Professional paper
Revolt and Exile in the Plays True West by Sam Shepard and Welcome to the Blue Hell by Borivoj Radaković
Hrabren Dobrotić
; Zagreb
Abstract
In this article a comparative reading of the plays True West (premiered in 1980) and Welcome to the Blue Hell (premiered in 1994) is based on the analysis of the topoi of revolt and exile as structural centres of the plays. This approach is interesting because of the temporal (the 1980s and the 1990s) and poetical (transition, dysfunctional family, symbolic value of popular culture) proximity and cultural diversity. Similarity between the two plays is evident in the lack, or reduction, of the traditional dramatic plot as demonstrated by Souriau’s system of dramatic forces. The topos of exile is primarily observed through comparing the places where the plays are set--family homes in the suburbs, symbolic places detached from "cultural (urban) centres", with all the related stereotypes and standard features. The same topos is then examined through characters’ standpoints: psychological escapism into the past (the childhood in True West, socialism and pre-war era in Welcome to the Blue Hell), into the future (contemplating departing to desert in True West), or into the alternative present (Hollywood show business in True West, being unable to go to the football match in Welcome to the Blue Hell).
Psychological and cultural exile raises the question of the meaning of “the true West” for the characters. For Saul, a producer, it might be the Hollywood pop culture; for Austin, the American dream and striving for success achieved through hard work; for Lee, complete freedom; for their father, living isolated in the desert. Welcome to the Blue Hell focuses on the topos of rebellion as resistance to the dominant consumer culture, as well as ideological and cultural conflict of generations living under the same roof, all being presented on stage through sports fan counterculture in their everyday life – in front of the TV set which broadcasts the football match between Dinamo and Hajduk.
Keywords
True West; Welcome to the Blue Hell; rebellion; exile; resistance to the dominant culture; the American dream
Hrčak ID:
171298
URI
Publication date:
12.12.2016.
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