behaviour of HW as reported in the media. It is not about a man or about you but about the masculine.) If you have read the accounts of the meetings between HW and the people he isolated, you will notice that in each case, almost always with the same storyline, HW does not accomplish what he has set out to do, and that is to enter into a contract of ‘love.’ 

Refugee too much

Having listened to a talk by Karina Horsti, which she gave at University of Melbourne, I have felt compelled to write this piece. In her research, Horsti poses the question about the memorialisation of the tragedy that is happening on the shores of southern Europe: the perilous crossing of waters by people seeking asylum and the policy of European governments to deny it.

 

PS I was compelled to write and edit, morning after morning until I felt the piece had achieved some semblance of balance, flow and coherence. In it, I have expressed some thoughts on a hot topic: the Harvey Weinstein case, and with it masculinity and the male-female dynamic. With much yet to unravel, as the "talk" seeps into the newspapers of our daily lives, my article is but a miniscule contribution towards making sense of it all. It is easy to expend energy in the most trivial or superficial aspects of the scandal and avoid going deeper into the fundamental aspects of our beingness and humanity, as responsible people in society.

Silvana
18 December 2017