How I learned to Drive

How I Learned to Drive illustrates a unique ability to demonstrate the effects of something profoundly personal, such as sexual abuse, in an overwhelmingly impersonal way, Li’l bit’s monotonic narration.  This uncanny tone, adopted by Paula Vogel is extremely powerful as it demonstrates the main character’s desensitization to traumatic abuse in a very real way.  This Perks of Being a Wallflower-esc depiction of sexual abuse is profoundly real, and no doubt makes the audience uncomfortable at several moments during the play.  Admittedly, I was sufficiently wierded-out when Li’l bit gave her uncle a “small reward” for not drinking and lets him undo her bra, however as the play continued I began to understand how this poor girl had been entangled in such a terrible situation.  I was disappointed in the ending, as I wanted the main character to be successful, overcome obstacles, and prevail, however by choosing to have Li’l bit kicked out of college and become an alcoholic, Vogel projects a much more real, or perhaps accurate view.  A take on classical Greek tragedy, How I Learned to Drive, illustrates that unfortunately happy endings aren’t always the case.

What Ever Happened to Girl Power?

Carolyn Churchill’s production of “Top Girls” offers an ambiguous view of feminism.  Technically one could interpret the play's stance on feminism, as either: (a) self-sacrificing and determined or (b) egocentric and cold.  For instance, one could argue that Marlene was forced to give up her baby if she ever wanted to have the financial security to have a child of her own.  Nonetheless, I believe the play shares a greater affinity with second interpretation, demonstrating the hardships suffered by a woman’s family with her assent into the workforce.  Clearly demonstrated by Angie’s troubled existence, the piece implies that Marlene is disrupting the social fabric by not filling her role as a mother.

I was also bothered Marlene’s abortion—not because of the acts themselves, but because of the way they too reflect on her character in the play.  Impersonal, effeminate and powerful, Marlene’s character already demonstrates qualities misogynists are threaten by.  The addition of Marlene’s sexual exploits to her already intimidating persona seems to truly drive home its critical perspective of feminism.

Although I can’t remember the book discussion how exactly these unwanted pregnancies came about, they could potentially imply the misogynistic view of the successful woman as (sorry for being crude) a scandalous...  While I could be misinterpreting some of the elusions to working women in “Top Girls”, the play gives the topic so much attention, that it demands analysis, as Churchill’s representation of a working woman could have be extremely influential in the reception of second-wave feminism in the 1980s.

America's Pastime

Images of Baseball:

The play Fences incorporates multiple images of baseball throughout its three acts.  For instance, Troy’s speech often integrates baseball lingo into his discourse about life.  Notably, baseball jargon structures the metaphorical explanation offered by the main character justifying his affair.  Furthermore, Troy also uses baseball terminology to explain his take on life as being one all important match against death.  In another instance of this textual echo, the baseball bat fuctions as an important prop in the play, especially as it is the weapon the father and son use in the angry brawl described in the second act.

My Interpretation:

Given Troy’s history as a gifted athlete who was unjustly excluded from baseball because of racism, the repetitive images of the sport are clearly significant.  I argue that the baseball laden imagery of Fences can be interpreted as critical race allegory, eluding to the discriminatory nature of American society, which keeps blacks confined to mediocrity and denies them access to the American Dream.  Despite his talent, the racist structure of United States kept Troy from participating in the national pastime because of the color of his skin, and restricted him to Negro leagues.  Along this interpretation, even the environment of baseball diamonds can be seen as a metaphorical reference to American political culture, as the field is surrounded by a fence, a symbol of unrelenting significance of race in determining an individuals life chances.

This Play is Bananas

            In Krapp’s Last Tape, Samuel Beckett makes several references to bananas, which may seem a little unorthodox, however I propose the following two reasons that Beckett may have included these fruity references in his play.

1.) Youthfulness- Now I may be misinterpreting this, but in Valparaiso there are also several references to eating overly ripe bananas, which I understood to be related to a fleeting sense of youthfulness.  I think that the same sort of interpretation may be appropriate here, as Krapp’s youth is clearly gone, despite his efforts to lock it away.

