Brussels: A Cultural Hub

This weekend I had the privilege of exploring the beautiful city that is Brussels. My sister currently resides here so she kindly showed me around the sights that entice many tourists to this location, year in year out. 

Parlamentarium

My first stop was The Parlamentarium in the European heart of Brussels city. What struck me the most upon arrival into this area was how much English was present. Since the EU set up their parliament there - it is clear that Brussels has adapted to the multi-denominational population whom reside there for work. I stuck to my guns and insisted on practicing my French on the incredibly patient Belgians I came into contact with. 

The Parlamentarium is a museum consisting of photographs and visual evidence to help visitors discover what makes the European Parliament so unique. As I browsed around the museum, some striking images really caught my attention.

These are Italian women in 1970 protesting for equal jobs and educational opportunities. Women before our time had begun the long battle for equality. It amazes me that this photograph resonates with the problems of today. All around the globe today there is a heavy emphasis on women's rights in our changing political and social climate. This has been brought to light with the recent anti-rape and violence against women campaigns. I ask myself the question: Does this mirror what is occuring in the greater powers of the world today? There is so much uncertainty in our current world that perhaps some ethical issues are being abandoned to one side. The determination and obsoleteness of the lady's expression on the right hand side of the photo resonated greatly with me. Her expression says everything. I view her as being strong and knowing exactly what she deserves as a human being. This singular photo revealed to me that human nature is stronger than we think and we all have a right to make a mark in history. 

http://www.elle.com/culture/career-politics/a41293/bertolucci-abuse-art/

This photo displays a still from the movie 'The Last Tango' directed by Bernardo Bertolucci. In the museum this movie was praised as being the cultural and creative success work between the great European nations - Italy and France - in the 1970s. It was a time for creative development and collaboration between artists from all over Europe. This saddened me to see this sadistic film glorified. It is an ethical issue to glorify somebody's work if they have achieved the results by unethical means. In a recent article I read (linked above), I discovered that in this film Bertolucci had intentionally staged a sexual assault. The beautiful young actress, Maria Schneider, had spoken out about the assault but she was outweighed by the 'creative success' of the classic film. As well as being a fundamental human rights crime - this act made me question how I am perceived as a woman in my professional practice. Did this male director undervalue a woman's ability to act so much that he decided to take her reaction into his own hands? If Schneider had been directed to give the desired reaction then I am certain she would have been more than capable of doing so. As emotional human beings we can channel a deeper set of emotions and deliver a realistic and evoking performance. This counts for both male and female actors. 

'Acting, at its heart, is the ability to manipulate your own emotions' 

- Scarlett Johansson

The Networked Professional Abroad

An actress friend of mine was also in Brussels the same weekend as me. She was touring with an Irish / Belgian theatre company with a show. This was enlightening for me to discover the international connections theatre has. It was lovely to catch up with my friend. In a casual, social way I discovered (upon reflection) that I was networking and making connections with other industry professionals. This brought to light that communities of practice can be met on social terms as much as anything else. 

An interesting snapshot I took of a modern day café in Brussels which still had the old lettering up. Vaudeville = style of theatre developed from the 1880s onwards. It made me think that Vaudeville was not a solely American cultural staple - but it also had a following and culture in European countries