Strike~Me~Gyllen (SMG for short) - the forum, while catalysed by the Gyllenhaals, a Hollywood film family (consisting of siblings, actors Jake Gyllenhaal and Maggie Gyllenhaal, and their parents Stephen Gyllenhaal and Naomi Foner) was created not as a fansite but primarily out of a sense of constructive activism. SMG, started in February 2007 by Incognita, an Indian in Kolkata, ventures to explore beyond the Gyllenhaals and their contribution to the arts, into the related issues of media veracity, human sexuality and social justice in a broader context. Through threads exploring themes in the arts and society east and west, Strike~Me~Gyllen has built a cyber family of contributors, a team of writers with global perspectives and experience.
In spirit SMG is meant to be a place where something is generated beyond the personal transformation of the people who post. That global transforming effect is part of what we call Activism Through the Arts, something that cannot happen without Activism For the Arts.
Consolidation the magazine, has its roots in these themes and initiatives. Our special pre launch edition (December 2007,) focussed on readers familiar with the work of the Gyllenhaals and had a special feature on Jake Gyllenhaal to mark his birthday; but this first full-fledged edition of the magazine reaches for a broader audience, moving beyond the cyber-fandom to activists in the arts both east and west.
Read below about the magazine's focus and the features we bring you in this edition. You can see screenshots of a few pages from the magazine. Click on image to view full size
Cover of the launch edition: 
You'll see in the picture alongside a list of features we hope to bring you on a regular basis. We are starting this time with only a few. You'll notice a feature "Sands of Time" with details under it. Here is the background on how sand - yes plain beach sand - triggered the process that culminated in Consolidation.
Stephen Gyllenhaal creating sandcastles on the beach got a whole group of us discussing the role of sand in the history of civilization and how we have ended up harnessing the power of its vital element, silicon, the second most plentiful element in the earth's crust.
We quote from Prof. Jim Turley, an independent analyst, columnist, and speaker specializing in microprocessors and semiconductor intellectual property who was past editor of Microprocessor Report and Embedded Processor Watch: "Silicon chips all start out with, well, silicon. It's one of Earth's basic immutable chemical elements (element 14 in the periodic table, for those keeping score at home) and is basically purified beach sand. We're not likely to run out of this resource anytime soon."
Cyberspace, a phenomenon that exploded around the silcon chip has effectively connected all civilization into an integrated virtual web that we can think of as the "Silicon Universe." In our feature "Sands of Time" we'll explore this element in its physical and metaphysical aspects.
You can see a snapshot of our contents page.
On "The Slippery Slope" the topic is Gavin Hood's Rendition (2007) a movie on the theme of illegal detention and torture of foreign nationals in America suspected of involvement in terrorism. This important film on human rights has not received the attention it deserves but we hope that the changes in America will enable it to gain a wider audience. The recent shocking terrorist attacks in India too, will hopefully bring together people who are striving to non- violently contain violence worldwide.
You'll see features on the late actor Heath Ledger, honoring his life and work. Heath will be remembered gratefully by numerous admirers worldwide, for his contribution to human rights through his portrayal of Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain, "a heartbreaking tale of impossible love." It's a film that has made the world sit up and think, and we hope work towards equal rights for all, irrespective of sexual preference, or of whom they chose to love.
A notable step in this direction has been the creation of the BBM Foundation - Friends of Brokeback Mountain - whose progress will be covered on every edition of Consolidation.
The Sacred Mountain feature we've planned, also inspired by the same film but not restricted to its theme, is for telling our own personal stories of tragedy and triumph, in our struggles to surmount obstacles in our lives.
If you'd like to read Consolidation you can write to consolidation.launch@gmail.com and we'll email the pdf to you. We look forward to your feedback which you can post as comments here. SMG members can post their feedback about the magazine as well as join the discussion about the Rendition feature on the forum.
Incognita and Kim
Editors
6 comments:
Great mag — thoughtful and thought-provoking. Don't mind saying so myself!
Just wanted to welcome interested readers to the global dialogue fostered by this e-mag! Our success as activists through the arts depends on the insights of many voices.
As the birth date of Jake Gyllenhaal (Dec. 19) approaches, it seems a fitting moment to honor his contributions to the arts and to the human spirit not only in "Rendition," featured here in this issue of Consolidation, but in his other films as well.
Taken together, these films examine the subtleties of war, fear, and love, and point us toward doors which can open us up to the realization that there is an Ennis, an Anwar, a Douglas in all of us.
One wish for the new year might be that these doors open up faster, in us and in all of our cultures, than those which threaten to close because of prejudice, suspicion, and misunderstanding.
Welcome to this blog everyone! I've been sending out copies of the magazine and still lots to go.
Beckela thanks for being the first on board. I think we all have reason to feel happy and it's not a bad idea to give ourselves a pat on the back!!! You did rightly!
Kim thanks for your comments. We've opened this place up just so we can capture the insights of many voices and benefit from them.
"these films examine the subtleties of war, fear, and love, "
The subtleties are what get missed out so often and we look forward to many more such films from Jake and others.
I hope your post will open the door to more readers to express themselves here.
Vastly rewarding to read from first page to last. If Consolidation doesn't make you more aware than ever of the human condition, you didn't pay attention.
V.P.Cheney just this past week stated he approves of water boarding. What a sad commentary on our world that Cheney is all-too-real where as Douglas Freeman is fictional. Hopefully 2009 will see the courage and humanity that Douglas Freeman found deep inside himself and that is in so many good people, come more to the fore on the world's stage. It simply has to.
Welcome aboard Gar!
It was vastly rewarding for us editors to weave it together from start to finish and create a finished product. Many thanks to all you writers for your contributions!
The theme of the movie Rendition is complex and touches so many dimensions of human experience that one really needs to pay attention to absorb the full impact. I hope our feature will be a step in opening people's minds to it.
I share your hope and belief that 2009 will see the emergence of the Douglas Freemans of the world. Power to them!
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