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tv   KQED Newsroom  PBS  December 28, 2018 7:00pm-7:30pm PST

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♪ oo -next, a "kqed new special on the arts. -♪ his love -sometimes it takes more than a 90-minute, intermissionless play f to kick somebody outtheir . -an entertainer's take on american history rt and a world-renownedt tapping the global refugee crisis. -you know, they all havefae and we cannot pretend we are naive on those issues. -plus the joy served up by the coolest museum in town focused on something sweet. -when you see the power of human connection in such a mplified form, i think it can be a grt example of how we should move forward as a country. -hello. i'm thuy vu. welcome to a special edition of "kqed newsroom" about arts and culture. on this program, we're revisiting stories from our archives with innovative and influential figures in film, the performing arts, and visual culture. we begin with the role of comedy in today's political clima.
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from immigration policy to health care to the economyo there's going on in politics. that means plenty of material for comedians li roy wood jr. he's a correspondent on comedy central's "the daily show." kqed's sheraz sadiq caught up with him while he was in town for the comedy festival colossal clusterfest. ey met at an interactive exhibit showcasing president trump's love of twitt. -so, where are we today? -this is the donald j. trump presidential twitter library. everybody at "the daily show," we sat around, and we started looking in closer at the president's tweets over the last couple years. everyone in our digital department started looking at ones, and you start noticing certain patterns.s therlot of tweets where he's arguing with celebrities. there's a lot of tweets where he's trying to end people's careers. there's a lot of contradictions. there's stuff about policy. so when you really start looking atll the president's work, you see, "oh, well this is an exhibit, you know?" barack obama is all about books. our president is all about twitter,
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so we felt like the best way to give people the experience of walking through the brain of our commander-in-chief is to just put it all on the wal this is all the people he's argued and talked trash about -o talked trashut jeb bush, lked trash about robert pattinson. over here, those are the verified survivors. those are people that he's talked trash about, but somehow, they still persevere.i' and not sure whether you leave this library feeling better about the country or more horrified, but you'll definitely feel something. -are black people too sensitive about racism? -one ontthe themes you frequely return to on "the daily show" as a correspondent is the issue of race relations. how did growinup in the deep south in birmingham, alabama, influence how yotackle the issue of rac -i think a lot of our views on race as adults are shed when we're young, but i think the important thin my parents gave me was a lot of pride in myself because if you're not careful, if you're a victim of racism, that can mess with your self-esteem. i've been called the n-word. i've been harassed.
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i won't dare act like what i've been through compares to what a lot of people have gone through in this country and, you knos, the civil-rights soldi you know, from back in the day, but i think for me it's important to make sure that i shine a light on the stuff that's happening in the corners of america where a lot of people, you know, don't consider and having been from the south and having been in that world, i feel like i'm as equipped as any other correspondent on the show to be able to . and tell those stori -roy, you're the father of a toddler. what will you tell your son when he's older about what it's like to be a black man in ameca? -my son has to understand that being black is a gift and that sometimes it's a burden, you know? everybody goes, "have you had the big talk?" and we ain't going to have the talk. you know, they're talking about the birds and the bees. to me, the big talk is how to deal with the police and instructing my son on that relationship. itbecause, you know, being black is a job sometimes,, man,
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and my son has got to know that he's on the clock 24/7. we heard about the march for our lives in d.c., but there was another march going down all the way out in helena, monna, and out here at this march, people were taki a stand for the real victims of gun violence, guns.or the daily show," when the march for our lives rally was taking place to protest gun violence in schools, you were actually at a pro-g rally in montana. what did that experience teach you about peoplese who gun restriction? -there are a lot of people who oppose gunle restriction who arlheaded. who gun restriction? everybody thinks that someone just because they want the second amendment that they got eight guns and 12 "rambo" bazookas in their back pocket, and they're all lunatics. eaere were a lot of leved people that were just making arguments for wanting their guns, and i think that the problem is that we only hear the extremes in one another, at and i was very happy went to the pro-gun rally and had the opportunity to talk to these people. now don't get me wrong. there are a lot of people who are pro-gun who,
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in my opinion, are out there. anytime you think a kid that got shot at at a high school is a paid actor, there is something wrong with you, period. but the problem is that people who will call a parkland kid a crisis actor overshadow the levelheaded people who go, "let's tiptoe into legislatiio. i'm open to legisl let's figure out a way to legiste this without it getting out of hand because it is a slippery slope." it was dope to be able to get to montana to talk to those people. -what is the challenge of tackling these difficult subjects such as racism and gun violence through comedy? is there a risk, for example, of belitnging these issues by finumor in them? -the joke is never on the issue. the joke is on the a oument and the preventiit. we would never tell a joke about someone getting shot, but the joke is on, "how do we keep this from happening, an awho are the people th keeping this from happening again?" and i think that's where th kthe humor is, and i think if we can laugh about it, you're mite willing to talk abou and if you're willing to talk about it,en ou're closer to a solution,
