What’s So Great About That?
In one of the first mainstream documentary dramas, The Laramie Project seeks to uncover the truth behind the vicious murder of teenager Matthew Shepard, the victim of a homosexual hate crime in October of 1998. Written by Moisés Kaufman and members of the New York based Tectonic Theater Project, this piece is made up of a series of moments rather than scenes, and told in a series of interviews with the people surrounding the case, be they doctors, policemen, or average citizens of the college town of Laramie, Wyoming. However, amidst the claims of “live and let live” being the local mentality, it is prominent that the town is highly divided regarding its beliefs, with the educated students of University of and the
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town’s “working professionals” on one side, and townspeople who “hold with the old ideals” on the other (Kaufman 30, 29, 78). The play itself draws attention to the aftermath of the tragedy, focusing on how an act of such belligerence can affect a community. However, while the piece is very politically charged, it reflects more of an Aristotelian tragedy than a piece of epic theatre that should be created, producing feelings of catharsis from the viewer rather than unfulfillment and a need for change. Aristotle’s Poetics focuses highly upon the concept of catharsis, defined as a releasing of emotion.
¬Jay Baglia and Elissa Foster, two professors at DePaul University whom discuss the play within the Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism, state the “audience is able to purge its aggressive tendencies, finish off the bad guy and return to [their lives]” providing a “sense of closure [for] audience members” (Baglia 131, Charles 240). The Laramie Project provides this sense based upon the ending it takes up, essentially wrapping everything up with a great big bow: the murderers go to prison, and everything can go back to normal. Nothing else is pursued, and the audience can leave the theater with a sense of satisfaction, believing that everything that could possibly be done has been taken care of. “The Laramie Project confirms for liberal audiences what they already believe— that violence and hatred are wrong” and nothing has changed within them at all (Baglia …show more content…
139). Another aspect of Poetics within The Laramie Project is the concept of hamartia, or the tragic flaw of a hero. Laramie does not have a singular figure as a designated protagonist, “the communal flaw of the play is the expression of homosexual desire, an expression that justifies a violence that must also be condemned” (Charles 246). Charles postulates that Laramie gains the mentality that “can denounce, damn, ignore, maybe even beat up the [gay man], but we cannot let ourselves exterminate him, for that would move beyond the boundaries of justice” (238). This is shown even by the sweet grandmother interviewed in Laramie with her statements regarding the treatment of homosexuals in Laramie: As far as the gay issue, I don’t really give a damn one way or the other as long as they don’t bother me…And that’s the attitude of most of the Laramie population. They might poke one, if they were in a bar situation, you know, they had been drinking, they might actually smack one in the mouth, but then they’d just walk away…Laramie is live and let live.” (Kaufman 30) This seems quite harmless, but the fact that she explicitly references violence is quite concerning, and this is the first reference to Laramie’s apparent “live and let live” mantra in the play. Jonas Slonaker, described as “gay man, 40s”, targets this slogan with revulsion. “Live and let live,” he says, “that is such crap…I mean basically what it boils down to: If I don’t tell you I’m [gay], you won’t beat the crap out of me. I mean what’s so great about that” (Kaufman 60)? The entirety of Aristotelian tragedy revolves around “existing parameters of justice”, and the “return to a universe of defined and accepted values, to a status quo” (Charles 240). Berthold Brecht, however, created a different kind of dramatic style known as epic theatre. And while Aristotle’s theories have printed consistently enjoyed performance pieces, epic theatre serves a political, rather than pure entertaining, agenda. The whole point of a piece of epic theatre is make the audience go back into the world at the end of the show and seek to change it, to mold it into something better due to the experience they received at the theater. “It is intended to constantly remind the audience of the constructed nature of what they are seeing”, and “engage the audience’s critical thinking in order to keep them questioning the agenda of what they were being shown” (Baglia 139). In other words, Brecht wanted you to think about the performance in front of you, and not just have a satisfying meal spoon fed to you while sitting in your seat, leaving with a smile on your face. The Laramie Project had much potential if explored through the Brechtian lens, and yet this opportunity was missed. Charles even goes on to mention that “Kaufman state[d] that he tried to use Brecht’s notion of epic theatre, a kind of witnessing of an event in which a drama launches into a dialogue ‘that brings to the surface how we are thinking and talking about the difference between tolerance and acceptance’” (238). While catharsis is the backbone of many amazing plays, The Laramie Project should not be one of these other plays, and should be one that hopes to invoke change, especially regarding its content. The piece goes to great lengths to show the ‘truth’ whatever that may be, and a play that is “based not on fiction but on the ‘really real’” (Baglia 127). However, in its pursuit of this, the audience does not attain “a truth that transform[s] the meaning of Shepard’s murder from one town’s tragedy into an awakening of the nation’s conscience” (Baglia 136). We, the audience, do not receive any compulsion to do anything with the facts presented before us. As Jonas Slonaker states in the Epilogue moment, “change is not an easy thing, and I don’t think people were up to it here…What’s come out of this that’s concrete or lasting?” (Kaufman 87). We, the audience, are forced into a spectator role, just like the people of Laramie, and we change nothing upon our crossing of the threshold of the theater. However, it appears that the audience is not the only ones experiencing catharsis.
