Playwriting 101: The Condi Monologues

Forgive me for seeing everything as a play, but it did occur to me yesterday as Condoleezza Rice took the stage on the floor of the United Nations Security Council to talk about the importance of dealing with sexual violence as a security issue (and of course it is crucial and long overdue) that we were all witnessing bad theater.

Usually there is an arc to a character. A journey. A path. What happens in the first act has something to do with what happens in the third act. I have spent my life inventing characters, plotting out the narratives and trajectories, their ascents and descents, working hard to understand their motivations and needs. In this case, I am completely befuddled. Who wrote the script?

In the third act, our lead character, Ms. Rice, suddenly reveals herself to be a passionate spokesperson for women suffering sexual violence in armed conflicts. Note her dialogue in response to the question Should the UN protect women in these crisis zones?: "I'm proud that today we respond to that question with a resounding 'Yes.' It is our responsibility to be their advocates and defenders". Suddenly Condi Rice emerges as a Republican Mother Courage, defiantly speaking truth to power.

But how'd she get there? What of the Condi Rice of the first act: willing and enthusiastic defender of one of the most disastrous wars in history. A war that rendered Iraq into a barbaric state where sexual violence towards women is so rampant and so accepted it is actually no news at all. A war where one out of three American women soldiers fighting in it have been raped and sexually assaulted by their comrades.

How did enthusiastic war-defender become indignant global defender of women in war? What part of the play did we all miss? Did it happen off stage during intermission? Was there a scene where Ms. Rice accidentally stumbles into the Walter Reade Hospital and meets Ana, 27-year-old U.S. veteran, tied to a respirator in a sexual military trauma ward, after just attempting suicide? Was there a scene in Baghdad, where Condi slips away from a military briefing and is brought by a group of women to an underground shelter where she meets Amira, who shows her the bruises on her body, traces of the rape and torture she endured at the hands of authorities in a detention center? Was there a scene where, after mile-10 on the treadmill, Condi, in an endorphin-driven state, commits to changing her legacy and making her mother proud? Or, was there simply a career crisis scene, where Ms. Rice found herself in the last days of a dying administration, needing to repackage herself?

Maybe there is something deeper all together. Whatever it is, in order for the third act to ring true, have meaning, and not be an insult to the intelligence of the audience, we need accountability. There is always the moment of confrontation in a play where the lead character is forced to reckon, in one way or another. You don't get to be a defender of rights that you are responsible for destroying without a comeuppance, without passing through a dark night of the soul, without admitting wrongs done.

But these days we live in bad theater. The world is run by people who get away with doing all kinds of horrible things, who seamlessly morph into new characters, with even more fabulous careers.

Good monologue. Bad casting.

Comments

[robbor]

condi is a crisp machine. she gives reactive critiques of situations that flow past her. she lacks imagination, soul, empathy - those traits normally given to humans at birth.

[therealredstateblues]

"Good Evening - I'm Leonard Pinth-Yarnell and welcome to another episode of Bad Diplomacy Theatre" - apologies to Dan Akroyd and SNL 8-)


Condi "mushroom cloud, status quo ante" Rice is one of the most ineffective and incompetent SofS's in recent memory. A true example of the peter principle - rising to the level on one's own incompetence.

I rate her an 8.0 out of 10 on the "heckuva job Brownie" scale of incompetence and cronyism

[realpolitic]

That is a pretty high rating on the "Brownie" scale. I guess Condi felt she must reach new heights of incompetence at State to beat her performance as National Security Adviser. Many said she was the worst in history at that job too.

[researcher]

condi is a war monger

stanford will want her back

they love war mongers

hired rummy for thier think tank

elitist war mongering university

send your kids there parents and they can learn how to invade and occupy third world countries for their resources. that is american as apple pie.

what they really want is industrial military complex grants ie $$$$$$

hire ex war mongers get the grants

the american way

as a retired prof seen it many times

[kvass]

Wonderful blog. But from Eve Ensler we expect as much and we got it. Well written Ms Ensler

[GrainOSand]

She rocked the blog!

[legalgirl]

One would hope that Maj. Gen. Tacuba's recent testimony concerning the torture methods authorized by Ms. Rice and others would imply her complicity in the comission of war crimes, enough to warrant further investigation by a post-Bush administration DOJ. Like I said, one would hope.

[GrainOSand]

Through behind the scenes pressure and overt yet deceptive gymnastics of capitulation, she and others may face no penalty for wrongdoing. Brace yourself for the decline of the constitution. We seem to be on the launch pad for this rocket ride to tyranny, we appear to be taxiing down the runway for liftoff on this trip to fascism.

[GrainOSand]

The problem with lives lived in calculation is that they often are spent in hesitation of committing to anything that might derail any opportunity for further calculation, for calculation has somehow become the goal rather than the means to the goal. If I take a stand, those I serve might demand consistency, it makes it tougher to put a distance between disproved positions and me. Better to stay neutral, and not be noticed. Better to be Secretary of State with calculation as the motive not the modus operandi. Better to stay uncommitted, keep commitment in perpetual standby.

If I should give any hint that I am alive, it will be times when I must side with those who feed me and those who support me clear and loud. For people like that, I will make a statement that we do not want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud. This is the price paid by the calculating, this is the reflection of courage in waiting.

[whatsthatsound]

Very well stated, GOS. But I think Ms. Rice is hardly alone in this characterization. That was the gripe I always had about Bill Clinton, that there was no real "there there"; just a calculated drive to gain and hold onto power. Washington is full of such people. No doubt it has always been so throughout our history, but politics has descended into such a crass, cynical affair, conducted for such huge perks, financial and otherwise, that at this time in our history we can pretty much count on integrity being one of the first thing all political wannabees part with on their way to "the top".
We dreamed of Plato's "Republic" and we wound up with "Animal Farm".

