Absurdity in the theater. Historical background for the emergence of the drama of the absurd. The concept of “Theater of the Absurd” The emergence of the Theater of the Absurd
In absurdist plays, in contrast to the logical plays of ordinary drama, the author conveys to the reader and viewer his feeling of some problem, constantly violating logic, so the viewer, accustomed to ordinary theater, becomes confused and feels discomfort, which is the purpose of the “illogical” " theater aimed at ensuring that the viewer gets rid of patterns in his perception and looks at his life in a new way. Supporters of the “logical” theater say that the world in the “theater of the absurd” is presented as a meaningless, devoid of logic pile of facts, actions, words and destinies, but when reading such plays one can notice that they are composed of a number of completely logical fragments. The logic of the connection between these fragments differs sharply from the logic of connection between the parts of a “regular” play. The principles of “absurdism” were most fully embodied in the dramas “The Bald Singer” ( La cantatrice chauve, ) Romanian-French playwright Eugene Ionesco and Waiting for Godot ( Waiting for Godot,) Irish writer Samuel Beckett.
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The term "theater of the absurd" first appeared in the works of theater critic Martin Esslin ( Martin Esslin), who wrote a book with the same title in 1962. Esslin saw in certain works the artistic embodiment of Albert Camus's philosophy of the fundamental meaninglessness of life, which he illustrated in his book The Myth of Sisyphus. The theater of the absurd is believed to be rooted in the philosophy of Dadaism, poetry of non-existent words and avant-garde art. Despite sharp criticism, the genre gained popularity after World War II, which indicated significant uncertainty human life. The introduced term was also criticized; there were attempts to redefine it as “anti-theater” and “ new theater" According to Esslin, the absurdist theater movement was based on the productions of four playwrights - Eugene Ionesco ( Eugene Ionesco), Samuel Beckett ( Samuel Beckett), Jean Genet ( Jean Genet) and Arthur Adamov ( Arthur Adamov), however, he emphasized that each of these authors had his own unique technique that went beyond the term “absurd.” The following group of writers is often singled out - Tom Stoppard ( Tom Stoppard), Friedrich Dürrenmatt ( Friedrich Dürrenmatt), Fernando Arrabal ( Fernando Arrabal), Harold Pinter ( Harold Pinter), Edward Albee ( Edward Albee) and Jean Tardieu ( Jean Tardieu). Eugene Ionesco did not recognize the term “theater of the absurd” and called it “the theater of ridicule.”
The inspiration for the movement is Alfred Jarry ( Alfred Jarry), Luigi Pirandello ( Luigi Pirandello), Stanislav Vitkevich ( Stanislaw Witkiewicz), Guillaume Apollinaire ( Guillaume Apollinaire), surrealists and many others.
The “theater of the absurd” (or “new theater”) movement apparently originated in Paris as an avant-garde phenomenon associated with small theaters in the Latin Quarter, and after some time gained worldwide recognition.
The theater of the absurd is considered to deny realistic characters, situations and all other relevant theatrical techniques. Time and place are uncertain and changeable, even the simplest causal connections are destroyed. Pointless intrigues, repetitive dialogues and aimless chatter, dramatic inconsistency of actions - everything is subordinated to one goal: to create a fabulous, and perhaps terrible, mood.
Critics of this approach, in turn, point out that the characters in “absurd” plays are quite realistic, as are the situations in them, not to mention theatrical techniques, and the deliberate destruction of cause-and-effect allows the playwright to lead the viewer away from the standard, stereotyped way of thinking, forces him, right during the course of the play, to look for a solution to the illogicality of what is happening and, as a result, to more actively perceive the stage action.
Eugene Ionesco himself wrote about “The Bald Singer”: “To feel the absurdity of banality and language, their falseness is already to move forward. To take this step, we must dissolve in all this. The comic is the unusual in its original form; what amazes me most is the banality ; the poverty of our daily conversations is where the hyperreal is."