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so i feel like the jokes have to happen. -how do you decide which stors to cover on "the daily show"? -"the daily show," that's a whole nother world. ,ke, we'll look at the neand . if we can say something that we believe is different e om what other shows ying, then we'll say it, and then sometimes it's just about figuring outim what issues arrtant to us, you know? there's issues where it may not babout some stuffi covey that's happening on the mississippi river with a boondoggle with the army corps of engineers, it's something that economically sometand environmentallypeople. was ruining the cohttry, and thankfully refore president obama got out of office, he changed it. i like to believe that my story is the reason that i beat... you're welcome, missouri. that's what i tell myself ight before i go to bed. -roy, thank you so much. -yeah. -it s great talking to you.ah. thank you. -now to cabaret, where a daring show has isen examining americanry through some of this country's most popular songs. er -♪ i jumped in a r titled "a 24-decade history of popular music,"
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the show has been shining a lightve on ething from slavery to gay activism. kqed's chloe veltman sat dow with drag artistkt and stocon native taylor mac. -well, here we are onto the stage at the curran theatre in san francisco. m here with taylor mac, the creator of the show, the chief performer, and his co-creator, stume designer, machine dazzle. thank you both for being here. it's great to get a chance to chat with you here in the costume shop n. all this stuff is going -thank you. -oh, yes, thank you. -♪ i oe was lost ♪ but now am found t -so, your show tel history of the united states of america in 246 songs, and it all begs with a smashing, ball-busting rendition of "azing grace."♪ -s long as life endures ♪ -why that song? s -i wanted et up this kind of concept that we'reofere to worship the ac creation, not the creator, so we take that song,e, ac and what is grace to me is the act of creation.
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-♪ it's love and love alone -and what inspired you to tell the history of this country through song? -i wanted to use a form that best representedyo house kind of imperfection as a way to rally people. la i think ofical music as, you know, e u're reaching for thm of god. you're reaching for perfection. you're striving for virtuosity, and popular song is something that is reaching the people.♪ ♪ it's reaching them in order to rally them to a cause, to celebrate together, to mourn together. -and you guys also tell the history of this country through costume. -♪ he cursed us with a congress ♪to -i likook at what was happening at the time, you know, "what was nee at the time? what werople doing? what was invented at the time?" these are the opening shoes. and just, like, turn those ideas and those inventions to costumes. my favorite ribbon. -and machine, aseird as it sounds,
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is redesigning backstage, like, during the show. -on the fly?ne, -i always need to add things and change things. now that's a shoe. ♪ one of my favorite costumes that i've made for taylor ever is the crazy jane costume. -[ gargling ] ♪ i jumped in a river made out of champagne corks, and she lives in a barrel.es when she takhe barrel off, it's like she has everything in there. she has her toiletries in thereo she has her be objet in there. -so, wearing a barrel, not to mention heels, high heels for 24 hours...-s etimes women will say to me on the street if i'm dressed up, wearing the high heels or often after shows, women will say, "how could you wear those heels? i could never wear heels like that," and i always say, "well, for you, it's oppression, but for me, it's liberation." ♪ he's leaving for
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i mean, i get to wear this art. ...this ritual. and it's not just costuming. you know, they're little art pieces, so the fact that you get to bring your own personal art into somebety else's art, and theyo commingle and make something bigger than both together is energizing. -and have you ever had a wardrobe malfunction? -no. it is the geni of performance art. there is no failure. -yeah. we don't call them malfunctions. we call them, you know, not acts of... -opportunity. -opportunity. not acts of god, acts of the goddess. [ cheers and applause ] -the point is to incorporate calamity. ♪ they wished me one more day to stay ♪ and, in fact, the show was inspired by the very first aids walk in san francisco. -which you were at. -which i went to when i was 14 years old, t and it w first time i'd ever seen an out homosexual,
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and it was thousands of them all at the same time. it was the first time i ever saw a drag queen. it was a sister of perpetualndulgence, you know, so that event is what makes me want to make theater. and so in making the show, i wanted to make a metaphorical representation of that event. now you can use your pilloo. as shields if you want -why are your performances so long? -[ laughs ] well, sometimes it takes morehan a 90-minute, intermissionless play to kick somebody out othei. -okay, so everyone, you understand how it goes? let's do it. i think that there's real wonder in just making things e on longer than peoplpect, longer than they think they're capable of handling something, so i really like to put people through it. -well, thank you very much taylor mac and machine dazzle for joining me today. -thank you so much, like, really, for having-ts. nk you.
