Brandon's Impotent Rage
22nd January 2014, 06:29
A while back I did a thread about this play that was written by the late Howard Zinn. Considering the number of new comrades that have joined since that time (many of them still somewhat new to cause), I thought I'd start a fresh new thread on the subject.
So, to start with, here is the play performed by actor and professor Brad Jones:
SSDMCE_Y3YQ
The basic premise is that Marx (played by Jones) has come back from the dead in order to talk in front of an audience for about an hour, in order to 'clear his name'. Zinn did exhaustive research on Marx's personal journals and correspondence and forms a character study that is, in all probability, as close as we will ever get to the real thing (the only difference being that Jones doesn't speak with Marx's german-accented English).
Marx is shown to be a likable, occasionally grumpy individual whose passion for socialism is inspired both by his experiences in South Hampton and his experiences in both his home country and in France. He is also shown to be a caring (if imperfect) husband and doting father, with a wife who is both his biggest supporter (and strongest critic), and vivacious daughters who adored him, but were more than willing to call him on any hypocrisy or inconsistency in his work. He also describes his relationship with his best friend Engels, and his relationships with fellow revolutionaries like Bakunin and Proudhoun.
Marx was the type of man who was willing to sacrifice his grocery money so that he could send his children to Paris for a vacation, or the rent money to buy the girls a piano because they loved music so much.
All in all, it shows Marx as the passionate lover of life that he was, instead of the stern, passion-less philosopher that many so-called 'communist' regiemes often portrayed him as.
So, to start with, here is the play performed by actor and professor Brad Jones:
SSDMCE_Y3YQ
The basic premise is that Marx (played by Jones) has come back from the dead in order to talk in front of an audience for about an hour, in order to 'clear his name'. Zinn did exhaustive research on Marx's personal journals and correspondence and forms a character study that is, in all probability, as close as we will ever get to the real thing (the only difference being that Jones doesn't speak with Marx's german-accented English).
Marx is shown to be a likable, occasionally grumpy individual whose passion for socialism is inspired both by his experiences in South Hampton and his experiences in both his home country and in France. He is also shown to be a caring (if imperfect) husband and doting father, with a wife who is both his biggest supporter (and strongest critic), and vivacious daughters who adored him, but were more than willing to call him on any hypocrisy or inconsistency in his work. He also describes his relationship with his best friend Engels, and his relationships with fellow revolutionaries like Bakunin and Proudhoun.
Marx was the type of man who was willing to sacrifice his grocery money so that he could send his children to Paris for a vacation, or the rent money to buy the girls a piano because they loved music so much.
All in all, it shows Marx as the passionate lover of life that he was, instead of the stern, passion-less philosopher that many so-called 'communist' regiemes often portrayed him as.