Released now is the film version of the musical puppet show The Trial of Bookus. It is available on YouTube. We urge you to watch the show. Here’s the link https://youtu.be/pgdA-4MV0ps
I start this article with the link to begin the discussion of book banning. A situation that is affecting the availability of books from all authors. With the kind assistance from The Center for Cultural Power, The Trial of Bookus was conceived and performed as a live show for an audience in Hanford, California, in Kings County. The music composer, Jerry D. Gonzalez, felt that the piece deserved wider exposure since book banning continues at a drastic scale. So, he filmed the piece.
Jerry, the music composer, and I, the author, Silvia Gonzalez S., believe this film about book banning needs to be shared widely, shedding light on the ongoing issue of book banning and book bonfires by groups.
The rise in book bans has accelerated in recent years. More than 4,300 books were removed from schools across 23 states in six months last year, according to PEN America, a free speech organization.
Nationwide, book burnings are also on the rise. In this story, Libro escapes from a book-burning pit to warn the other books he fears will share the same fate.
This project won The Disrupter Grant, which was offered to any artist that proposed a project that inspired the collective at The Center of Cultural Power to fund. The award was $15,000 to share with artists in the project. Mark Saltzman, who made the incredible puppets, and music composer Jerry D. Gonzalez, along with the author were three artists supported by this grant.
With this film, we hope to alert the public that even books with histories on the Holocaust, civil rights, and self-help books for identity are being banned. Incredibly, even the book Charlotte's Web is proposed to be banned. As Libro states, “They want to ban Chalotte’s Web because she talks to animals.”
Hanford Multicultural Theater Company is a nonprofit. We kindly ask for your support. Visit our website at www.HanfordMTC.com and click the donate button. Thank you for your generosity.
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