Solo artist Mike Daisey on Rob Ford and framing the story
Mike Daisey about his latest show and the fallout from his 2012 monologue about working conditions at an Apple factory in China.
Jian speaks with American monologist Mike Daisey about his latest one man show, Dreaming of Rob Ford, and the tension between truth, lies and creative license. Although the news media has meticulously reported on the Toronto mayor's ongoing troubles, Daisey says there is still much to be explored from an artistic point of view.
Daisey himself has an interesting take on objectivity and who gets to frame any given text -- be it a work of theatre, a work of journalism or a one-on-one interview. His views on the topic came to the fore in 2012, when he was at the center of a controversy surrounding his previous show, The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs.
Daisey reflects on that experience, the vision behind his new monologue, and why he takes issue with the notion of an objective narrative.
"There are no stories that exist in objective vacuum of objective media ... every single story is crafted by the people who are telling you the story," he says, highlighting the process of "endless omission" that goes into any editing process.
"A remarkable number of people in our culture don't think about that in a deep way."
Listen to the full interview and tell us, what do you think of Mike Daisey's take on Rob Ford and an artist's role in interpreting real events in a way that's different from news media.
Mike Daisey is a professional raconteur who has attracted both high praise and sharp critcism (Fabiola Carletti/CBC)
Daisey himself has an interesting take on objectivity and who gets to frame any given text -- be it a work of theatre, a work of journalism or a one-on-one interview. His views on the topic came to the fore in 2012, when he was at the center of a controversy surrounding his previous show, The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs.
Daisey reflects on that experience, the vision behind his new monologue, and why he takes issue with the notion of an objective narrative.
"There are no stories that exist in objective vacuum of objective media ... every single story is crafted by the people who are telling you the story," he says, highlighting the process of "endless omission" that goes into any editing process.
"A remarkable number of people in our culture don't think about that in a deep way."
Listen to the full interview and tell us, what do you think of Mike Daisey's take on Rob Ford and an artist's role in interpreting real events in a way that's different from news media.
Mike Daisey is a professional raconteur who has attracted both high praise and sharp critcism (Fabiola Carletti/CBC)