“You have to watch ‘Brazil’!” is what a friend told Abram. So, for our final episode we gathered a couple of friends and did just that.
Brazil is a British movie made in 1985 that has been described as dystopian fantasy and satire on bureaucratic society. We previewed the first ten minutes early in the season and were so inspired that we borrowed the movie’s quirky theme song.
The movie, and its theme song, capture how bureaucratic norms and strictures can rob us of our judgment, humanity, and identity. At the same time, the movie asks, what does it take to rock the boat from within a large institution? And, is that even possible?
So on a warm night in August, we gathered in Harlem with friends of the podcast – Patrick and Toni – in to watch Brazil. In our discussion, Pat and Toni nailed so much of what it means to hold tight to and to fight for one’s values from inside the bureaucracy. We were grateful for the community we created that night with friends, and we were struck by the community that was so notably absent in the film.
Like everything we did this season, this episode was experimental, fun, a little all over the place, and really hard to edit. It also touched on all the themes from the season, asking once more, what does it mean to be a radical bureaucrat? Is it even possible? We’re still exploring.
And so the season ends. What’s next? We don’t really know. We both would love to apply what we learned this season to a second one, but we’ll have to take a break to regroup and attend to other life priorities before moving on. Whatever we decide, we will keep you posted. As always, please let us know what you think by commenting on the blog or Twitter.
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for your support, listening, and love.
Who’s in this episode:
Patrick G. Williamson is a fellow bureaucrat in the Department of Education, currently with the NYC Men Teach program in the Department of Teaching and Learning. He is a poet, photographer, “lover of life,” and co-host of the podcast 3 Educated Brothas. Pat was one of the first people to enthusiastically tell us we were on the right track, that what we were speaking about spoke to his experience of losing himself within the bureaucracy.
Toni Smith-Thompson works for the New York Civil Liberties Union as an organizer, where she works on issues of educational access. Toni also speaks and writes on issues of equity and justice, sickle cell anemia, health care, and school segregation. Toni works closely with Abram and me as a member of the steering committee for the Alliance of School Integration and Desegregation. She was present the night we decided to do this podcast, and she has been cheering us on ever since.