In addition, illogicality and paradox, as a rule, produce a comic impression on the viewer, revealing to a person the absurd aspects of his existence through laughter. Seemingly meaningless intrigues and dialogues suddenly reveal to the viewer the pettiness and meaninglessness of his own intrigues and conversations with family and friends, leading him to rethink his life. As for the dramatic inconsistency in the “absurd” plays, it almost completely corresponds to the “clip” perception modern man, in whose head during the day television programs, advertising, messages on social networks, telephone SMS are mixed - all this rains down on his head in the most chaotic and contradictory form, representing the incessant absurdity of our life.
New York Untitled Theater Company No. 61 (Untitled Theater Company #61) announced the creation of a “modern theater of the absurd”, consisting of new productions in this genre and adaptations classic stories new directors. Other initiatives include: Festival of works by Eugene Ionesco.
“The traditions of the French theater of the absurd in Russian drama exist in a rare worthy example. You can mention Mikhail Volokhov. But the philosophy of the absurd is still absent in Russia, so it remains to be created.”
Theater of the Absurd in Russia
The basic ideas of the theater of the absurd were developed by members of the OBERIU group back in the 30s of the 20th century, that is, several decades before the emergence of a similar trend in Western European literature. In particular, one of the founders of the Russian theater of the absurd was Alexander Vvedensky, who wrote the plays “Minin and Pozharsky” (1926), “God is Possible All Around” (1930-1931), “Kupriyanov and Natasha” (1931), “Yolka at the Ivanovs” (1939), etc. In addition, other OBERIUTs worked in a similar genre, for example, Daniil Kharms.
In dramaturgy more late period(1980s) elements of the theater of the absurd can be found in the plays of Lyudmila Petrushevskaya, in Venedikt Erofeev’s play “Walpurgis Night, or the Commander’s Steps”, and a number of other works
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Features of the theater of the absurd: origins, representatives, features of dramatic structure (S. Beckett, E. Ionesco).
Theater of the Absurd- a direction in Western European drama and theater that arose in the middle of the 20th century. In absurdist plays, the world is presented as a meaningless, devoid of logic, pile of facts, actions, words and destinies. The principles of absurdism were most fully embodied in the dramas “The Bald Singer” (1950) by playwright Eugene Ionesco and “Waiting for Godot” by Samuel Beckett.
The theater of the absurd is believed to be rooted in the philosophy of Dadaism, poetry of non-existent words and avant-garde art of the 1910s and 20s. Despite intense criticism, the genre gained popularity after World War II, which highlighted the significant uncertainty of human life. The introduced term was also criticized, and attempts were made to redefine it as “anti-theater” and “new theater.” The “theater of the absurd” (or “new theater”) movement apparently originated in Paris as an avant-garde phenomenon associated with small theaters in the Latin Quarter, and after some time gained worldwide recognition.
In practice, the theater of the absurd denies realistic characters, situations and all other relevant theatrical techniques. Time and place are uncertain and changeable, even the simplest causal connections are destroyed. Pointless intrigues, repetitive dialogues and aimless chatter, dramatic inconsistency of actions - everything is subordinated to one goal: to create a fabulous, and perhaps terrible, mood.
The development of absurd drama was influenced by surreal theatricality: the use of fancy costumes and masks, meaningless rhymes, provocative appeals to the audience, etc. The plot of the play and the behavior of the characters are incomprehensible, analogous and sometimes intended to shock the audience. Reflecting the absurdity of mutual understanding, communication, dialogue, the play in every possible way emphasizes the lack of meaning in language, which, in the form of a kind of game without rules, becomes the main carrier of chaos.
For the absurdists, the dominant quality of existence was not compression, but decay. The second significant difference from the previous drama is in relation to the person. Man in the absurdist world is the personification of passivity and helplessness. He cannot realize anything except his helplessness. He is deprived of freedom of choice. Absurdists developed their concept of drama - antidrama. The drama of the absurd is not a discussion about the absurd, but a demonstration of the absurd.
Eugene Ionesco- the founder of absurdism in French drama.