Baglia and Foster describe the representation the text created as “captur[ing], through writing and acting brilliance, [the theatre company’s] interpretations of sixty individuals in crisis, perhaps providing a catharsis for themselves as actors, and for those of us in the audience who vicariously went along for the ride” (141). Essentially what they are indicating is that the script of Laramie is speculative, influenced by whatever best fit the story that the company was trying to tell. While all of the text used is from interviews, the presentation and order of them came down to the company. Casey Charles, in his essay “Panic in The Project: Critical Queer Studies and the Matthew Shepard Murder”, further shows the bias towards catharsis that the Company shows. The division that takes place between how Matthew and the perpetrators are represented in the text is immense, creating an irrefutable line between what is seen as the ‘good guy’ and the ‘bad guy’. “Matthew Shepard [is] portrayed as innocent, foolhardy, and amicable...[while] McKinney and Henderson, on the other hand...they are roofers from broken, trailer-park families who have gotten into trouble with drugs” (Charles
241). After first being performed in February 2000, many theatre professors looked to Laramie for its new take on drama, using its unique choice of moments rather than scenes, and its simple yet straightforward performance to see if this new style would be an effective way to create an impactful modern play. The performance ended up being quite successful, drawing a buzz around the nation and even resulting in an HBO special (Baglia 136). However, The Laramie Project that was created by Moisés Kaufman and the Tectonic Theater Project is a piece of Aristotelian drama, rather than a piece of epic theater. This in turn results in a piece that, while very emotional and drawing, does not create as much of a lasting impact that it could have, if created in the intended Brechtian style. And “what’s so great about that”, if nothing is changed (Kaufman 60)?
I chose to read this book due to wanting to learn more information, and learn the hard facts and truth of this horrid massacre. I myself was in a similar situation, a school I had gone to had threats of being bombed and shot at, as well as students including myself being threatened to be harmed if they did specific actions or did nothing at all, and I was extremely adamant on learning more about what happened when things, such as the Columbine Highschool Massacre, do
In the Frontline documentary Raising Adam Lanza, reporters Alaine Griffin and Josh Kovner from “The Hartford Courant” investigate the possibilities that prompted Adam Lanza to commit the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Lanza didn’t leave behind a trail. Lanza didn’t leave a diary, wasn’t socially involved (had no friends), and destroyed his computer that many believe have the answers as to what induced his character to murder 20 children, six adults, and his own mother. The documentary commenced with Griffin and Kovner exploring the life of Nancy Lanza who had been portrayed by the media as the person to blame for her son’s actions but also to be questioned on whether or not she truly was a victim.
Laramie project is very sensitive and crucial issue which was wisely broad up in the form of a docudrama in front of the community. The story of Matthew Shepard's highlighted many issues like hate crime, gay/lesbian relationship and personal identity which are still considered as tactful for many peoples. This play also described the role of media, police and an individual in the entire process and shows the influence of this incidence on a person's life.
