Sharp Schisms in Culture

I haven't written an original thought here in a while. My thinking cap is being harnessed for Project 1968, but I do want to weigh in on Isaac's comments on Sarah Ruhl.

This post will have little do with theater. I have never read a play by Sarah Ruhl; nor have I seen a performance of her work. But the backlash doesn't surprise me and here's why:

Our world situation is rapidly changing in ways that we have yet to understand.

Economically, things aren't going well. People are losing their homes, municipalities are in deep financial trouble, and gas has nearly doubled from what it was at the beginning of the Bush presidency. The war in Iraq continues. Venezuela and Columbia are in conflict.

When the culture sudden shifts, art that express old values are no longer valid. It's the reason why pop culture has to constantly reinvent itself. Art that hopes to transcend the present must be rooted in a universal experience. It must go beyond the expression of what's currently fashionable.

Reading what others have written about Ruhl's work, I suspect that's what people are picking up. The culture has shifted; the writer has not.

If current trends continue, I suspect that more of our almost past-tense culture will feel woefully dated. I don't think that's a bad thing.

Comments

[Elizabeth]

I think you've hit on something here and the same thing occurred to me this morning while I was rehearsing. I just hit a point where I thought - this material/way of working feels so old. It's material I worked with 4 years ago - but it feels like a huge chasm has opened up underneath it and I'm having trouble relating to it - emotionally and aesthetically.

The fact is that my aesthetic and work changed drastically in November during NAPLWRIMO and I'm having a hard time relating to things I've written prior.

I will say, I'm not a fan of Sarah Ruhl. I've seen A Clean House twice (at Wooly Mammoth and at Theatre Works in Mt. View, CA) - I think the direction of the CA production helped facilitate the play's surreal qualities more effectively than the DC production). I just find the show to be very much on the surface - pretending at depth. It's entertaining, but there's not much there really. I intend to read her other plays because my reaction to her work interests me - when so many people I know love the productions they've seen.