Write about the difference between how the reporter (in voice over) narrates the Ta’ziyeh and how the participants (whose faces are seen) explain what we see. Also, at the very end one of the actors tells the viewers “this is not entertainment.” Why does he make that distinction? If it is not entertainment, then what is it?
The preceding video, entitled, Persian Passion Play, presents actors, musicians, and dancers performing the Ta’ziyeh, a play of Shi’ite Muslim origins that recounts the story of Imam Hussein’s death. A narrator speaks steadily and clearly, providing a voice-over that describes the play as “stirring, poetic, even graphic.” She emphasizes that one of the play’s primary intentions is to access the emotions of its audience, then provides a short background of the story of Imam Hussein. Equating the performance to “opera,” the narrator delivers her script without emotion. She then delves into a brief history lesson regarding the creation of the Ta’ziyeh, before describing the performance. The narrator’s voice over has been spliced together with interviews from participants in the troupe. “The draw,” the narrator states, is that the show is “intensely cathartic….it is more than simply storytelling. It is a collective event etched into Iran’s history.”
“This isn’t entertainment,” one actor states. “It’s mixed with our blood and our childhood.” With passion and joy, the actors describe their experience with the Ta’ziyeh. Rather than distinguishing between themselves and their characters, some of the players speak in the plural first person - “we” - and discuss their roles in the context of heroes and villains. From young to old, from actors and musicians, each of the actors play an important part. As the actors describe their roles in the play, they convey a deep understanding for the emotions, backgrounds, and personalities of their characters. They display a clear connection between themselves and the story, which is more than just a performance; it is a long-held, meaningful tradition. One actor even describes his experience in the show as transformative; when he dons his costume, he transforms into another person. “I don’t feel like an ordinary mortal,” he states. “In Ta-ziyeh, my heart and my honor become one.”
Is performance inherently entertainment? That is, if a show is entertaining, does that mean that it is necessarily a work of entertainment? Perhaps the actor makes the distinction that the Ta’Ziyeh is not entertainment in order to convey that the show possesses a much deeper meaning. The show is embedded with history and tradition. For these actors, it means so much more than simply acting. As a work of emergent performance, it has been performed over centuries. According to Peter J. Chelkowski’s writings on the play, the Ta’Ziyeh signifies a reenactment of mourning. Rather than having the actors dance and sing for the entertainment of the audience, the show strives to unite all who enter the theater through a shared understanding and history. Although the Ta’Ziyeh is a performance that may be found entertaining, it is also a cultural tradition, a unifying force, and a celebration of life and death.