“Through theater or the arts, people are able to suspend that kind of judgment, whatever it may be, and they can actually somehow connect and care. Even if they hate the character, they want to see how it ends.” I thought this quote is really the main reason Kayhan Irani’s performances are getting so much attention. People can read the newspaper, read magazines, and watch the news all they want but they never truly connect with the issue unless they are personally affected by it. When the public watches Kayhan Irani perform or attend one of her plays the people watching are witnessing real people in controversial worldwide issues. One main aspect I believe theater picks up on is the different sides to many of the problems that the media never bothers to explain and our society all together ignores. For instance in the 9/11 backlash there were more people affected than just the families that were touched or the survivors of the tragedy. It affected the witnesses, Iraq American citizens, people who can be mistaken for Iraqis, citizens of Iraq, and the government. Granted more lives were affected other than just the few I named but citizens don’t take that into consideration. In the case where people hear of the controversial issues such as war, discrimination even fatal illnesses, taking place although people are aware they are actual misfortunes they seem unreal. Too often we turn to insufficient means to solve problems, Kayhan is turning to art when the other solutions are doing no more than dividing the people rather than uniting them and keeping them aware. Art is a beautiful thing that we take for granted, when tragedies are to extreme for words the fact that people can put those emotions into visual art is something much more than a newspaper article. I believe the situations Kayhan has experienced in her life has made her into the person she is today. After fleeing Iranian revolution then moving into apartment complex with an array of families with different backgrounds as her neighbors raises the reality of catastrophes and opens her mind to the diverse world of culture we live in. Because her family had such a big heart and was welcoming to people even though there was little room in their apartment to begin with probably has a lot to do with Kayhan’s beliefs of good deeds. “The tenets are good thoughts, good words and good deeds. It’s not only about having happy thoughts; it has a lot of social justice ethics.” Kayhan is aware that many of the issues around the world aren’t “happy” situations and those with high spirits. She isn’t living in a fantasy world she just thinks that being optimistic and increasing awareness will make a big difference and I think that’s the mentality that is necessary to take big strides to conformity.
Post 11 – Kayhan Irani
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