Title: Kinda ominous, nothing is ‘given’, per se, you have to work for it
The cover is a mirror, perhaps the gift is you
The play starts off talking about friends, maybe the true gift was the friends we made along the way
“It’s true though, isn’t it, you hit your thirties and you really don’t need any new friends. You start out friendless and you acquire to the point of saturation and you think to yourself: In order to be a good friend, I shouldn’t take on any more. I shouldn’t spread myself too thin”
“To be honest, we started culling friends”
MARTIN: If you neglect your children, you’re criminal
CHLOE: But your friends
MARTIN: It’s unpleasant, but it’s not illegal.
“I’m usually a breast man but I take pleasure where I can get it.”
Objectifying women
Devaluation of women
“People can do without art though, can they”
Interpretations and Ideas
Representations of:
Class- notably the middle-class classism (attitudes, etc)
Gender (misogyny, sexism - and by extension patriarchy - consider how the play may challenge the attitudes/beliefs through ridicule, etc)
Self-obsession/narcissism - possibly even hedonism
Art and expression - value/significance of
Adult relationships - marriage, friendship, etc
Parenting
Nostalgia
Other???
Social Satire
Works of literature, artm and even culture, that conventionally employ humour, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule, to critique social/political structures
The purpose is to comment on, or all into question, figures, customs, traditions etc - something of a catalyst for change, or simple entertainment
While now synonymous with “comedy” and “humour”, ancient Greek and Roman satire was more so invective (e.g. insult or critical language)
Types of Satire
There are 3 main types of satire - each which serves a specific purpose/social function
Juvenalian: Dark, rather than comedic. The purpose is to speak truth to power through considerably bitter and often ironic criticism
Horatian: Comic and. offers light social commentary. The purpose is to poke fun at a person or situation in an entertaining way
Menippean: Casts moral judgement upon a particular belief, e.g. homophobia or racism - i.e., attitudes rather than individuals or specific entities. This form can be comic and light, much light Horatian satire - although it can also be as stinging as Juvenalian Satire
Research Task
Absurdism (comedy)
Also known as surreal humour
Form of humour predicated on deliberate violations of causal reasoning thus producing events and behaviours that are obviously illogical
Concerned with building up expectations and then knocking them down; even seemingly masterful characters with the highest standards and expectations are subverted by the unexpected, which the scene emphasises for the viewer’s amusement
The unique social situations, expressed thoughts, actions, and comic lines are used to spark laughter, emotion, or surprise as to how the events occurred or unfolded, in ways sometimes favourable to other unexpectedly introduced characters
Postmodernist Humour
In postmodernism, the sense that everything has been done before gives way to relentless quoting and remakes, a context in which the only way to get noticed is to be ironic, to quote-not only words but also clothing and appearance styles.
Ironic quote marks, i.e. quoting things ironically
An example would be dark humour, which is also prevalent in post-modernist humour