The film we watched was a Frontline documentary about the tragic case of Ralph Tortorici called A Case of Insanity. On December 14, 1994 Ralph went into a lecture hall with a rifle and a hunting knife taking the whole classroom hostage. He demanded to speak to President Clinton, and threatened to kill the hostages if they did not comply with his demands. Ralph was calm towards the students held hostage and demanded people from outside to gather food for them. 19-year-old Jason McEnaney attempted to wrestle the rifle out of Ralph’s hands, but this caused the to go off and he was shot in the genital area. Several students attacked Ralph and held him until the police came in and arrested him. Ralph was taken to jail with 14 counts of aggravated assault. His trial was held on Jan 3rd, 1996 and Ralph announced that he would not be present at his trial. It was stated that he had paranoia schizophrenia and he had also traces of cocaine in his system. Even though Ralph’s prosecutors indicated to the 12 jurors that Ralph was delusional, he suffered from mental illness.
Shepard was a homosexual man, and his murder was labeled as a hate crime, a murder which, in the late 90's, dominated the airwaves: “Matthew Shepard” was the name at the tip of everyone's tongue, but what made his murder special? JoAnn Wypilewski points out in her essay “A Boy's Life” that, “Gay men are killed horribly everywhere in this country, more than thirty just since Shepard – one of them in Richmond, Virginia, beheaded” (609). When so many men are killed in a similar context why do we specifically care about Matthew Shepard – or why don't we? Searching simply the name “Matthew Shepard” in the Google database yields thousands of results in the form of articles, news periodicals, and videos. The media exposure of the Matthew Shepard case is overwhelming. The overload of information can leave us clueless. As college students of the twenty-teens who are fifteen years removed from the incident how do we care about Matthew Shepard?
In 1607 King James ordered the drafting of a new charter for a new colony in the new world,he declared the name of the aforementioned colony Virginia. The founders of the first colony in Virginia named their first settlement Jamestown, after their monarch. The first winters the settlement starved. Fortunately, Cpt. John Smith assisted in helping the colonists. However, his wounds caused his return to England. The colony then suffered a relapse. Several other men tried to help Jamestown but all but the last one failed. The author wrote an informative essay but the thesis had several errors. The essay, The Labor Problem at Jamestown’s Thesis, was that the colony’s long period of starvation was caused by the Englishman’s ideas about the New World,
The Laramie Project, written by Moisés Kaufman, is a compilation of interviews by The Tectonic Theater Project, news publications, and journal entries. After the brutal murder of Mathew Sheppard in 1998. Kaufman along with his theater troupe made six visits to Laramie, Wyoming, where the murder took place, to interview people about what happened and how they felt about the crime in their community. They interviewed about two hundred people, of which about sixty were included in the play. The play showcases a small town in America in a historical time of tragedy. The production of The Laramie Project was simple. The stage setting was minimal and the the actors consisted of eight people portraying more than sixty. Through the patchwork of interviews The Laramie Project conveys the themes of identity, representation, and change.
“Run for your heterosexual lives!” Homosexuality, a topic that gains misperception, and alienates people in a world of easily made stereotypes. In the TED talk entitled “The Myth of The Gay Agenda” presented by LZ Granderson. , the speaker’s presentation is mostly expressed most successfully with pathos while also using ethos and logos concerning the topic of proving to dispel the myth that there is a gay agenda. The title alone “The Myth of the Gay Agenda” invites the audience to think, to feel, to question; quite possibly some may even take a position before the lecture begins. Some may even argue that the driving force in this lecture are the points made through logos, however, even though these points carry much weight, it is the the pathos that grabs the listener and then keeps them engaged throughout the talk, that wins over the audience. Logos would most certainly fall on deaf ears if not for the
John cleared his throat and continued, “At 10:55 Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone were assassinated,” A unanimous gasp rose among all the men. Pure shock, that’s the only emotion I felt at hearing this devastating news. I had followed Harvey Milk’s career since he had been elected roughly a year earlier. Harvey Milk being the first openly gay man elected to public office had made tremendous leaps for the gay community. “I’m giving you all the rest of the day off to call your families and tell them you love them. In times like this it’s important to remember and cherish the things that we do have,” Everyone dispersed, gathered their things and began to file out of the door. I stayed where I was too stunned to move. Soon John and I were the only people left in the
As a viewer, the documentary’s intention to inform is more completely fulfilled by research conducted beyond the scope of the camera lens. Had I never written this paper, for instance, the reason for all the violence embedded within the subject matter would remain as enigmatic as the documentary itself.
