Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Bruce Norris: squirm, you hypocrites!
Stage | The Guardian: 'The idea that theatre can change anything," says Bruce Norris, "is optimistic." This is a startling remark from the writer of 2010's scaborously funny Clybourne Park – a combustible mix of race, property prices and liberal pieties that won Norris an Olivier in Britain and a Pulitzer in the US. "The test would be if it didn't just change what we thought – but what we do. It doesn't. I still do what I did when I was nine. It would take a traumatic disruption to change what I do. I live parasitically off the labour of others and benefit from the power structure that protects me. I'm lazy, selfish and infantile and so are most people."
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3 comments:
The argument that theater, or art, doesn't truly make a change is often heard, but rarely from an artist. I don't know whether to agree or disagree with Norris, but I think he raises a good point when he says that theater can change how we think but not what we do. Often, we are moved by a beautiful art piece or a compelling theater performance - do we ever act on those feelings? Probably very rarely so. Now, I don't think that means there isn't a point to theater. So what if we can't influence people's actions? Leaving a lasting imprint on the mind isn't a terrible trade-off.
I really enjoyed this article, it was rather refreshing. I am of the mindset that theatre and the rest of the arts for that matter, generally can change what people think, but only for a time immediately after the viewing, not for the rest of their lives. I am sure there is some work out there that has managed to change someones thinking permanently, but that is not usually the norm. I do think though that theatre can do a good job of making people aware of things that weren't otherwise on their radar.
But as far as changing how someone lives their life? That takes something pretty drastic, usually something traumatic. Usually for someone to change how they live something very real has to happen, something that makes them realize what is important in life or suddenly understand who they are. Theatre can talk about types of things that change people but the majority of the public has to have a real and personal experience to do any real changing themselves.
I also found this article interesting. Recently I watched a film with the rest of my dorm floor discussing child soldiers in Sudan, and most didn't want to watch it. Instead, they wanted to watch something funny or stupid. Something that didn't matter. Something that wasn't trying to make a difference in the world. After we finished the movie, I was so angry. I wanted to go into theatre because I thought I could change at least something about the world. Perhaps I could open people's eyes to current genocides or the horrors of war. The only way to create change in the world is if everyone opens their eyes and understands their own flaws. But I quickly realized that people don't want to open their eyes. As the article said, I was being optimistic. I cannot make people see their own flaws because they will just turn a blind eye. Susan Tsu told me that Ming Cho Lee said theatre doesn't really make a difference in the world. People think theatre is for entertainment, and I guess that's all it ever will be. People will continue to ignore the truth, and that is why I never really liked people to begin with.
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