Letter From Paris: Saints and Girls, Superlove for All

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"Who dat? Who dat? Who dat say dey gunna beat them Saints?"

I must congratulate the city of New Orleans and their Super-Bowl-winning Saints! (And for a little interesting history about their chant above, click here.)  Little ole me, who doesn't give a whit about sports, was rooting for you. 

What a beacon of hope the Saints have been to New Orleans...to everyone who lives in or loves this ravaged American city.  The Saints have focused the world's attention on their hometown, and their victory ensures new funds and energy will be poured into this city's regeneration.  We might as well just say this out loud, New Orleans is Paris South.  Both the French and Americans adore it.

(If you haven't seen Clint Eastwood's Invictus, go now.  The story of the South African rugby team making its countrymen proud and bringing them together in hope and the promise of a better future closely resembles what the Saints have just done for NOLA.  I didn't think I would like the film, and I was wowed.)

I see the Saints' Super Bowl win as a love letter to New Orleans, which couldn't be more appropriate a week from Valentine's Day!

Playwright Eve Ensler, best known for The Vagina Monologues, presented her own love letter to New Orleans two years ago.  (Men and boys, no clicking away.  This post is definitely meant for you, too.  If you're heterosexual, we know you love vaginas.  And if you're not, we know you love the package surrounding it.)

From The Women's Media Center:

New Orleans has been newly christened the “Vagina of America” by playwright Eve Ensler, who chose the city to commemorate the 10th anniversary of her global V-Day movement to end violence against women and girls. As Regina Cornwell reports in today’s WMC Exclusive, Ensler dedicated the celebration to the women of NOLA (New Orleans, LA) for holding up the sky during and since Katrina. Not one for small gestures, Ensler rented out the Superdome—the once infamous home to thousands of New Orleanians, mostly people of color, abandoned when the levees broke—and renamed it Superlove. The event, V to the Tenth, took place in New Orleans to raise money for Katrina survivors. But as Cornwell reports, Ensler also sought to uplift event attendees through performance, art and encouragement from famous faces such as actresses Kerry Washington, Rosario Dawson, Ali Larter and Amber Tamblyn.

I am probably the only woman on the planet who hasn't seen this play, which is a seminal work and an evolutionary catapult.  It is in the category of art--in this case, theater--that hones each individual consciousness to bring about a massive group shift.  It also gave Ensler a platform to create V-Day, and there's no better time to celebrate that than, well, the upcoming V(alentine's) Day.

I am a passionate follower of TED: Ideas Worth Spreading, and I subscribe to their podcasts.  Ensler is featured regularly here, and I just watched her latest talk, which was filmed in November in India.  From TED:

In this passionate talk, Eve Ensler declares that there is a girl cell in us all -- a cell that we have all been taught to suppress. She tells heartfelt stories of girls around the world who have overcome shocking adversity and violence to reveal the astonishing strength of being a girl.

Ladies and gentlemen, girls and boys, PLEASE watch this video:

Let us take the coming week to spread some love around--to ourselves first, to our friends and family, and to others in the world who need our good will.  I'm dedicating my posts this week to Saint Valentine and to the concept of love--and I don't mean just romantic.

Kisses to you, New Orleans!  Your Saints have come marching in!

                                                     ---Beth Arnold in Paris

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