The situations, characters and dialogues of his plays follow the images and associations of dreams rather than everyday reality. Language, with the help of funny paradoxes, clichés, sayings and other verbal games, is freed from habitual meanings and associations. The surrealism of Ionesco's plays originates from circus clownery, the films of Charles Chaplin, B. Keaton, the Marx Brothers, ancient and medieval farce. A typical technique is a pile of objects that threaten to engulf the actors; things take on life, and people turn into inanimate objects. In absurdist plays there is no catharsis, E. Ionesco rejects any ideology, but the plays were brought to life by deep concern for the fate of the language and its speakers.
Premiere of "The Bald Singer" took place in Paris. The success of "The Bald Singer" was scandalous, no one understood anything, but watching productions of absurdist plays gradually became good form.
In the anti-play (this is the genre designation) there is no trace of a bald singer. But there is an English couple, the Smiths, and their neighbor named Martin, as well as the maid Mary and the captain of the fire brigade, who happened to drop by for a moment to see the Smiths. He is afraid of being late for a fire that will start in so many hours and in so many minutes. There are also clocks that strike as they please, which apparently means that time is not lost, it simply does not exist, everyone is in their own time dimension and is talking nonsense accordingly.
The playwright has several techniques for intensifying the absurd. There is confusion in the sequence of events, and a pile-up of the same names and surnames, and the spouses not recognizing each other, and the castling of hosts-guests, guests-hosts, countless repetitions of the same epithet, a stream of oxymorons, an obviously simplified construction of phrases, like in the textbook English language for beginners. In short, the dialogues are truly funny.
The situations, characters and dialogues of his plays follow the images and associations of dreams rather than everyday reality. Language, with the help of funny paradoxes, clichés, sayings and other verbal games, is freed from habitual meanings and associations. The surrealism of Ionesco's plays originates from circus clownery, the films of Charles Chaplin, B. Keaton, the Marx Brothers, ancient and medieval farce. A typical technique is a pile of objects that threaten to engulf the actors; things take on life, and people turn into inanimate objects.
When asked about the meaning of his dramaturgy, Ionesco replied that he wanted to “explain all the absurdity of existence, the separation of man from his transcendental roots”, to show that “when talking, people no longer know what they wanted to say, and that they are talking so that nothing to say that language, instead of bringing them closer, only divides them even more,” reveals “the unusual and strange nature of our existence” and “parody the theater, that is, the world.”
The goal of his dramaturgy is to create a ferocious, unrestrained theater, he proposes a return to theatrical roots, namely to ancient puppet shows that use caricatured, implausible images that emphasize the brutality of reality itself. Ionesco proclaimed sharp disagreement with the existing theater; of all the playwrights, he recognized only Shakespeare. Modern theater, in his opinion, is not capable of expressing the existential state of a person. Theater must move as far as possible from realism, which only obscures the essence of human life.
BECKETT.
Beckett was Joyce's secretary and learned to write from him. “Waiting for Godot” is one of the basic texts of absurdism. Entropy is represented in a state of expectation, and this expectation is a process, the beginning and end of which we do not know, i.e. no point. The state of waiting is the dominant state in which the heroes exist, without wondering whether they need to wait for Godot. They are in a passive state.
The heroes (Volodya and Estragon) are not completely sure that they are waiting for Godot in the very place where they need to be. When the next day after the night they come to the same place to the withered tree, Estragon doubts that this is the same place. The set of objects is the same, only the tree blossomed overnight. Estragon's shoes, which he left on the road yesterday, are in the same place, but he claims that they are larger and of a different color.
"Waiting for Godot."
Identification with Christ, the redeemer of human sins, with God the Father. “There is nothing more real than nothing.” This is a symbol of Nothing. For existentialists, nothing comes with a plus sign. Central characters- Vladimir and Estragon, tramps. They are tired of waiting and cannot help but wait. A boy appears and reports that Godot's appearance has been delayed again. Lucky and Potso are activists, realists, pragmatists, personifying the vanity of life. Vl. and E. are forced to eat pasture, they have no home, they spend the night in the open air. Laki and Potso are surrounded by objects of civilization. But all the characters find only illnesses in the process of existence.
Vladimir and Estragon have an emasculated consciousness, they lack education, and Potso and Lucky even think on command. Vladimir and Estragon are friends, but they ask themselves whether it would be better for them to live separately. Potso and Lucky need each other too. Different types development of man and humanity.
