"Three-six-nine, standin' in a line, no health care, pregnant one more time, no dough! No dough!"

Beat Back Bush! The Workout Video Transforms Political Apathy

BY KIRA NEEL

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What happens when a group of Brown University women find themselves in a compromised, frustrating political climate? When they feel their rights and values are at stake? No time for intellectual debate—we speak up, kick back, punch back and dance back!

This is exactly what happened this past year to a group of 15 Brown and RISD women who felt overwhelmed by national politics. A germ of inspiration and a great deal of perspiration eventually culminated in an 18-minute workout video entitled Beat Back Bush. The collective vision was directed, produced and edited by Jazzmen Lee Johnson of RISD's film and animation department.

Sampled and remixed into revolutionary rhymes of protest, Ludacris's "Move Bitch," Lil' Jon and the Ying Yang Twins' "Get Low," and Fat Joe's "Lean Back," provide the soundtrack to Beat Back Bush's fierce social commentary on the current administration's shortcomings and injustices. Originally intended as a modest vehicle for constructive catharsis, the Beat Back Bush crew is now finding an audience on a bigger screen. This past weekend, the Beat Back Bush Workout Video premiered at the fourth annual NY Hip Hop Odyssey [H2O] International Film Festival in New York City. The project was honored at the awards ceremony with the Crowd Pleaser/People's Choice award.

"Down With Bush Today!'"

On November 3, 2004, I was among a group of students who gathered at Brown's Third World Center for Unity Day, an evening of song, spoken word, performances and discussions. The presidential elections were hot on everyone's lips, and topics of conversation ranged from red states and blue states to recounts and the busted political system. When Unity Day ended, students headed home, except for six: Sage Morgan-Hubbard, Joanne Suh, Julia Grob, Tarik Asmerom, Basirat Ottun and me. We never would have guessed that our tendencies to procrastinate—to avoid cold November nights and homework—could blossom into a fruitful idea.

Having worked hard on voter campaigns and mobilizing political youth participation, we were feeling frustrated and discouraged by the prospect of four more years of the Bush administration. Luckily, our frustration found its outlet in humor. In mock kickboxing style, we literally began to jump around the student lounge, punching and kicking the air, letting out our energy, until our movements gave us an idea. We had to Beat Back Bush! We weren't going to give up. No, we would fight back. We came to the collective consensus that what activists needed was a way to stay connected and motivated in the face of this major political disappointment. We had to continue working doubly hard to protect our rights and fight for issues we care about. We thought a workout video was a perfect solution: we would be the Jane Fondas for our generation of activists, reminding everyone that there is still a lot of hard work to be done. Even when you think "maybe I'll just skip my routine today," there is Jane in her leotard (or the BBB collective in ours—with our fists in the air) smiling at you, encouraging you to keep going, reminding you how good it feels to accomplish what seems impossible.

By participating in a politically progressive workout video, we hope to encourage people to remain engaged and actively thinking about issues plaguing our country while at the same time, doing something constructive with that frustrated energy. Julia Grob put it this way: "[Protests on the campus green] never did enough, or put enough on the line, because to a certain extent they just reiterated the comfort and protection of our Ivy League status. I was ready for a form of protest that was more in your face—more guerrilla theater, more real."

The group of interested students grew to include eight more Brown women, and a RISD film animation and video student, Jazzmen Lee Johnson. Beat Back Bush allowed a group of talented poets, dancers, actors, writers, performers to join together and collectively create a piece that reflects our diverse ideas and experiences as politically involved women living in the US: honest reflections of sexuality, ethnicity, cultures and dreams- not to mention dance styles! The process of creating the video proved to be as important as the final product, mostly because, although most of us previously knew of each other's work, we were not close friends at the start of the project. However, our rapid cohesion inspired us, and reinforced our notions of the importance of Beat Back Bush. "To me it became everything that activism should be," affirmed participant Miyo Tubridy, "the nurturing of our minds, bodies, and souls through the creation of this fierce collective of women who were willing to really put their full selves into the process. Many of us choreographed for the first time, wrote raps for the first time—it was an amazing testament to the strength of our collective vision."