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-chinese dissident and artist ai weiwei has long been a vocal critic of his own country's governmt. in his latest film, "human flow," he addresses the global refugee crisisnt and says ces around the world should be held accountable. kqed's monica lam spoke with ai weiwei when he was in san ancisco. -your film "human flow" documents massive human migration due to war, violence, disaster. what did you learn from making is film? -what i have learned is very simple. amonthere's no single onegees, is willing to leave their home. they all struggle not to leave. it's very heavy price they have to pay. their relatives, friends, or whole village vanished by war, by famine, or environmental problems. -united states president lfdonald trump has cut in in fact, more than half the number of refugees allowed in ts country.
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what is your reaction to that? -i think that this current administration, what they did is beyond belief. -more than ever, we need the wall. we have drugs pouring through. -i should say it's a shame for a nation like ited states, which is the most powerful, not only leading in the economics but should be strongant nation in defending hights. after all, u.s. is a nation of immigrants. just a few generations ago, we all come from somewhere. er-absolutely. -i nevet a native here. i mean, to limit somebody's rights tmove is almost the same as to push someone to leave their home. -the officials came here and told them, "look. there's no way you're going to get papers to continue. either you go voluntarily or we arrest you." or -a lot of your wtakes aim right at the heart of power,in the e government, corruption, and here at alcatraz, the prison system.
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do you think those in power are listening? -i know it's very hard to make power listening, but that why those voice are so necessary. and basically, all those mistakes or those tragedies are made bhuman. so if we don't wancoto be part of shamefuition, en eave us no choice to make our sound to be heard. -do you think you're encouraging those in pow to change or just making them look like fool or is it the same thing? -ihink we have to consider they also human beings, of course. you know, we talk about the issues, really,
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to everybody, you know? they all have families, have children, and it's different ways of communication, so i have to believe in this kind of struggle. -in your film, there's a scene of a manlk and it's different ways of communication, waing through a graveyard, anovhe's lost many of his l ones. he's really speaki from his heart just as an individual person. for people watching the film, what can they do about this? -first, i think we often talk about e crisis without asking why those people are in such a agic journey. there are so many wars, iraq war, afghanistan war, syrian war, and we ao see we are selling el extrdangerous weapons to dangerous locations.
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big profit are made by united states or european leading nations, and we cannot pretend we are naive on those issues. -you call yourself an artist and activist. do you also see yourself as a journalist? -i have a journalist card as a reporr because if i go to those nation to interview people, often i have to have something protect me,rn because if i go to those nation so, yes, i'm a jist also. i do a lot of investigations, ask really tough questions, and, you know, to ting to get some facts ou -thank you very much, ai weiwei. -thank you. -in the world of entertainment, comedian and writer hari kondabolu is no strangers to addg tough topics like race and ethnicity. he takes on the long-running cartoon series "the mpsons" in his documentary titled, "the problem with apu." he tit explores how an indian carconvenience store owner" caters to stereotypes.
