I am all that I am.

I found the convergence of two of my favourite things: opera and Brer Rabbit.

No, REALLY:

I was making note of local opera companies for auditions later this year, when I stumbled upon BRIAR PATCH by Festival Opera, which I had, of course, found out about after the fact, which I am devastated about. Whilst I am happy that the description includes mention that this oral literature predates Joel Chandler Harris, I am disappointed with it saying that Brer Rabbit comes exclusively from Anansi the Spider--which is partially true, but not completely true, because, again, there are also the Native influences and African Hare stories. Still, I feel as though that little aside is a great dig at idiots who are still trying to say that Disney or Joel Chandler Harris invented these figures.

Aside from it being the convergence of two of my favourite things it's also... just a sensational opera.

The MUSIC is everything I have ever wanted in an American opera. The complexity of the vocal parts, the wit of the libretto. Everything about it incredible.

It also stands to reason, there is absolutely nothing stopping Disney from doing this correctly. There is nothing stopping Disney from pulling in Black and Native scholars, traditional storytellers, elders, oral litterateurs. There is absolutely nothing stopping Disney from reintroducing these figures, and  respecting their scaredness.

But they aren't going to do that. They, and their mindless stans, are going to act like that dreaded film and the ride are spontaneous generation, and not, like, you know, Disney's fault.  The same Disney thaty made the film and the ride. The same Disney that allowed the brunt of the criticism to fall on the Black actors in the film and  sat back whilst they became pariahs when they were fully capable of giving them more work and protecting them from criticism. The same Disney who has a habit of trying to copyright other peoples' cultures. The same Disney company that cannot pay their employees (who starve to death living in their cars*). (*though I have to make mention that I respect both their privacy and the requests of their family). 

But, no, both the film and the ride popped out of the garbage like rats! /s

Brer Rabbit is not your enemy, Disney is.

It's wild to me that the greatest take home message that people get out of this is that Brer Rabbit is bad, not that Disney is bad.

There really is something disquieting about all of this, this  blind embrace of a corporation and its creations, and letting it be the dictation of what the truth and reality of it all is or isn't. 

What should have been a learning experience filled with compassion, nuance, empathy, and reflection became a pissing contest between two groups of equally spoiled, equally r@c!st brats (no, I did not stutter). The control  and the sheer monopoly, beyond even just the word dominance, Disney has over popular culture and the perception of culture cannot be understated. They absolutely have a responsibility, one that falls well within their capabilities, to do the right thing. They purposely choose not to. And, look,  I am not in the "lost cause" Save Splash camp, I just want Disney to take full responsibility for the damage that they've done.  I know that Twitter is not the place of nuance nor balanced understanding, so I am not expecting the dogpiling bird app to be filled with the most sophisticated takes. Twitter cannot seem to fathom as an app community as a whole (like this is a whole app problem) that more than one thing can be true at the same time.

*Twilight Zone guy voice, imagine, if you will, what it would be like if Disney Influencers just.... STAFU and let scholars and elders have the floor instead of inserting themselves into conversations they don't belong? I have said it before, and I will say it again: using Black and Indigenous pain to platform yourself is a sickness. Brer Rabbit and the theme park ride are the villains. If you choose to use Black and Indigenous pain and death to platform yourself, you are.

And, magically, Disney seems to be very interested in its 'redeem' of the Tiger Lilly in Peter Pan--indicating that they are more than capable of reintroducing figures under improved circumstances; THEY SEEM TO HAVE NO ISSUES GIRL BOSSIFYING LITERAL PUPPY MURDERERS. Unlike Brer Rabbit, Peter Pan is not ever going to be perfect representation, even if this latest live action remake is, by many measures, good representation. The Native people in the Peter Pan universe exist as fictional beings creatures that faeries and mermaid do. You can do all of the mental gymnastics you want, you cannot change what Native people are in Peter Pan--like pirates, they are fixtures of the past, or fantasy creatures of imagination, relegated to make believe. The source material for Peter Pan itself is rotten to its core. However, this does NOT detract from Alyssa Wapanatâhk being nothng short of exceptional, and it also does NOT detract from the fact that the recent Peter Pan and Wendy film actually employs one of the greatest traits of Tiger Lilly that was present in the original novel, that of her being a leader and powerhouse.

There is just too much complacence in the abject media tyranny Disney has. There is too much eagerness for people whose business it's not to discard what does not belong to them that they have no say in.

I am a firm believer that Band-Aid solutions do not even begin to mitigate open wounds. I am a firm believe in dealing with things responsibly, consummately, wholly. Disney's monetized brand x Band-Aid "solution" does not even begin to remediate the nearly 100 years worth of damage that they've caused.

I have made is no secret that I am terrified of Brer Rabbit's cultural future, because of Disney's repeated colossal follies. The opera gives me hope. Maybe when this is all over, the Disney Adults can finally leave the room and the actual adults can finally have the room and the space to talk.