"I Said, My People Work Hard, Put On Your Leotard"

BEAT BACK BUSH'S FIRST AIRING WAS IN DECEMBER 2004 AT LUNCHTIME IN THE GATE. IT WAS 25 MINUTES LONG, AND INCLUDED SPOKEN WORD, JAZZERCISE, KICK-BOXING, AEROBICS, WEST AFRICAN DANCE, AND YOGA. FOR THE SHOWING, BEAT BACK BUSH DANCERS ARRIVED IN FLUORESCENT COLORS, HEADBANDS, LEGWARMERS, AND BATHING SUITS. THERE WAS EVEN ONE FULL-BODY HOT PINK TWO-PIECE SPANDEX SUIT. WE ENCOURAGED 80S WORK-OUT GARB WITH THE AUDIENCE, TOO, BUT THEY WERE A LITTLE LESS CREATIVE THAN WE WERE. WE TOOK OVER THE GATE AND SHOWED THE VIDEO ON THE TELEVISION TO 50 OF OUR FRIENDS AND SOME IMPROMPTU LUNCHTIME SUPPORTERS. DURING THE INSPIRATIONAL YOGA SESSION, WE EVEN MANAGED TO GET PEOPLE ON THEIR FEET STRETCHING AND "RELEASING THE FRUSTRATIONS OF THEIR WOMBS" WHILE "LIVING IN A TERRORIST POLICE STATE." OUR FRIENDS WERE EXCITED AND WANTED TO KNOW WHAT WE WERE GOING TO DO NEXT.

In the spring, director Jazzmen Lee Johnson decided to revamp the project for her junior year final project. After receiving a $500 grant from Brown's Creative Arts Council, we had more money to properly record songs and rent additional equipment for higher-tech production. Beat Back Bush became professionalized, with late night shoots in RISD studios and a larger running crew (men joined into the production as well, and BBB was supported by the talents of Drew Simenson's DJ and mixing abilities). BBB scoured Providence for on-site location shots and traveled to Boston to record and remix lyrics for the soundtrack. The result is a tight 18 minute video (plus DVD extras) that we hope will be a catalyst for action: both an educational resource and an organizing tool. We are currently working to translate the video into Spanish, and develop curriculum and workshops that can be used in political and after-school education.

Each musical section addresses a different social issue, which can be elaborated on in workshops following a screening of the video: abortion rights, health care, globalization, the war, poverty, gay rights, media coverage, and, of course, an overall critique of the hypocrisy and inadequacy of George Bush's presidency. The soundtrack itself is highly critical (and funny), but, on its own, stands to ignite and unite viewers. Workshops following the piece will not echo our strong stance on the issues, but will be used instead to generate dialogue and spur action among the audience. For example, "Down With Bush" addresses abortion rights. Our opinion is "Roe v. Wade, you don't disrespect it" and "we like to see choice for our bodies." A workshop following the video might go more in-depth on the current erosion of reproductive rights, or it could provide the opportunity to create a debate among the audience to see how everyone else feels. "Move Bush" criticizes the Iraq war, reminding people that it has "nothing to do with democracy/its just a selfish foreign policy." A workshop on "Move Bush," might talk about how the war has affected the community wherever we happen to be performing that day. What has changed as a result of the war? While discussing and learning more about the issues brought up in the video, we will also have a creative arts component so that participants can work together to develop a way to put their ideas and visions out into the world as well. "Fight back!"

"Makin' A Noise"

"The most exciting thing for me was the transformative aspect of this process," explains Jo Suh. "We were all a part of making this amazingly original project that I think has a place in this world. The Hip-Hop Odyssey Film Festival has given us an opportunity to share it with a larger audience—opening up the possibilities for BBB to have its place as an organizing tool for the hip-hop generation . . . it truly reflects a generational desire to make organizing more fun, more multimedia, and more relevant. I'm just excited to see what we'll do next!"

Graduation last year scattered members of the collective across the country, which is both a blessing and a curse. A curse because we are no longer able to work together intensely face-to-face, but a blessing because we now have connections in major urban areas across the nation where we hope to spread our message.

Outside of the Beat Back Bush video, we are students, teachers, activists and artists—using our work in a variety of ways to continuously "fight back." Jo works in LA as a high school sex education teacher and at a women's clinic; Tarik teaches math and science in Philadelphia public schools; Julia is an active member of the NYC women's transformative art collective "We Got Issues" and teaches theatre in NYC public schools; and Carmen is an activist in DC fighting to end the School of the Americas. I am working in bilingual theatre education and focusing on securing our reproductive rights. At the core of Beat Back Bush is the importance of collectively fighting back, every day, not allowing apathy and a lack of imagination to dull minds and spirits, especially in times when it seems the problems appear insurmountable. Hopefully, we're paying attention to one of our own messages: "You can bet your ass, I won't go quietly . . . makin' a noise in this world."

Kira Neel B'05 is transformative.

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