A political movement is an organization of people who are united in a common goal. Politicians have influenced social norms and government policies throughout history. Recent movements such as the anti-war, ecology, and anti-globalization have all worked to alter policy and change opinion. Many political movements have attempted to improve or expand the rights of demographic group, including abolitionism. Some political movements have represented the interests of class, including the labor movement. Sometimes political movements involve the struggle to centralize or decentralize state control, such as anarchism and fascism.
Radical media are often focused on the establishment, and often act as an obstacle. (Downing. p.393) Theatre can be used by social or political groups to challenge and question the establishment in many different ways. This paper will examine social movements such as feminism and socialism. These political movements are examined through the lens of Bertolt Brecht’s plays Hedda Gabler (Heartbreak House), Bertolt Brecht (George Bernard Shaw) and Henrik Ibsen (playwrights).
Henrik Johan Ibsen (Norwegian writer, 19th-century) was an expert in poetry, playwriting and directing. Ibsen is often called the “Father in Realism.” Realism refers to a dramatic movement that emphasizes the authenticity of real-life events and not abstract or supernatural interpretations. Because of strict European morals and ideals, Ibsen’s work wasn’t appreciated as much at the time it was published. Hedda gabler, one of his best-known works, was not in line with these ideals.
Although Ibsen didn’t consider himself to be a feminist, his enthusiastic support for women’s rights was evident. His plays “constitutes a remarkable literary contribution towards feminist thought.” Many of his complex and flawed heroines were responding to the expectations and restrictive morals of their situations. Hedda Gabler was the first play to be published in January 1891. Although critics disagreed with the play’s ideas and called Hedda’monstrous’, others supported Ibsen’s criticisms of society’s treatment for women.
It was difficult for me to not mistake Hedda Gabler’s first reading as a vindictive and malicious person. But is that really true? This negative connotation is not supported by evidence. To determine if Hedda is acting out of character, we need to examine the context.
Hedda is an 18-year-old bride who was recently married to George Tesman. She is a pressured bride by society to pretend that she is happy. Hedda, however, is unhappy and doesn’t try to hide it. She expresses her feelings of being suffocated because society expects her to be a mom and a housewife. Hedda’s inability to protest is what drives her to manipulate others.
Feminism is the advocacy for women’s rights based on equality of the sexes. It gained momentum in Europe and America in the middle of the 19th century. The US is where feminism was first developed in 1848. The original purpose of the group was to support a wide range of goals. But, after a while, it shifted its focus to protecting women’s rights. Women wanted financial independence, legal equality, economic stability, and most importantly, the right for women to vote. Ibsen had a lot to do with the views of 19th-century Scandinavian women and their movements. His plays were dominated by naturalistic and women’s issues.
Because of their appeal to modern eyes, Hedda could have intentions that are acceptable or even justified. It is possible to believe that her rebellion is justified by the rigid views that were imposed upon her. Hedda lives a life dictated entirely by men. They tell her what to do and not do. This is what made her so manipulative. The question is: Is Hedda’s decision to commit suicide courageous? It is clear that her motives are to either break away from the social boundaries imposed upon her or to simply live a life of domestic bliss and not be subject to the demands of society.
Sigmund Fréud, an Austrian psychologist, also practiced in the late 1800’s. Freud proposed the theory of “penis envy”, which was used to explain women’s frustrations. According to this theory, women secretly wish they could be men. To compensate, they will rebel and speak out, which would lead them to adopt masculine traits that are against societal rules. Hedda gabler may have subconsciously projected her masculine energy through her willful actions and dialogues.
Hedda Gabler was written by Ibsen in his 60’s when he seems to have been infatuated with young women. It is possible that his success as an actor was a result of his infatuation for young women. Ibsen met Emily Bardach when he was 18 and was traveling in northern Italy. Ibsen was able to express the same feelings and even discussed leaving his wife Emily and son. Michael Mayer’s biographer of Ibsen explains that Ibsen did not have the same feelings for Emily. Instead, Ibsen went back to Munich and began to fall in love with another woman, which also didn’t work out. Helene Raff later wrote that Ibsen’s new love, Helene, had no infidelity in his relationships with young girls. It was purely based on his imagination.
Ibsen began to write Hedda Gabler as a political statement about women’s rights.
George Bernard Shaw was a Dubliner, Ireland native, born in 1856. Because he was unhappy with the structured training he received, his education was not typical. Shaw left England in 1876 to become a theatre critic in London.
All of George Bernard Shaw’s biographers agree that Marxism was a key part of Shaw’s intellectual progress in the 1880s. Shaw’s economic ideals in the mid-1880s led to him accepting the concept of class warfare as understood by Marxists. His economic theory proved that capitalists as well as landlords directly exploited workers through underpaying. His plays frequently criticized the European upper classes and their disregard for working class.
Some intellectual historians downplay Shaw’s Marxism. Shaw, for instance, was an early member of the Fabian Society. The Fabian Society was established in 1884 by Fabius Cunctator, a Roman general. Fabius was well-known for his patience and ingenious tactics when avoiding wars. The revolutionary Marxist doctrines were rejected by the early Fabians, who advocated a gradual transition towards a socialist society.
