Friday, March 16, 2007
Why are experiments in form a female trait?
Guardian Unlimited: "Yet it still seems to be the case that when women experiment in form they are more likely to be shot down by critics and told that they don't know how to structure a play properly. Sarah Kane's Blasted was condemned not just for its subject matter but also for its shift into a different reality half way through. The playwright tirelessly grappled with marrying form and content throughout her short career."
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This trend is a clear indicator of the continuing marginalization of female writers. The Aristotelian structure is associated with the male dominated writings. It makes sense that women would incorporate more experimentation into their works. Breaking away from traditional play structure is a way for women to distinguish themselves from a cultural and theatrical tradition that wishes to suppress them. I think the biggest issue raised in this article is that writers like Sarah Kane are rarely seen as belonging to any school of thought other than that of women. Some of the article's commentators mention not only male playwrights known for experimentation, but also entire schools of thought that focus on subverting traditional play structure, regardless of gender.
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