This part of the production came together beautifully in my mind. It all came together so wonderfully in my mind because the extreme music choices helped to create an initial subconscious emotion. Then Murray’s delivery helped me feel that I was looking at the real deal - not just a character. And finally, the conscious emotions that The Ballad of Guiteau evoked that helped me to connect to the rest of the production. My final thought of the production is that it did not change my opinions, but it did reinforce them. It reinforced my opinion that that unfortunately, for many people who are murders or who have attempted it, feel somehow justified. And in Guiteau’s case he felt his actions were justified because he did it for god. Most people who have similar pathologies need serious help, however, they do not think so. The production accomplished diving into a thoughtful topic that is scary and very real in a humorous way. I believe this production is worth doing again, because it is rare to hear the “bad guys” side of the story. Overall, I feel these types of productions lead all of us to a better understanding of
One of the integral things that must be addressed when making a film is the ethics involved. Ethics are a constant issue that have to be carefully considered when filmmaking. This difficult decision-making is highly prevalent in that of documentaries, because of the difficulties associated in filming ‘real people’ or “social actors, (Nichols, 2001).” More importantly, the issues faced by a filmmaker differ between each of the documentary modes. Each particular documentary mode poses different formal choices that must be made in order to operate in an ethical fashion. Two films that have been made both display examples of how ethics must be considered when embarking on a documentary are Etre at Avoir [To Be and to Have], (2001) and Capturing the Friedmans (2003). These films have been made in different documentary modes, highlighting that there is not one mode which is easier or has fewer ethical issues associated with it. Additionally, what must be considered is how these style choices in these different modes affect the power relationships between the filmmaker, the subject and its audience, (Nichols, 2001).
The media represented the murder of Mathew Shepard as the perfect example of a hate-crime. However, JoAnn Wypijewski, in her article titled “The Boys Life” (Wypijewski 1), takes a deeper look at the case of Mathew Shepard and comes up with a more accurate thesis on why violence occurs in most situations. At the end of her essay, she writes, “It's said that hate-crime laws symbolize a society's values. If that is true, it means gay people are recognized only in suffering, and straight people are left off the hook. It means Shepard may stand for every homosexual, but McKinney and Henderson stand just for themselves. It means nothing for life and everything for death” (Wypijewski 13). She argues that this quote is completely false and is the media version of what happened to Mathew Shepard. In reality, she explains her thesis on violence through this false quote, she expects the reader to come up with the correct version of this quote. The version believed to be correct by Wypijewski is that straight people and gay people, everyone is equally connected to this case and anyone could have been in the spot of Shepard or the killers. In reality, Shepard not only stands for every homosexual, but for everyone, and McKinney and Henderson do not stand just for themselves, but they also stand for everyone. The Media’s view shows people get nothing for life, but everything for death, no one would know who Mathew Shepard was if he was alive today. The correct interpretation of Wypijewski’s quote leads into her thesis on violence. Her thesis on violence is that both the perpetrator and victim are common individuals; violence is used to assert one’s manliness, and violence escalates from the original intention by men with self-esteem issues.
Bawer, Bruce. A Place at the Table: The Gay Individual in American Society. New York: Poseidon, 1993. Print.
When one hears the words “LGBT” and “Homosexuality” it often conjures up a mental picture of people fighting for their rights, which were unjustly taken away or even the social emergence of gay culture in the world in the1980s and the discovery of AIDS. However, many people do not know that the history of LGBT people stretches as far back in humanity’s history, and continues in this day and age. Nevertheless, the LGBT community today faces much discrimination and adversity. Many think the problem lies within society itself, and often enough that may be the case. Society holds preconceptions and prejudice of the LGBT community, though not always due to actual hatred of the LGBT community, but rather through lack of knowledge and poor media portrayal.