WSJ.com: In an election-eve mix of theater and politics in the Plaza Hotel ballroom, Mr. Mamet unleashed a 30-minute torrent of ideas as dense and sharp as anything that comes out of his characters' mouths. But the author of "Glengarry Glen Ross" (a revival of which is set to open Dec. 8 on Broadway) didn't spend much time chronicling his departure from the left, which was the subject of his 2008 Village Voice essay, "Why I Am No Longer a 'BrainDead Liberal.'"
4 comments:
This would have been an interesting speech (or from the sound of it, rant) to hear. Mamet has an interesting way of talking so sitting an listen to a speech by him could be eyeopening. Or confusing. I feel like if you get distracted once you'll never be able to get back in the topic; lost among a mass of words. I would be really interested in seeing some of the shows he did.I know the school is doing Oleanna this year so that should be interesting to see, as I have never seen a Mamet play performed.
I find it interesting that Mamet has openly changed his political views, and I am curious to see what it does to his writing. I greatly enjoy Mamet's plays, but having only worked on and seen two plays, I feel I have barely scratched the surface. I also didn't see any blatant political messages other than basic human rights in his plays. That may be because I have not been looking at the plays hard enough. I also may have seen too small a sampling of his work to judge. I am interested in seeing/reading some of his old work now and comparing it to what he writes in the future now that his political alliances have changed.
So, Mamet has announced he's a conservative.
A conservative?
Yeah.
Huh. Why?
Hard to know, really.
Yeah, I mean... yeah.
He said he's not a "BrainDead Liberal" or something.
Oh. That's a bit far...
Yeah.
But I mean, I guess its pretty Mamet of him.
Do you think he talked in Mamet-Speak?
What?
Mamet-Speak.
Oh. Probably.
I am glad that this article was summed up with Barbara Tulliver's words about the importance of listening and her appreciation for Mamet's listening skills, because this article would have just made me made if those remarks weren't there. Otherwise, this article taught me that, great, David Mamet openly trashed something I believe in and was a jerk about it. Awesome. What upsets me the most is that he can so openly and harshly attack something he once believed in...does he have no empathy for his former self? I find it a little bit of a hypocrisy. If David's speech was anything like his work, though, I would have been intrigued to hear it. I don't disagree that Mamet is smart and talented, but I don't know if acting in this way is really the most wise choice as a prominent figure in film and theatre. (Does he not realize that he's probably offending most of the people he has worked with during his career, who are supposedly "BrainDead Liberals"?)
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