Thaye – Creative resistance from the Burmese revolution (or artistic revolution between the fires of war).

Mizzima It is no secret that apart from armed resistance movements, art can be an effective and powerful weapon in the fight to overthrow oppressive systems. music poetry Through art forms such as painting, the use of art as a political activism called "artivism" attempts to speak to a traumatized public and envision a future without violence.What? In that future, the wishes of the public are also included. This is the main message of Thabyay: Creative Resistance in Myanmar, a one-hour documentary about the role of art and artists in Myanmar's current struggle for democracy. Visual arts and design Thabyay is written by Jeanne Hallacy. Directed and produced by Gregg Butensky. This artistically beautiful documentary is worth watching if only for the artistic and visual uses that creatively narrate the troubling experiences of modern Myanmar. A powerful image near the end of the film is a musical performance honoring those who died fighting against the military dictatorship. Before that, somewhere in the movie, an artistic image of a young Burmese man gently praying with an automatic weapon is seen on the screen. This image is strikingly similar to the cover of Marwan Hisham's book Brothers of a GunI'm drooling. The book tells the story of how peaceful protests in Syria turned into a dangerous civil war, and how that process has destroyed many people's lives. Thabyay documents the stories of four of Myanmar's artists. All of them were forced to leave their lives in Myanmar and seek refuge in the Thai-Myanmar border area. However, each of them continues to incorporate art into the fight in their own way. Among them is musician Po San. He originally led an anti-coup protest movement that included over 100 Burmese violinists on the streets of Yangon. Today, he is re-entering Myanmar to bring music to war zones and teaching music in the Thai border town of Mae Sot to heal trauma. In addition, moving within MyanmarHe is also providing entertainment for the poor. Although his protest and opposition to the military regime are non-violent, he is also using music to raise funds through YouTube to support revolutionary forces in the jungles of Myanmar. Among those revolutionary forces was the Burmese People's Liberation Army (BPLA), founded by poet Maung Songkha. Maung Songkha said, "Only poets can be arrested. Poems can never be arrested." However, at the same time, armed opposition, The film also shows that armed resistance is impossible to avoid. Because there seems to be no other option. This idea seems to partially overlap with some of Frantz Fanon's thoughts. That is, violence is seen as a purifying force that restores agency and agency to the oppressed. This is no longer the non-violence that has long been associated with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. However, this is the situation Myanmar is in today. 2021 yearUnder the previous national political structure, Myanmar could have slowly progressed towards a better future, but the coup d'état of February 2021 irrevocably shattered that possibility. In the words of political campaigner and activist Thet Swe Win, "Our people did not choose armed struggle. The revolution chose us." The military's extremely brutal response to initially peaceful protests left them with no choice but to turn to violence in order to create a more just social and political system.The movie presented. This fearless choice of violence as a last resort is not surprising, as it is what many oppressed peoples have done throughout history. What is remarkable is that these people did not easily support the armed revolution. Thabyay portrays both Thet Swe Win and Maung Songkha as people who protested what they said were injustices during the decade of "democratization" from 2011 to 2021. Maung Songkha was also arrested for a poem that mocked the president. This fact is MyanmarIt highlights the country's troubled democratic experiment and its flaws. Those flaws also created the background conditions for the February 2021 coup. Today, Thet Swe Win runs Independence Café (later Memories of Maesot and Memories of Chiang Mai) in Mae Sot, a space that seeks to combine art and activism. The walls of the cafe are decorated with Burmese poems and portraits of political prisonersA. Finally, Thabyay is an art teacher. A former member of Parliament and a woman of the National Unity Government (NUG). It also tells the story of Susanna Hla Soe, who took over as the Minister of Youth and Children. Through her art and activism, she strives to give dreams and hope to Burmese youth whose youth is often robbed of their youth due to war experiences. As a Karen, her story has also been used to visualize the plight of ethnic minorities in Myanmar. After escaping to a region of Myanmar controlled by an ethnic armed group, she experienced firsthand the plight of ethnic minorities who have been targeted by the Myanmar military for decades. In this sense, the Myanmar revolution is historyLike many revolutions throughout, it brought people face to face not only with their oppressors, but with each other. The coming together of Burmese and ethnic revolutionary forces against the current authoritarian regime in Myanmar is often hailed, including by Thabyay, as an inspiring vision for the future of Myanmar. They say that the purpose of the revolution is not only to defeat the Burmese army, but to build a better country for everyone. At least that's the hope. But Thabyay does not grapple with the complexities of ethnic affairs, nor does he directly discuss difficult questions such as the role of regional and international actors. Instead, this documentary is about how Burmese artists think about what freedom should look like. will