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-the problem is r didn't have any otherepresentation in this country. in-there was no aziz, no m, no kalon no "that dude who walost' and that other dude from 'heroes' and that dude that's in the apu documentary," no politicians or reporters and no whatever deepak chopra is. thiss all we had. apu reflected how america viewed us -- servile, devious, goofy. -and joining me now is hari kondabolu. nice to have you here. -thanks for having me. -and yet you were so frustrated fawith the character named apu. why? -apu is a convenience store owner, very one-dimensional, imereotypical, and at that that's the only depiction south asian-americans had,sp ifically indian-americans. like, we didn't have anything else, and initially we were... i think i was excited because we had something. when you have nothing, you're excited about anything,
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bu,as i got older, i realiz"oh, and this is how my parents are depicted," and this is... it's such a narrow way to be seen. -was it the accents? because a white actor, hank azaria, did the accent. -yeah. the accent is definitely a part of it. it's an accent meant to elicit laughter. it's not that realistic. the fact that everything he did always was connected to his indianness or what, like, the white writers and executives thought indianness was.ng -you were tan... or you are taking on a we-loved tv show and taking on the question of apu in relation to identity politics, so what was your process in deciding how to present this issue in a way that would make sense ced matter to a broad audi -sure. i mean, i think "the simpsons" is a great pla " to start because ite simpsons." it's a glol show. like, there's so many of us who grew up on it. "the simpsons" at its peakid so much of the conversation of the country. i mean, it was a verimportant show, so that already gave me a place, an institution to start from.
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-what was the impact, do you think, ofpu? -i mean, i think for a lot of young south asianmericans, i think it shaped our identity. there was a certain embarrassment sometimes about being who we were. there was an embarrassment of our parents, and the was shame. there was a sense of, this is... "we are not american. we are less american.. we don't f have to fight against this constantly." i mean, i think those early childhood experiences always shape you, and that was, i think, a thing that shaped a lot of us. -but yet, there's a moment in your film where you interview your parents, and they're both inan immigrants, and they say they weren't offended by apu. they weren't botherey that the voice was donewhite actor. -right. i mean, i think my mom sai that it's not that she wasn't offended. it was that, like, you know, it wasn't something she really worried about.yo know, when you're coming to this country, and the stakes are so high, you're not really worried about things le, "how am i being seen?" like, you worry about, you know, your bills, but i think as somebody who was born in this country,
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grew up in this country,emt that i think i rightfully have to expect the same as everyone ee. my parents have now lived in america longer than they've lived in india. this is home, and i think they have that entitlement more now than they did before. they didn't even know if they were going to stay for the long-term, so, i mean, i feel like that's big difference. i expect to be treated the way everyone else is treated. -and you don't do accents in your comedy anymore. -no.of -is that parhat thinking? -yeah. i mean, i think for me, i did accents when i was 17, 18, 19, because i knew it would work, and i knew it would work because of "the simpsons." i knew that that accent would wo, and as a young comedia i just wanted to make sure there wasn't silence, f that i wling that with laughter, but as i got older, and particularly after 9/11, i realized the impact representation had, the impact of images,peciallys were being beaten up around the country, muslims, sikhs, i knew that, like, us speaking out d and us being public owing a broad range of identities, like, would shape that public image, and i knew i couldn't do those voices anymore.
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was so minimizing. -your film, "the problem with apu," grew out of a bit that you did a few years ago for "totally biased th w. kamau bell." -you were -- you worked on that show.co a lot of youdy deals with race and ethnicity. do you view your comedy as a form of activism? -no. i mean, this film, i think, a ittle different because it's an in-depth look at the end of the day, it has to make people laugh, and i'm not going to say something that is,ev if it's thoughtful, that doesn't make people laugh because why would people listen to me? i mean, stand-up's strength is that people listen because there's the promise of laughter, so, i mean, an activist goal is to push an issue and to get it as far as they can and to try to make progress, ether it's legislatively so. that's not my goal with stand-u my goal with stand-up is to entertain people. -you scream. i scream. we all scream for ice cream. america's favorite frozen treat has gotten a made-for-millennials makeover at the museum of ice cream. the traveling museum in downtown san francisco
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a allows visitors of as to indulge their sweet tooth and love of selfies. kqed's sheraz sadiq has the scoop. -we wanted to create a space that brought peoe together. this is a space that is unifying. it's a safe space.in it's empower and ice cream is such a beloved treat that it just felt like the perfect combination. -this isn't your typical museum where the artwork is behind plates of glass. here, the artwork is meant to be touched and interaed with. why did you take such an unconventional approach to the design of your muse? -well, i find that museums can be a little bit isolating, right? there's this sense that you can't touch anything oromou're going to breakhing, and i think when you have that level of degree of constriction, it limits people from truly bei able to express themselves, so we wanted to create a space where people could really be their authentic selves. they could laugh. they could have fun. they could tough something, and thing would break. it's flipping this concept of the traditional museum on its head. -it's alr- a museum that's tailode for millennials and their love of snapchat and instagram. how did social media influence
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your design aesthetic and your choices? -it wasn't so much instagram or snapchat or facebooket that led the aeshetic design behind this.s? more so, this sense of capturing the moment and what can we do from a design perspective that really allowed people to transport back,he and we feel thatore visual the space is, the more people are able to do so. -say cheese. -the museum of ice cream features nine different themed rooms, including a gummy-bear garden, rock-candy cave, and the main attraction... -wow. -...a swimming pool filled with plastic sprinkles. -raining sprinkles! there's just something so therapeutic, and really, they do... we made sure they would look as real as they do. they loolike real sprinkles. -how many sprinkles are in this thing, roughly? -100 million sprinkles. -wow. after using an air hosto removs , sticking to my cloth madi, a gold-horned unicorn standing tall in a field of rainbows.
