"In this particular situation of being an Armenian American and talking about a genocide that happened 100 years ago – and of course when we ponder it we think of that terrific violence and sadism, especially toward innocent people: children, young mothers, girls, elderly people – Okay, that's really really horrible. But if you feel that strongly, if you're allowing that to well up into you, be aware: that there are people today that are undergoing those same experiences, whether it's in Northern Syria or in Sudan, and those mothers and those babies need us to help them today. And it could be different ways; maybe you're a person who's more politically inclined, maybe you're a person who's just thinking in terms of aid, that people need donations for clothing or food. I just think: Get up. Do something. That's the way I feel about it. "
Eric Bogosian discussing his historical book Operation Nemesis - an account of the Armenian group who managed to assassinate most of the Turkish officials responsible for the Armenian Genocide of 1915. April 29, 2015 at the Alex Theatre.
Here are some links to various resources of Eric talking about his life and career:
Wild Nights on the Prairie - "Barn Burner":
This one is REALLY good because he's old friends with the interviewer and Eric really gets honest about his life (CW: drug use). So many lore drops in this one, I won't spoil it!!
Oral History of the Kitchen:
Eric talks about how he got to working at The Kitchen and how he got started as an actor in New York (this one gives me such Daniel Molloy cathedrals because it's recorded on tape and he yaps for so long, the tape runs out at the end lol).
I would say the first two links above give a good summary, but if you're hungry for more Eric, here's more stuff:
Interview with Ilana Levine:
Eric talks about his long acting career.
Salon LIVE with Eric Bogosian:
Eric talks about his role in Billions, his writing process, Talk Radio, Operation Nemesis and more.
Eric Discusses Billions and Operation Nemesis:
This one stood out to me because of the Q&A section at the end where he answers really tough questions and I was seriously floored with how smart he is, help!!
The Writers Studio Live at Art&Seek:
This one gets nitty gritty about his various works and writing process. He reads excerpts from Perforated Heart (!!!) here and more.
Interview with CBC about Operation Nemesis
A.D. Amorosi's Theater in the Round Presents: Eric Bogosian
Interviews on Charlie Rose about Talk Radio, Pounding Nails in the Floor with My Forehead, his career in theatre and the arts
Eric Bogosian: Punk Grandparent:
Eric talks about his work and what it's like to be a grandfather. This one really warms my heart.
This list is not exhaustive and there's definitely more that I missed, but these are the ones that stood out to me.
Honorable mention to his interview with @the-winnowing-wind (my fav Eric interviews ever): An Afternoon with Eric Bogosian: On HUMPTY DUMPTY, IWTV, Art, and More
Please feel free to add your favourite interviews/lectures/podcasts!
It took me several tries to finish reading this book, but it was very important for me that I did.
As a Turkish person, growing up I never learned about the Armenian genocide. Once I started to hear about it and ask questions, I was told no such thing happened. They were "just deported" because they were russian spies.
Never sat right with me.
My own family came to Turkey to escape violence and oppression in Ukraine so it was hard to reconcile and accept the fact that the country that had welcomed my grandparents had, just a few years earlier, committed such atrocities.
It's important that we learn and talk about the evil things people and governments have done so that we can learn from these events and try to prevent them.
ok so i promised you a rant on Eric Bogosian, and i pinky promise i'll try to keep the story short (those beautiful people i've already privately spewed my fascination at deserve peace and love 💜)
TL;DR: Eric Bogosian is a good researcher and judge of human nature, which honestly shouldn't be surprising given his experience, links below
it is easy to google Eric (i'll call him that not out of disrespect, it's just shorter) and get to a conclusion he's just a slightly awkward old man who had extremely weird youth and gives off a powerful bi vibe just for shits and giggles; which is fair, given the wild way he handles most interviews
but hear me out, i'm not an expert, i'm just a book kind of girl. so i sought out the books, and into the books i looked.
back in 1988 he was nominated for Pulitzer's for his "Talk Radio", and i count that as one of the first cases of him using a real story to weave a (semi)fictional one. it is a powerful play, and a gut-punching movie, but I am mentioning it not because of its ehhh artistic value. in my book, it's a proof of the way he tends to critically re-imagine the things he sees and analyses.
keep that in mind when you google his "Operation 'Nemesis".
he initially started looking into the history of Armenian genocide as into the material worth developing into a plot for a movie. but, in his own words, and i quote, "I wrote this book because I had no choice. The Nemesis story required more attention than a simple screenplay."
he is still not a scientist, mind that - and his book reads as a work of fiction. say, there's no way one can look into the head of a deceased person and know their feelings, but one can guess; and Eric guesses, of course. but the fun part is that he makes educated guesses. nearly for each presumption there's a source. a footnote. a quote.
what really strikes me is that he looked into ONE plot line and fished out a complex slice of history, dripping with CONTEXT. White Russian emigration? it's in there. early stages of oil industry? check. the colourful background of Europe in early XX century? all there.
there's no wonder he spent seven years on this book.
i repeat: SEVEN. YEARS.
call me sapiosexual, but that was the moment when i stopped and thought: ok, THIS IS HOT.
what also impresses me is the way he speaks of his past. he admits he's done wild shit, and adds that the best part was the moment he understood he didn't need to be high to be creative. it's the underlying power of "yeah, been there, got better, SO CAN YOU" that gets me.
to keep things short, i'm adding links:
here's a vid where he speaks of the book on Armenian genocide (i had personal reasons to tear up a bit while listening, ngl)
and here's a vid where he speaks of acting, writing, and improv, that basically broke my art block, for which i am going to be grateful for fucking ever, i guess
(if you got to this point of my rant, you deserve a hug and a respectful kiss on the mouth if you're ok with that. go have a lovely day 💜)
