Lou Reed And Philip Glass Keep New York Occupied

By Lauren Shipman / December 12th, 2011 in Film / New York / 1261 views

Conceived and developed by Mahatma Gandi, the term SATYAGRAHA can loosely be translated as “insistence on truth soul force” or “truth force” and represents both a philosophy and the practice of non-violent resistance or civil resistance.

Directed by Jean Thevenin, the monochromatic documentary Visible Shape, featuring the poetic prose of Brooklyn-born musician Lou Reed and legendary American composer Philip Glass, provides an intimate look into the form of a satyagraha-style protest in action whilst preserves the moment in time that was the Occupy Lincoln Center in New York City on the evening of December 1st 2011. Just one hour before, Glass’ acclaimed opera Satyagraha—which first premiered at the Metropolitan Opera back in April 2008 and focuses on the story of Gandhi in his early years of non-violent protest in South Africa—was having an encore run at the Met.

With the worldwide Occupy protest firmly in mind, it seems integral to return again to the wise words of Gandhi who, whilst talking to his followers about the soul’s return to Brahma, proclaimed:

“The Lord said, I have passed through many a birth and many have you, I know them all but you do not. Yet by my creative energy, I consort with Nature and come to be in time. For whenever the law of righteousness withers away and lawlessness arises, then do I generate myself on earth. I come into being age after age and take a visible shape and move a man with men for the protection of good, thrusting the evil back and setting virtue on her seat again.”

And, in the end, we are the 99 percent. Occupy.