{"id":28356,"date":"2017-07-02T13:24:46","date_gmt":"2017-07-02T20:24:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=28356"},"modified":"2017-07-02T13:24:46","modified_gmt":"2017-07-02T20:24:46","slug":"40-strangers-50-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2017\/07\/02\/40-strangers-50-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"40 Strangers 50 Questions"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’m going to break from my regular routine of resisting Fuhrer Drumpfenfarten and the Republican Reich that he personifies.  Instead, I have a piece designed to demonstrate how much we all share in common, regardless of race, religion, or locale.<\/font><\/p>\n

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\"0702harmony\"<\/p>\n

\u201cKumbaya\u201d is not really in our vocabulary at Brave New Films. We are believers, not conciliators, not deal makers. There is justice and there is injustice, and we fight for one and abhor the other. We do not believe that sacred ground lies in the middle. So we are pretty much the last studio you would expect to embark on a project like \u201c40 Strangers, 50 Questions<\/a>.\u201d But we love a challenge. So, when a friend dared us to try to find something positive in these terrifying times, we decided to give it a shot. We did not expect to be so deeply moved, even changed by the experience. You might be too. Take a look<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The piece is inspired by a Danish advertisement meant to address the very real issues of racism and fanaticism that country is experiencing. The premise is quite simple. We put an ad in Craigslist asking people to meet in a warehouse in Los Angeles, and promised them lunch and an interesting experience. When they came, we separated them, physically, into groups based on what they most obviously had in common\u2014race. The groups stood in boxes delineated by masking tape on the floor. And then they moved. <\/p>\n

They moved\u2014physically actually moved\u2014according to their answers to questions ranging from playful to deeply personal: \u201cDid you have overprotective parents?\u201d \u201cHave you ever bullied anyone?\u201d \u201cAre you in love, right now? I mean, right now?\u201d \u201cDo you have a tattoo?\u201d \u201cHave you had sex in the past week?\u201d \u201cWere you ever teased for your race or the way you look?\u201d \u201cDo you distrust police officers?\u201d Finally: \u201cDo you feel we are stronger united than divided?\u201d <\/p>\n

For each answer, the yeses walked to one box, then stood together for a group photo; the nos to another, for their picture. That was it. No judgment. No dialogue. Just this slow, beautiful dance, this coming together, splitting apart, joining and rejoining\u2026<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

From <The Nation<\/a>><\/font><\/p>\n

Before you click through, remember that non subscribers only get six reads a month.  I have been a subscriber for years, so I don’t have that problem.<\/font><\/p>\n

Because I am not on Facebook, I found and am embedding the YouTube version instead.<\/font><\/p>\n