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-my favorite room here is our rainbow room. it's an homage to san francio for the pride and inclusivity and diversity that this city has fostered and create for its entire existence. inclusivity and making sure that all people feel safe and protected si this space is a huge m statement of ours and something that we strongly value. -thank you. -ice cream dipped in real magic. -but no crip to a museum for icm would be complete without delicious reminders of why this timeless treat never goes out of style,er even a makeover for millennials. -what you have in front of you here is gingersp-flavored ice cream with a gingerbread crumble on top with some sprinkles, and then we're going to add this lovely strawbey-basil sauce. -we want to make sure that the city feels that we are working in collaboration with ice cream creameries that have been around for a while, so each month, we have a ice-cream shop from san francisco that's created a unique flavor that you can only get at the museum of ice cream.om -that is the -yeah. -that is the answer you want.
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-yeah. -that's it. -at the museum of ice cream, you won't encounter artwork that's overtly political,st but you can ill express your opinion, even a political one, in the message statement room. -we wanted to create a space where people could take their emotions even a political one, in the message statement room. and how they felt and make a statement on the walls. we believe that this is an equalizing space. it's an opportunity for you to feel your authentic self, and if you have somepoing to say that maybe itical or maybe is socially oriented, feel free to say it. -madison, what does ice cream mean to you?em whaties does it evoke? -when i think about it, it just brings me back to my childhood. b i think ng a kid and sitting in my house and hearing the ice-cream truck go off and the excitement,th exhilaration i got from running outside and catching that truck to get my ice cream. i also associate it withy first memories of having autonomy.me i rember my parents being like, "here is $5. go out aou get the ice cream byelf." there's just something with that, that level of independence, i just greatly associate with ice cream.
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-♪ haters going to hath -maybe our universal love for ice cream spngs from memories of what was decidingto be a kid, whwhatof scoop to get.isionin -thank you. -i love it. it's phenomenal. agit's more than i ever imined. we're celebrating my daughter's 1st birthday tay, and so i'm excited to show her these pictures when she grows uand let, "you went to a place that not everybody gets to go to." gsi think ice cream brinappiness. like, who eats ice cream and is sad? you ready? -sit's fun whether it's sove or, you know, out of a tub or whatever. it's fun. it feels good. -we have people from cultures from all over the world who are coming together and talking with somebody they probably never uld have had the opportunity to spe with, and they're talking about ice cream, and they're having funs when youee the power of human connection in such a simplified form, i think it can be a great example of how we should move forward as a country. i think it can be -♪ got nothing in my brain ♪ that's what people say -that does it for us. for more of our coverage, go to kqed.org/newsrooth
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i' vu. thank you for joining us. -ready? here we ! ♪ the world promised good to me ♪ ♪ holmy life secure ♪ he will my care and comfort be ♪ es♪ as long as life endur ♪ amazing grace ♪ how sweet the sound ♪ that saved a wretch like me ♪ i once was lost n ♪ butow am found ♪ was blind but now i see ♪ -take it away! keep going!
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robert: the government remains shut down. i'm robert costa. welcome to "washington week." >> i can't tellheou when t government is going to be open. i cansell you it' not going to be open until we have a wall, a fence whatever they'd likell to t. robert: the government shutdown extends into 2 as president c trump angress battle over funding for a border wall.in washington, uncertainty comes amid volatility on wall street. plus, the president makes his first trip to a combat zone and defends his decision to draw down troops in syria. >> we're not the suckers of the worl we're no longer the suckers. we're respected again as a nation. robert: we cover it a

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