It has been said that Shakespeare was a master at using the dramatics of theater to not only deconstruct society, taking it apart to show it again to the viewer, but also that through his works, society in turn was forced to take a critical look at traditional societal roles. In this sense, one can begin to look to the role of dramatics in theater as a playground for the important recursive relationships that it maintains with the society that both creates it and is affected by it.The following document will deal with the recursive nature of drama in regard to society, using two case study examples to highlight the argument that dramatic representations have a powerful effect on social roles. Furthermore, the paper will expound upon the role of the sociological imagination as the precursor for change and understanding, and the role of dramatics in providing a "stage" on which the viewer may develop and grow their own sociological imagination.
[...] Warren is able to reconcile this fact by explaining the social situations of the impoverished youth that led her into the disdained profession. Ultimately, Vivie is able to forgive her mother, and yet this forgiveness is short-lived, as the daughter learns that the profitable business is still in operation. The women of this play are highly complex. Vivi, having lived an eloquent lifestyle, due to the successes of her mother, is imbued with a work ethos as she earns her living as an actuary, and maintains a disregard and disinterest to culture and the arts. Mr . [...]
[...] Both plays highlight these issues to great extents, so much so that they shocked the societies of that time, and represent a shocking whole-hearted attack on what could be considered the “domestic imprisonment” of the female gender by the completely male-dominated culture of that time. In the example of Shen Te, from The Good Woman of Setzuan, we are presented with this paradigm through her character as a kind, charitable woman who has not learned how to say Despite her goodness, as well as the blessing from the gods, Shen Te still finds herself in a state of destitution when the news of her good fortune begins to bring about societal vultures who take advantage of her. [...]
[...] In fact, both of these works show us how the shiny gloss that surrounds the smiles of these women is actually a cover-up for the deeper social, economic and exploitative wounds of the society in question. In both works, money and services exchange hands with tragic consequences for the characters. In each exchange, we see that there is someone who directly profits at someone else's expense. Shen Te isn't destroyed by archetypal forces of evil or by destiny or even by the gods, but by the specific economic and social roles that bind her. [...]
[...] Clearly, this is an important framework in regard to the argument that theater acts as a catalyst or viewing arena whereby individuals may begin to visualize the greater social reality that lies beyond the world of their immediate family and friends. In this sense, the individual can begin to understand issues and problems as a product of the greater cultural and historical whole that surrounds them, instead of a product of their limited individual cause-effect scope. Background summary and explanation of case study plays “Prostitution is caused, not by female depravity and male licentiousness, but simply by underpaying, under-valuing and over-working women.” George Bernard Shaw the preface to Mrs. [...]
[...] Sociological Imagination- A sociological term coined by C. Wright Mills, which links the individual experience to the greater social whole. References Banham, Martin, ed The Cambridge Guide to Theatre. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521434378. Berst, Charles A., Bernard Shaw and the Art of Drama, University of Illinois Press Brecht, Bernard. The Good Woman of Szechwan (Der gute Mensch von Sezuan) 1939-42/1943 Carpenter, Charles A., Bernard Shaw and the Art of Destroying Ideals: The Early Plays, University of Wisconsin Press Little, Alan. Myth and Society in [...]
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