Voicing Dissent

Violaine Roussel is a sociologist and professor of Political Science at the University of Paris VIII and currently a visiting scholar in the Department of Sociology at UCLA. Bleuwenn Lechaux is currently completing a PhD in political science at the University of Rennes on a comparative analysis of the involvement of theatre artists for social and political causes in Paris and New York since the 1970s.

• Foreword Michèle Lamont. Preface Steve Greenfield and Guy Osborn. Introduction Section 1: Figures of Committed Artists 1. Models and Public Voices in the Anti-War Movement 1.1. Robbie Conal: Figure of the Activist-Artist 1.2. Mike Farrell and Robert Greenwald: Leaders of the Hollywood Movement 1.3. Ozomatli: Not to "Separate Ourselves from the Movement" 1.4. Kathleen Chalfant: Combining Radicalism with Establishment 2. Generations and Relations to Politics 2.1. Sheila Pinkel: Activist-Artist in a Dark Time 2.2. Margo Lee Sherman: Bread and Puppet’s Legacy 2.3. Ed Asner: Ambivalence of a Leftist Identification 2.4. Cynthia Croot: Temporally Rooted Devotion 2.5. Emek: Politicization as an Artistic Innovation 3. Identities, Communities and Anti-War Activism 3.1. Tony Shalhoub and Amitis Motevalli: Confronting Middle-Eastern Perspectives 3.2. Dread Scott: Use of Multilayered Identifications 3.3. Alexandra Paul: Strategic Identities in the Service of a Cause 3.4. Guerilla Girls On Tour: Women and Anti-War Activism Section 2: Artistic Professions and Politics 4. Costs and Paradoxes of Engaged Art 4.1. Lida Abdullah and Susan Silton: Threats on the Visual Arts 4.2. David Clennon: The Price of Political Commitment in Hollywood 4.3. Fredwreck: The Rules of the Music Industry 4.4. Sophia Skiles: Professional Ambivalences of Political Commitment 4.5. Mear-One: Paradoxes of Politicization 5. Shaping a Political Intention in the Form of Art: From Tension to Affinity 5.1. Focus 1: Around Day Zero: The "Political Fiction Film", An Impossible Genre? Interviews with Bryan Gunnar Cole (director), Robert Malkany(scriptwriter), Jon Bernthal (actor) and Anthony Moody (producer) 5.2. Focus 2: Around Living Theatre’s Plays The Brig, No Sir and A Day in the Life of the City: Uses and Constraints of Street Theatre Plays. Interviews with Actors from the Living Theatre (Jerry Goralnick and Garry Brackett) 5.3. Shepard Fairey: Changing Clients into Publics 6. Hollywood and the War: Celebrities versus Politicians? 6.1. Paul Haggis: Leading by Example 6.2. Bradley Whitford: The Dynamics of The West Wing 6.3. Sean Astin: Hollywood, Politics and Power 6.4. Peter Coyote: Engagement versus Activism 6.5. Kimberly Pierce: The Strength of "Cultural Power"

"Shows why and how artists become activists, without sacrificing their art. These are fascinating stories."- David S. Meyer, University of California, Irvine.From the Foreword:Lechaux and Roussel “present iconic figures who reveal to us a broad register of ways of engaging, a repertoire of argument that we could not anticipate beforehand. Thus the reader emerges with a much deeper understanding of the nexus between politics, culture, and human subjectivity. And also, of course, of the topic at hand – how artists tried to make a difference in a very specific episode of contemporary American history. The experience will be enriching and imminently worthwhile. This is why I invite you to spend a few hours with this book. You will not be disappointed.”- Michèle Lamont, Robert I. Goldman Professor of European Studies and Professor of Sociology and African and African-American Studies, Harvard University