Haiti
"And all of a sudden something has happened, and I pass out..."
 | |
| Series | |
|---|---|
| In The Dark | |
| Original Broadcast Date | |
| 1993 | |
| Cast | |
| Rick Overton, Paul Verdier , Sonia Lloveras-Verdier, Tucker Smallwood, Irving Gelman, David Rapkin, Joe Frank | |
| Format | |
| Absurd Monologue, Scripted Actors, Singing 26 minutes | |
| Preceded by: | Prayer |
| Followed by: | A Hearing |
| Purchase | |
Haiti is a program Joe Frank produced as part of the series In The Dark. It was originally broadcast in 1993.
Synopsis
A man (apparently Swanberg, the current president of Haiti) describes his medical problems. The physicians diagnose depression, want to give him shock treatments; he diagnoses high blood sugar
2:30: Joe describes Haiti, its poverty and problems, its new president, Swanberg.
3:20: Swanberg talks about his medical condition.
3:50: Joe talks about Swanberg, the mystery he represents, what we can expect from him.
5:10: Joe converses with Newt Phelan, combat photographer. Phelan describes how planes dropped flour on Rwandans, they did a mime show; a dog behind the wheel of a car after a terrorist bombing in 1989 in Paris; a drunk in Northern Ireland, a child pulling down his pants so he can pick his pocket; photographing a jazz band in Beijing at the time of the protest in Tiananmen Square because he had gone to the wrong square; Swanberg dancing with a chicken a girl has just slit the neck of.
9:40: A woman sings 'Witchcraft' with Swanberg inserted into the lyrics as the witch.
11:20: Joe converses with Paul Dumont, owner of a hotel that has fallen on hard times in the Swanberg administration. They're being watched from helicopter.
13:20: Joe tells us that we misunderstand Papa Doc and the Tonton Macoute, that they were actually good.
15:30: Swanberg describes his heart problems and their treatment: balloons then open heart surgery.
16:40: Joe interviews the Minister of Information, who downplays the political murders and other state violence.
21:50: Joe describes Swanberg's alleged sexual kinks, drug abuse, the orgies he conducts.
24:20: Swanberg thanks the Haitian people for trusting him.
- Swanberg talks about his medical conditions and narrowly avoiding shock treatment.
- Joe describes Haiti's new president: Swanberg.
- Interview with a combat photographer - flour bombings, missing Tiananmen square.
- A woman sings "Witchcraft."
- Interview with a hotel proprietor.
- Papa Doc the benign patriarch.
- Interview with the minister of information about the human body as a metaphor for the country.
Music
- "Marimba Song (Boo Boo's Gone Mambo)" - Laika (from Antenna EP, 1994) | YouTube [Intro]
- "Witchcraft" [9:41]
Commentary
The listed cast has 7 members; I hear only 6 parts. joefrank.com lists only 2 cast members: Joe and Paul.Arthur Peabody (talk) 17:01, 13 November 2023 (PST)
