Anna Deavere Smith's Never Giving Up: The Performance Of The Human Body

Performance of the Human Body According to Cambridge Online Dictionary, a performance is the action of entertaining other people by dancing singing, acting, or playing music. In a performance, performer(s) execute their act while audiences watch and critique. Performance of the human body changes depending on various factors such as the format, venue, and dynamics between the performer and spectators. In Anna Deavere Smith’s Never Giving’ Up, which is a live performance, and The Pianist, which is a film, there are differences and similarities on how the performance of the human body alters. One difference between a live performance and a film is the audience location. For a live performance, such as Never Givin’ Up, audiences may be several

Smith’s and Brody’s body performance were affected based on material given. Smith was able to add her own dynamic into Never Givin’ Up because it was mixture of her own twist and recitation of MLK’s letter. Brody did not have the freelance that Smith had because his body performance was dictated by Polanski’s script. In a scene from The Pianist, Brody’s audience can see his masculinity shift to femininity when he is hiding during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Spillman accidentally breaks multiple plates as he looks for food in the cabinets and causes the lady next door to question his being in the building. As the lady’s voice becomes more aggressive, the audience can see Spillman fill up with fear as he does not say much, while the lady is aggressively questioning him and is concerned he will be taken away to the extermination camps. The lady is ‘taking up more space’ than Spillman, which displays Spillman’s ‘femininity’ because he shows fear. This changes the dynamics between Spillman and his audience because he started as a well-known pianist that deteriorated into a man who is constantly afraid of his environment. In Never Givin’ Up, Smith begins by ‘taking up less space’ as his demeanor is casual and sits with her legs crossed, which in society is how females sit. Smith’s body performance shifts from femininity to masculinity as she takes the podium

Eco stated that, “We tend to define as good not only what we like, but also what we should like to have for ourselves...which stimulates our desire” (8). Through Smith’s and Brody’s body performances, audiences are able to see the that both Smith and Brady performed in a way they desired for themselves, but also for their spectators. Both Smith and Brady’s audiences were moved by their performances. In Never Givin’ Up, Smith was able to evoke many emotions from her spectators that have experienced prejudice. With people’s familiarity of King’s letter, audiences expected a lot from Smith and she was able to deliver a powerful performance. Brody was also able to deliver a powerful performance by playing as a Polish-Jewish pianist that struggles to survive World War II. Not vocally powerful, Brody’s role as Spillman was also able to move his audience by displaying the harsh reality that the Jews encountered in World War II. Brody’s amazing dramatically-moving performance won him an Oscar for Best Actor. Smith and Brody’s dedication and professionalism as a performer and an actor engages their audiences within their individual