None of the options are justified. Often characters, if they are looking for something else, are on the other side of the border. Vladimir and Estragon love to look at their own things. They hope to find something there, but find nothing. They don't try to create something themselves. To see in Nothing not only an expression of weakness, but also an expression of strength.
Beckett - Decline human nature. Ionesco - the decline of the human spirit.
In the mid-20th century, a phenomenon called “theater of the absurd” appeared in European drama. It became truly innovative and unusual for the viewer, accustomed to classic “logical” productions. But despite this, the new art aroused curiosity and interest. What is the theater of the absurd and what rethinking has it received today?
Description
The focus of an absurdist play is not on action and intrigue, but on the author’s perception and individual understanding of a problem. Moreover, everything that happens on stage is devoid of logical connection. This is done so that the viewer is confused, able to get rid of patterns in his mind and look at his life from several angles at once.
At first glance, the world in such “illogical” plays appears as a chaotic, meaningless accumulation of facts, characters, actions, words, in which there is no specific place and time of action. However, upon careful examination, there is a logical connection between all these elements, only it is strikingly different from what we were used to before. The most striking theatrical embodiments of the principles of absurdism were the plays of E. Ionesco “The Bald Singer” and S. Beckett “Waiting for Godot.” This is a kind of parody (or philistinism) of the bourgeois world of comfort, its fascism. In these plays one can clearly observe the disintegration of connections between word and action, a violation of the dialogue structure itself.
Despite the seriousness and scale of the social problems addressed, the world of the theater of the absurd is incredibly comical. The playwrights show reality, society is already at that phase of decay when no one is pitied. Therefore, plays of this genre readily use parodies, cynicism, and laughter. The viewer is clearly given to understand that it is useless and pointless to fight this surreal world of absurdity. You just need to believe in it and accept it.
Story
It is noteworthy that the term “theater of the absurd” itself appeared after the emergence of innovative productions. It comes from theater critic Martin Esslin, who published a book under that title in 1962. He drew parallels between the new dramatic phenomenon and the philosophy of existentialism of A. Camus, Dadaism, poetry of non-existent words and avant-garde art of the early 20th century. All this, to a certain extent, according to the critic, “educated” the theater of the absurd and shaped it the way it appeared before the audience.
It should be noted that such a creative approach to drama remained in disgrace for a long time among formidable critics. However, after World War II, the genre began to gain popularity. Its main ideologists are considered to be four masters of words: E. Ionesco, S. Beckett, J. Genet and A. Adamov. Despite belonging to the same theatrical genre, each of them still had its own unique technique, which was more than the concept of “absurdity”. By the way, E. Ionesco himself did not accept the new term, instead of “theater of the absurd” he said “theater of ridicule.” But Esslin’s definition, despite persistence and criticism, remained in art, and the genre gained popularity all over the world.
Origins
Attempts to create a theater of the absurd were made long before the European wave in Russia, in the 1930s. Its idea belonged to the Association of Real Art (OBERIUT), or more precisely, to Alexander Vvedensky. In the new genre, he wrote the plays “Minin and Pozharsky”, “God is All Around”, “Christmas Tree at the Ivanovs”, etc. His like-minded writer was Daniil Kharms, writer, poet and member of OBERIU.
In Russian drama of the late 20th century, the theater of the absurd can be observed in the plays of L. Petrushevskaya, V. Erofeev and others.
Modernity
Today this theatrical genre is quite widespread. And, as a rule, the avant-garde phenomenon (as in its historical past) is associated with small (private) theaters. A striking example is the modern “Theater of the Absurd” of Gauguin Solntsev, the famous Russian freak artist. In addition to touring productions under the motto “Our whole life is theater,” he gives acting lessons, which, in the author’s opinion, are useful not only on stage, but also in everyday life.
Other theater groups exist and are developing in this genre.
