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and I am so sorry that the BBC America channel is not on the line-up. Let me summarize why I brought it up in the context of this group.
We so often see all these disagreements on DU and other boards about how to organize communities and coalitions. How is this done? How do people present themselves to others and offer reasonable hope for change? What does it take to get these efforts up and running?
What this show does is show the "how", or what it takes to get an effort up and running. On the surface, this show is a pretty simple story about a guy who loves to sing, loves to direct choirs and believes that choirs are good for communities. (Not political, right.) Also, this is a TV show, so it is edited, a point I readily concede. Yet, there are lessons for anyone in politics in this pretty simple, feel-good story.
The first two stories in this series were about building a choir in schools. The first school was located in a working class town, the second school was an all-boys academy with a heavy sports orientation. One of the biggest hurdles the Choirmaster, Gareth Malone, faced was getting boys and men to overcome their idea that singing was somehow "gay." Seriously, that is one of the biggest obstacles to getting the choirs together, trying to overcome the barrier for males that expressing yourself in song is somehow not masculine. (The socially approved outlet for being "male" is sports.) Fascinating just on that level.
The third series (these series are only 3 episodes long, btw) is about building a community choir in the village of South Oxhey. What the Choirmaster sets out to do is community organizing on the most basic level. He has to convince people that singing is not "posh" (elitist) and that it can be done in a tough town like South Oxhey.
There are so many fascinating things in this show and almost all of them are transferable to an American audience. (Amazingly so, really.) When the idea is proposed, people like it, then tell Gareth all the ways it won't work and that they are afraid of stepping out, being different, breaking the mold. People express fear that they will be laughed at or made fun of, especially the boys. (Wow, this fear of being "gay" is strong.) The work goes up and down, waxes and wanes, then succeeds because Gareth works the problem. (I like the Choirmaster, he is a fun personality but no saint. He expresses frustration, is puzzled by the strange behavior and mindset of his students and the township folks and often expresses his own doubts about his success.)
I have been asked so many times about how to organize, how is it done, what do you do when you encounter resistance and what role does humor play in organizing. I have talked a lot about that. Watching "the Choir", a non-political show, was, by far, the best representation of how to organize that I have seen on film. This is how it's done. Articulate a goal, do the footwork and find people who can see the goal, talk to one person at a time, take people as you find them, communicate and grind it out. No shortcuts, no magic potions, just hard work, a personal touch, encouragement, setting goals and meeting people where they come from on a mutual level of trust. That's how it's done. Honestly, that's how it's done.
My favorite part of the show is "the dog that didn't bark" part. I never see Gareth calling the people who don't agree with him stupid or evil. He is focused on getting the ones he can get. He doesn't focus on the ones he can't get. He doesn't waste energy on negativity. Oh God, that is refreshing to see. (It's amazing to see many of the expressed fears of "this won't work" evaporate. People are so afraid of stepping out, crossing lines of stereotypes or expected behavior, yet when they do, the fears prove to be groundless. I think that's what leaders do, they shepard people through fear.)
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