2.) Digestion- Another interpretation of the significance of bananas may also be constructed if one buys into the interpretation offered in lecture about Krapp and his problematic and constant state of constipation, as bananas are supposed to be good for regulating your digestive system.

            In reality, one, both, or neither of these interpretations may apply to the play.  To be quite honest, I did have some trouble following what was going on.

The Cherry Orchard

            It is hard to imagine that The Cherry Orchard was intended to a comedy originally, as it is overall quite sad.  While I noticed that there were some ironic parts in the play, they were very subtle and vastly out numbered by tragedy.  I felt especially bad for Firs, I can’t believe that the family left him behind, to die alone at the play’s conclusion, the self-absorbed aristocracy were too concerned with their own affairs to take care of the old man who had taken care of them for so many years. 

            One could argue that Firs’ sad and solitary death symbolizes more than just the death of an individual, but also of an era and class.  Firs’ had been with the Gayev family since before the serfs were freed, but stayed with the estate, having already secured a higher-ranking position.  An 87 year-old man, Firs was a clear link to the cherry orchard’s and the Gayev family’s prosperous past.

            Indeed, when Firs dies, the cherry orchard is not the only entity that is a shell of its former self; the Gayev family has truly fallen from their once prominent status.  Broke, homeless, unmarried, and all on the brink of mental breakdowns, the Gayev family is not the aristocracy it once was.  As Firs takes his dying breath, as does the cherry orchard, and (in some ways) the old aristocracy, as they leave the land that had given the family power for generations.

Kent Thompson

            After reading “An interview with Kent Thompson” I must admit I was surprised at the amount of planning that went into “moments” in the play.  Specifically, Kent mentions creating senses of intense romance between Othello and Desdemona as well as racially stigmatizing society.  I guess because I don’t have that much experience with theatre, when I read a play I just look at the lines on the page I sort of assume that if anyone who can act rattles them off  that the end result is drama.  Sorry if that makes sound naïve, but I have very little idea how anyone would go about creating an emotion (besides through the elements of production of course.)

            Another thing that I found interesting that Kent Thompson revealed in his interview was his decision to stage Othello on the smaller stage.  Another one of my misconceived notions of theartre I guess is that a director would want to automatically stage the show at the largest venue so he could sell more tickets, make more money, and perhaps buy those sweet renasaince costumes he’s always wanted.  Nevertheless, I gotta admit I respect the man’s choice, who wouldn’t prefer to see a show in a more intimate setting?... I guess that this makes theatre misconception number three, but I would have never anticipated that making the customer happy actually makes business sense… Clearly years of working retail have left me jaded.

Modern Tragedy

In my opinion the ancient Greek’s position, as expressed by Aristotle, on tragedy and their emphasis on structure is extremely limiting as compared to modern forms of theatre and literature.  Specifically, the “contained” nature of to the Greek tragedy is interesting compared to modern drama, which perhaps to the downfall of many contemporary pieces of theatre, leaves room for the possibility of a sequel.  Furthermore the importance of plot over characters is hardly relatable to the present day where many pieces of prose spend more time with character development than with plot structure.  Whether this situation is preferable remains uncertain, however it is nearly impossible to imagine a tragic play whose characters are undeveloped or nonexistent, as this is what connects us to the chain of events being preformed and helps convey emotion.  However, what is the most alienating about Aristotle’s opinion on tragedy is his discussion of the appropriate selection of characters for the art form.  In particular his view of women as being unsuitable, as their as acts of braveness were considered tasteless in the society of the ancient Greeks is hard to fathom and seems quite offensive to a modern woman.

             

Author Miller’s “ Tragedy of the Common Man” is much more accessible to me, seeing as he viewed the common person as being just as capable of displaying tragedy as the kings were.  Miller’s conception of tragedy also appears to be much more free-flowing than the Greek structure, making it all-around more relatable to the present day.