[GrainOSand]

We dreamed of Plato's "Republic" and we wound up with "Animal Farm".


Sigh!

We had desire but not sustained will it seems.

[thebeerdoctor]

"And thus I clothe my naked villany
With odd old ends stol'n out of holy writ,
And seem a saint, when most I play the devil"

[jcorrington]

O good one Eve! and lets not forget who headed NSA when the blackwater misfits went on their rape spree. Ol condi has alot to answer for...but alas, no one has paid her any mind.

[popecorvo]

"Playwrighting" ??

To quote the late, great Casey Stengel."Can't anybody here play this game?"

[section9]

Of course, she's actually been talking about this stuff for several years, but nobody here was listening.

[whatsthatsound]

Maybe she has been talking about it, but forgive us "here" who fail to see that she has any credibility on the issue.

Great post Eve. It does seem that as this administration comes to an end, we are going to see a lot of people trying to redefine themselves, as statesmen, as older and wiser men and women who will now turn to faith, reveal compassion, become spokespersons for just causes like the environment, feeding the hungry, stopping violence, etc. The problem is that they have this eight year old albatross around their necks, and it's one HUGE mofo.

[Jamchinadian]

If she has, her 'phone must have been muted, because no one heard. Note - everyone was listening but no one heard a thing from her!!!

[WmC]

Links, please, section 9.

[Ice9]

Very good post, thank you for documenting some of Mdm. Secretary's failures. But I think you know as well as anyone else, this play is about an inch deep and a minute long, like most of the initiatives this administration has undertaken. If I may:

- Forging a peace breakthrough in the Middle East in the last year of the administration
- W was going to rehab 'Merica from its addiction to oil
- Osama Bin Laden Dead or Alive

Mdm. Secretary should patent the phrase "who could have known", which she uttered a number of times. I particularly remember it in regard to New Orleans levies. Now we know, now we know.

[Marnie1]

Many of the rest of us did know.
Simply by using commonsense and a passing knowledge of history.

So the Bushies really can't hide behind their own ignorance, Even though it is a mile deep and, like the serpent of the Lancoon is encoilng this green planet and is crushing the life out of our earth.
Their ignorance is just another Bushie lie. They knew because they have planned and continue to plann every move.

[Ice9]

Absolutely agree - their denials mean nothing. It's as though they think if they deny their crimes they somehow aren't true. Loved how the GOP thinks that Scott McClellean had nothing new to say this week - with the possible exception that is was now under oath before Congress.

[TheEmptinessOfTruthiness]

Out! Damn spot!

No wait, that was good theatre.

[InfinteShibumi]

Or even damned spot!!

[realpolitic]

Yes, great line! Condi will be like Lady Macbeth who can not rinse out the imaginary blood on her gown. Condi and Bsh have caused too many wars and unnecessary suffering around the globe.

[oncethere]

"You don't get to be defender of rights you are responsible for destroying.....without admitting some wrongs." For most people, true. These people, incl Condi, running our government are political and religious "true believers" and, therefore, people who lead unexamined lives. Have you ever heard Bush say that his tax cuts for the super-rich were intended to help the working man in America? Well, he did say that. Hannity and Limbaugh see themselves as the defender of the average, working man American. Denial and Rationalization are the vehicles that permit them to see themselves in those ways.

[MissKaren]

Dr. Rice is a bizarre creature. When she testifies in front of Congress, she seems about to weep for her sins while lying through her teeth. She betrays her intelligence defending the actions of a moron. She is head and shoulders above the men around her but seems unwilling to stand up to them. What to make of this creature? One thing I would suggest making of her quickly -- former Secretary of State.

[RedDogBear]

I agree that she should be former secretary of state ASAP. I think she is probably the most ineffectual person in that office in modern history. However, I don't agree that she is so bizarre or inscrutable. I've worked as a business and IT consultant all my life and I've seen countless people like Rice in the firms that I've worked for and especially the Fortune 500 clients. She is a classic bureaucrat. People like her accomplish virtually nothing but they are experts in deflecting blame and manufacturing progress. Listen carefully to her sometimes. She boasts about having a meeting, initiating a process, defining goals, etc. It sounds impressive until you really analyze it and realize that nothing is actually being done. She is the classic type of person that makes large corporations so inefficient. Not good at anything yet somehow always failing upward.

[ssb752]

Excellent comment. Thanks.

[flamflurm]

We talking about Obama too, I guess, and certainly Michelle.

[realpolitic]

She deflects blame well when she testifies to Congress. She uses passsive language like "mistakes were made." She still refuses to look into the billions lost in the bureaucratic mess in Iraq on unperformed contracts and will not even hold the Blackwater group accountable for murdering innocent civilians. It is difficult to say what drives her, except it is few altruistic impulses. What drives her is the same American exceptionalism and unilateral bullying practiced by the Bushies and many on the far right.

[jcorrington]

exactly Reddog!!

[pfc1369]

She is a bizarre creature, but hardly head and shoulders above anyone.

She was put on a track to be promoted far beyond her capacity long ago.

But in the present junta, who can tell the difference?

[realpolitic]

Despite all the failures of this administration, Condi still testifies to Congress extremely arrogantly. She seems to still behave as if the administration is beyond reproach and should not be questioned. She, as with all the Bushies, must be incredibly insulated or wearing blinders or tuned into Fox News.

[elinertv]

Nice column, but there is no such word as "playwrighting."