Teneisha Johnson
Middle finger to the Sky- You better work B!#ch!
The role of women in movies and theatres have always been controversial and there have been many books published highlighting their roles in the past, the present, within the theatre and on the big screen.
During the time of William Shakespeare (1564-1616), all dramatic roles, including those of female characters, were played by male actors.
At the time this convention added an additional layer of complexity to some of Shakespeare’s comedies that featured female characters who cross-dressed to hide their identity.
When it came to actual female actresses in the 1660’s British Theatre, the exclusively male breed of critics remained more concerned to convey sexual allure than to analyze actual professional skills.
Anonymous correspondents during that era made such comparisons between the male performers as ‘majestic’ or ‘gifted’ while female performers where merely ‘charming’ or ‘pretty’.
In 1692, Actresses where never taken seriously and were generally only regarded as fair sexual game and not to be thought of as respectable women.
Luckily, there were those thoughtful women who were well aware of the roles they were given to play which made them unfortunately compliant in the way their sex was portrayed on stage and decide to make a change.
Subsequently a growing number of women began writing their own plays.
They began creating roles where women where seen as intelligent, respectable and deserving of a good marriage. These roles helped slightly in the way actresses where viewed.
Good preachers back then could also gather audiences no less avid than those for a play, and open-air venues for sermons were focal points for their communities.
Preaching friars already understood that vernacular simplicity or common language, a sense of humor, and a recognition of community concerns were likely to command the crowd’s imagination.
These meeting could easily be used to ignite a community for a cause and promote critical thinking.
It should also be noted that drama and theatrical performances has also been a part of the church but was done in an acceptable manner.
For example, according to my research, in the ninth century when the church wished to sanctify a building for the faith previously used for pagan worship, they would carry out a rite of consecration.
The Bishop, having completed a circuit of the building, would approach the door, knock three times with his MITRE, and (in Latin) command the doors to open in the words of the Twenty-Fourth Psalm:
“Lift up your heads, O ye Gates, and be ye lifted up ye everlasting doors, and the King of Glory shall come in.”
Then a priest already concealed inside the building would then respond,
“Who is this King of Glory?”
Immediately the sequence of command and question would be repeated, until, in answer to the third repeated question, the Bishop and his train would finally reply:
“Even the Lord of Hosts, he is the King of Glory.”
After that the doors would be flung opened, and the hidden priest would then rush out, symbolizing the spirit of evil fleeing the holy place.
So yes, it is safe to say and I strongly believe that acting or performing is a gift from God and can be used to give Him glory.
Many movies now-a-days feature some of the world’s most famous actresses portraying a variety of roles.
Obviously, their make-up, props and costumes help to create a distinct look for each of the vastly different characters, but it is the women underneath all the roles and their obvious talent and skill that convince us of the unique sufferings and triumphs of each film heroine.
They are truly gifted in lifting the words off the page and conveying the distinct emotions, motivations and psychology that helps to convince us of the authenticity of the life of the character on the screen.
Very, very few of us are gifted with such ability and many of us will never experience the level of fame many of our modern actors and actresses endure. Perhaps this is a good thing!
It is all too common for such mega-stars to become neurotic, unhappy and socially unbalanced.
The pressure to perform perfectly every time is much too great.
I am sure most of us would crack under the strain.
That is perhaps why many in Hollywood abuse drugs, commit suicide and file for multiple divorces.
Most of us present our talents to the world without the pressure of a brilliant spotlight and global criticism.
Nevertheless, different pressures still do appear when we use our talents in our community and our church.
Simply things such as jealousy and discord can be a nuisance and definitely hinders the effectiveness of the workings of the Holy Spirit.
In Romans 8:37-39 it states and I firmly believe,
“37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,
39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us (me) from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
One of the most important principle is to realize that the Lord already has a plan for our talents, as explained in Ephesians 2:10:
“We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
We can therefore only be most grateful that God has given important principles in His Word that relate to sharing our talents in our community and the wider world.
During the month of April, the Cayman Islands will once again shine the spotlight on their annual Cayfest Event.
This two-week festival celebrates and showcases the art and culture of our beautiful Islands and should not be missed!