[I did not wish to appear ignorant to Greek society and the institutional framework responsible for differences in structure/characters.  Instead it was my aim to diagnose to what extent these structural guidelines were adaptable to the present day.]

Medea

            Although, both Death of a Salesman and Medea were both considered tragedies by convention, these two plays left me with very different sets of emotions after reading them.  When I read Death of a Salesman I was sad when Willy ultimately took his own life.  I disagreed with many of his decisions and recognized his flaws, but, in the end, I was able to sympathize with Willy.  Conversely, Medea’s character, although treated badly by Jason and stranded far away from her home took actions that are unforgivable, even in the sense of a reader-character dynamic.  The hatefulness, which seemed to resonate from Medea made the play hard to read and my lack of empathy for the main character left me extremely unsettled upon completing the play.

            In effect, Medea seems to have no real protagonist; Jason breaks Medea’s heart, so Medea commits murder and infanticide to break his, but no one is able to take responsibility or show remorse for their actions.  Instead of conveying sadness, Medea highlights disturbing and selfish aspects of human nature.  And although what Madea does is not typical of what most of us would consider human nature, perhaps Euripides hoped it would demonstrate the willingness of those who feel they have been wrong to defy the conventions of moral behavior in search of revenge. 

American Dreams

Willy Loman’s tale, The Death of a Salesman, demonstrates an unraveling of the American Dream as his faith and hard work fail to bring him the opulence and security that he desires and, in many ways, deserves.  Despite his superficial devotion to his family, his nuclear unit implodes on several occasions, first with his father abandoning him, then his brother, and finally with his two children leaving him babbling to himself in a restaurant bathroom.  Furthermore, after years and years of faithful sales for his company he is let go after asking for the non-traveling position that he was promised years earlier (or so he claims).  And as if to add insult to injury, despite imagining that after his death his sons would truly see how known he was when people from all over the country come to his funeral, the only people who come are his family, Charley and Bernard.

At Willy Loman’s gravesite his son, Biff, proclaims that he “had the wrong dreams” and makes the case that Willy’s faith in the American dream and his own excellence was his undoing.  It would appear that if Willy would have just tried to find satisfaction in the mundane, everyday he would have not have ended his own life.  At the final scene, his wife, Linda discusses how on the day of Willy’s funeral she had made the final payment on their mortgage, something that would have been marked a huge accomplishment for most people, seemed to have meant little to the main character.

Mirror Images

Anna Deavre's one man show, Fires in the Mirror, uses the rage created from racially motivated violence to articulate the similarities in the experiences of seemingly opposite factions.  One point in the performance which articulates the author's message quite clearly is the progression of two successive monologues, "Seven Verses" and "Isaac", which express the opinions of two individuals on opposite sides of the 1991 Crown Heights controversy: an African American man, Minister Conrad Mohammed, and a Jewish woman, Letty Cottin Porebin.

In the first scene Minister Conrad Mohammed, describes the evils of slavery as being the greatest crime in the history of humanity, explicitly mentioning that it was a larger injustice than the Holocaust.  In the following passage, Letty Cottin tells the tale of her Uncle, whom was force to participate in the gas chamber to escape the holocaust.  

What is interesting about the two successive scenes is that despite Conrad Mohammed’s conviction that his race has endured greater suffering and is thus god’s people, the suffering felt by each group seems similar.  In fact, much of the suffering that Conrad associates with slavery was present in the Holocaust as well (murder, rape, torture, ect.).  Specifically, loss of identity, which Conrad asserts was among the most significant legacies of slavery is clearly present in Letty’s anecdote as well as, Isaac was made to exterminate his people along side the Nazi’s.

The similarities in the two stories allow Deavre to conjure up the image of a mirror, in that although the two parties are on opposite side of the pane, the struggles that, which they have endured are very similar (as in the case of the 1991 Crown Heights incident, the Holocaust, and other racially motivated crimes).  Such imagery is amplified by Deavre's portrayal of both roles and helps suggest that we are all hurt by the fires of hate.

September 13, 2010

I have read my syllabus and accept the terms of the course.