Shaw’s economic theory was fundamentally that of contemporary Marxism. Shaw may also have a more pacifist view of politics and history.
Shaw’s play Heartbreak House, which combines both of these elements, is a great example. The 1919 publication of the play Heartbreak House takes place in a country house “full with surprises” owned by and ruled under the old Captain Shotover. He is a drunken alcoholic who runs his entire ship. It is literally the size of a boat. He says that this requires him having “the seventh degree in concentration”. His house, his attendants, and their surroundings can best be described as Lady Utterword describes them: “The luggage on the steps, servants spoilt and impracticable, nobody at the home to receive anyone, no regular meals. Nobody ever feels hungry because they are always eating bread and butter or chewing apples. And, worst of all, the same disorder with ideas, talk, and feeling.”
Heartbreak House was written in response to the First World War. Shaw believed the world could and should be changed by the war. It had changed nearly everything. From the beginning, George Bernard Shaw opposed war. He actually wrote a pamphlet called Common Sense About the War in 1914. In this pamphlet, Shaw criticized the British and allies for their part in the conflict with Germany. Shaw claimed socialism was the solution, while capitalism is to blame for European problems.
Shaw’s 1919 play Heartbreak House was published. It was another indictment of British society for their role in the outbreak of World War I. The play was written during a dinner party at the beginning of World War I. The play serves as an allegory about the British social classes, which are headed towards the tragedy of World War I.
Shaw depicts the household as a chaotic and confusing place. Shaw describes the house’s attendants as “cultured, leisurely Europe before war” in his preface.
The plot is simple because it has almost no details. The play’s beginning and end symbolically is with Ellie. Ellie wants to marry Mangan, a capitalist, but she confesses her love for Hector her hostess. Hector rejects her and she announces her engagement to Mangan. She then rejects Mangan. In the end, she decides to give up romance and money. She also promises herself to the aging capt. Ellie realizes that the beliefs and understandings she has built her foundations, as well as the way she sees the world, need to be changed or modified. She knows she has to do something to prevent further losses. Shaw’s indecisiveness in Ellie and her misplaced concern for her world are a symbol of Shaw’s ineffectiveness. However, confusion leads to mistakes and ultimately to losses as the front door of war opens to them.
Heartbreak House is George Bernard Shaw’s most popular work. Although it has not been as widely known as some of his other works. This book gives a lot of insight into Shaw’s views about this leisure group and their passiveness in the early 20th-century European circumstances.
Agitprop is made up of two words. “Agitation” is the act of actively supporting a political ideology through actions, speeches and demonstrations. “Propaganda” is the manipulation of people’s opinions. This is accomplished either by only speaking one side or being impartial. Agitprop Theatre is a medium that appeals to emotions. It simplifies complex issues to make them understandable. In order to show the character’s good and bad, it is possible to introduce them as caricatures.
Agitprop, a type or political theatre, was developed in Soviet Russia’s 1920’s. Its goal was education and indoctrination to convert the masses to communist ideology. Gestapo agents arrested several performers in Germany after an 1931 law prohibited the performance of agitprop theatre in certain locations. Others fled to Russia and the United States in search of sympathy for their ideals.
Agitprop Theatre is known for certain characteristics. Agitprop Theatre is often characterised by travelling troupes that perform in the streets and at factories owned by working people. Agitprop is known for its rejection of makeup, costumes, stage set, lighting, and other theatrical elements. Indeed, actors often wear the exact same shirt as their costumes and then change their hats to make new characters. Agitprop is best when it is used in emergency situations where there is no other option. (Downing, pp. 68-69)
Both in Germany and Soviet Russia, alternative methods were being investigated for presenting theatre. Agitprop was a radical alternative to theatre presentation that greatly influenced Bertolt Brecht. Brecht was well-known for his efforts to get the audience involved in the theatre’s action, just as the crowd at a sporting event does.
The Days of the Commune by Brecht is an example of Agitprop theatrical. This play, published in 1940, recounts the history of the Paris Commune of 1871. It is a French city council based on socialism that declared its rightful rulership over France.
Brecht, in The Days of the Commune avoids the use of a central protagonist and focuses instead upon the Commune portrayed by the street people. The play shows a picture of the Commune as a revolutionary socialist early effort that had a huge impact on Karl Marx’s theories (C.L.R. James wrote an article in 1946, in which he advocated for people to take action to improve the labor movement. The play is a story about a small group living in Paris’ Rue Pigalle. They are Papa, Coco, Babette, Genevieve, Madame Cabet, and Jean, their son. As they struggle to make ends meets, we watch them and learn how to re-imagine their lives in a democratic society.
Brecht and others who produced this type of radical theater were successful in influencing culture in Germany as well as internationally. But it was not enough (Downing at p.103). Nonetheless, Brecht (and others who used agitprop) have left a legacy of influence on theatre.
Many people have used different political viewpoints to try and influence their peers throughout history.