SESSION 5 - What are the common values which are at the basis of the European cultural exchanges in front of the new totalitarianism: capitalism religious fundamentalism, nationalism, xenophobic movements...

The base of every cohabitation is the exchanges: exchanges among people, among groups, among countries. The knowledge of the other not only has a value for itself but it has also a value for the preconceived idea that we have of the other, which is known as stereotype.

The stereotypes attribute the characteristics of some of the members of one group to the whole and the individuality of every member of this group is relegated to the background (Myers 1995). The stereotypes are a way to decipher the reality and this is neither negative nor positive.

For example, we have in Spain the following stereotypes: French people are seductive, the English are good workers and the Greek are sympathetic. I am not going to talk about the negative stereotypes. The prejudices imply a hostile and distrustful attitude with somebody only because he belongs to a group (Allport 1954). The prejudices are linked with feelings and emotions. It’s so difficult to fight against emotions. How can we fight against the emotions that a landscape or a sunset have on us? So the prejudices and the stereotypes link with immigration and cultural diversity play a crucial role in the construction of our environment, in the social reality in which we live nowadays and in the perception that we have.

Develop these ideas would promote intercultural friendliness and prevent discrimination and racism. The situation has become a structural/systemic problem because governments and financial powers, hiding their mediocrity behind simplistic speeches, blame certain communities for everything that happen.

From Pa’tothom, we are conscious of the importance that this type of speech has had but we don’t sit back and relax. However, we have to be realistic: the totalitarian and radical discussions are succeeding. Maybe this is not really the case in Spain because of the prevalence of Franco’s dictatorship. Thus, a person like Marine Le Pen can’t be accepted.

The Spaniards have long been divided and we haven’t really repaired the wounds of the Civil War, Franco’s dictatorship and Transition. We are used to argue.

In March 2015, the Spanish Parliament has voted the Law of Citizen Security and in June it has entered into force. The law has a negative impact on the freedom of speech and association. This law provides penalties from 300 to 30.000 euros for serious crimes such as taking part in “meetings or unauthorised demonstrations inside public service buildings”. That means that a demonstration in front of a hospital or on a university campus is forbidden. Neither is it possible to resist a police intervention, take photos or film a clash. We have to obey when a police ask the demonstrators to stop the trail even if it is peaceful. Under that act, many puppeteers are summoned to appear in Court accused of terrorism acts as well as a Spanish journalist (La Directa) was fined 1260€. The <> (Ley Mordaza) is a censure that uses democratic values to restrict freedom. In other words, demonstrations can only be called out under system rules. It is incredible how liberties have been reduced through these methods by criminalizing some actions (prevent evictions), some communities (Muslims) and some trials. We have to point out that there had been a previous work to discredit any kind of social mobilisation before the <> were applied.

That law reflects what Umberto Eco calls la machina del fango, mud’s machine in English. He said: <>. And even though his innocence has been proven, his reputation will always be under suspect. The Italian writer defines the concept la machina del fango as <>, an idea that is applied by politic orientations of some mass media. There is not turning back when the information is published in the press. Therefore, if a feminist group comes into a church without authorisation, the fact of being defined as terrorists won’t be a surprise.

We can agree or disagree with this action, but we can’t define it as a <>. If we do so, the feminist group can be afraid and end up the movement. However, after those facts there hasn’t been an indictment, an instruction or even a judgement, thus recognizing that they weren’t terrorists. The experts argue that inside the <>, the definition of terrorism crimes and the criminalisation of the actions that incite, encourage or justify terrorism are excessively broad and imprecise. Consequently, there is a demand to wonder if they are being radicalised or the society pushed them to radicalisation.

Pa’tothom has created theatre-forum performances against the <>, financial powers and radicalism among others. The goal of these productions openly <> is to introduce a debate.

We are not neutral but humanists and we assume that the whole world doesn’t think like us. This recognition of the difference is a value that encourages the exchange, the discovery of other arguments, new events and ideas. The acceptance allows the debate. It is collectively that we can think about what is going on and find solutions.

We believe in the exercise of the collective intelligence. Is because of it that emerges the consensus that will allow us to realise a common action and to force (like social media does) people not only to be consumers but also opinion makers.

There is within this process a big freedom: the consumers can create contents by working side by side, sharing new data, correcting, developing, etc.

One of the most important things for the exercise of the culture in general, and specifically for the theatre, is working together. This method encourages the initiatives and implements individual competences in favour of a collective goal.

This practice allows the application of common actions which contribute to the improvement of the communication, to know the reason of the decisions that have been taken, to show the ideas and opinions, to define the objectives, to enable the study and the analyse of the situations lived.

All of this encourages the transformation of the social system.

Pa’tothom works this way and we have the impression that CREARC works in the same matter during the Rencontres. The tasks carried out in the workshops will bring the final result. It is obvious that a theme and a common goal are necessary, but the final result is the sum of the efforts of everyone.

As an association, we don’t realize a politic theatre that would say people how to think. We develop a politic theatre with the goal of giving to the public the tools to understand the situation in which they are, and to elaborate the best solutions. We can transmit our values but we should look after and recognize the own values that the group with who we work have.

Our objective is not to impose an ethic but to discover that, for example, there are many people who share the same justice concepts and we have to work together to make them visible.

That is the best way to fight against radicalism.

We don’t think fundamentalism is the only phenomenon that we must work against. I think that nowadays what we have to fight against is an intolerant radicalism that imposes drastic changes to maintain or return concepts that belong to the past and that have been modified. In particular, we have to fight against the radicalisms that denigrate the other. We have reached the point where we are considered sheeps; and if we protest, we become terrorists. There is not medium term. Instead, many people fall down on radicalism without belonging to a politic group or a religion. And that is the real problem. Besides, democracy is being used to feed radicalism. For example, governments -self-proclaimed moderates- refuse thousands of people entering Europe and left them die on the Mediterranean. Need we belong to a politic party or a religion to denounce this scandal?

There are some values that can prevent the increasing radicalism in Europe: the creation of exchanging points, a critic reflexion, empathy, know how to listen, the resolution of conflicts, the differentiation between information and opinion, the confrontation between different points of view and the elaboration of a consensus. Within this goal, the theatre is an ideal place.

Theatre transports us to the heart of the man. Its entertaining side allows us to communicate and to know us through the game, to see not only who we are but to imagine who we could be. It is urgent for this Europe worried about the economy to discover, dialogue, debate and come together in places such as the Rencontres du Jeune Théâtre Européen. The relations that Spain has strengthened with Italy, Germany, Poland and Romania among other countries are not just limited to a re-encounter week. These links continue throughout the year and, rather than a culmination, the Rencontres’ experience is a way for youth to be opened to other cultures and to artistic encounters. What we have really understood after this decade of involvement in the festival is that we don’t need to speak the same language in order to understand one another. There are plenty of other reasons.

Apart from the Rencontres, we have to wonder what the social function of the theatre is. The events that we have witnessed, such as the arrest of the puppeteers, ask us about the meaning of art, its social role and the censorship. It is not a new debate but it has become absolutely urgent in recent years.

It is necessary to break with ideological dogmatism, with a purely formal and aesthetic theatre. Theatre shouldn’t be a consumer product that makes jesters of the actors but it should be a place where the actors are aware of their social role.

Documents

Intervention in french : Click on this link to open this document.

Intervention in english : Click on this link to open this document.