Sparrow
The International Theater of the Absurd "Sparrow" is one of the popular troupes. It was created in 2012 in Kharkov. At first it was just a duet of Vasily Baidak (Uncle Vasya) and Alexander Serdyuk (Collman). Today, “Sparrow” includes six artists. All participants have higher education, but not acting education. The name of the group migrated from KVN. And the word “foreign” is deliberately misspelled. Posters and performances of “Sparrow” are always bright, not devoid of humor, farce and, of course, absurdity. The guys come up with all the plots for the productions themselves.
In music
The avant-garde genre is reflected not only in literature and performing arts, but also in music. So in 2010, the eighteenth studio album of the Picnic group, Theater of the Absurd, was released.
The musical group was formed in 1978 and still exists. He began working in the style of Russian rock and over time acquired an individual sound with the addition of symphonic keyboards and exotic instruments from the peoples of the world.
“Theater of the Absurd” is an album that opens with the composition of the same name. However, its text is devoid of comedy. Quite the contrary - the song has dramatic notes, saying that the whole world is a theater of the absurd, and the person in it is the main character.
The album also includes compositions with such interesting names, like “Doll with a Human Face”, “Urim Thummim”, “Wild Singer” (read as a reference to Ionesco’s play “The Bald Singer”), “And the make-up will wash off”. In general, the next creation of the “Picnic” group can be compared with a small theatrical production with an original selection of images and themes.
In humor
One of the main features of the “illogical” genre is humor. This applies not only to the absurd accumulation of words and phrases of their play, but also to the images themselves that may appear in unexpected time in an unexpected place. It was this trend that was more than used in the “Theater of the Absurd” number by the comedy duo Demis Karibidis and Andrey Skorokhod, famous residents of the show Comedy Club . It is based on the work of F.M. Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment", which was originally rethought by the artists. The characters, the old pawnbroker (Demis Karibidis) and the student Rodion Raskolnikov (Andrey Skorokhod), in addition to plot points, also touched upon modern economic, cultural and political realities.
Historical background the birth of the drama of the absurd. The concept of "Theater of the Absurd"
The origin of the absurd genre in Great Britain occurred mainly in the second half of the 20th century and had a certain sociocultural and historical context.
Despite the devastating effects of World War II, the second half of the 20th century became a period of peaceful prosperity. Great Britain has come face to face with globalization and the needs of a post-industrial society. In this paragraph we will consider the historical and social background of the emergence of this genre. play absurd linguistic stoppard
Regarding changes in social and everyday life people, we can highlight the following prerequisites:
- 1) “Consumer society”. Post-war reconstruction brought the economy to full recovery. It was symbolic beginning era of "consumer society". Societies where there is a high level wages and a large amount of free time provided a standard of living that the country had never known before.
- 2) Education. One of the important factors of prosperity was the incredible rise in the level of education among the entire population. Access to higher education provided more students and, as a result, an increase in the number of specialists with higher education.
- 3) Youth culture . The conservatism inherent in the first half of the 20th century gave way to tolerance towards social, religious and ethnic differences. Origin youth culture took place against the background of the denial of strict moral principles by the youth themselves, the emergence of freedom of thought and action. People wanted just such a society - consisting of free individuals with independent views, choosing a way of life far from what the masses were accustomed to.
- 4) Immigration flows . The post-war environment prompted the immigration of hundreds of thousands of Irish, Indians and Pakistanis, which played a special role in reconstruction, although it was met with unprecedented levels of hostility from the British. It was necessary to create special laws, one of which was the Race Relations Act (1976), which provided enormous assistance in resolving ethnic conflicts. Although certain racial prejudices still exist today, the second half of the 20th century saw great strides towards fostering respect and tolerance for people of different races. ethnic groups. (Brodey, Malgaretti, 2003: 251-253)
IN economically, social pressure and unemployment reigned everywhere. Although prosperity spread throughout Europe, huge amount workers and their families faced a crisis due to job losses. The closure of mines, automobile and metallurgical plants led to unemployment and social unrest in the 70s and 80s of the 20th century.
For example, in 1984, the largest miners' strike in British history occurred. Margaret Thatcher faced fierce resistance from workers when attempting to close the coal mines. However, this was just the beginning. The Thatcher years were marked by many similar cases(strikes of railway workers, representatives of public utilities, etc.)
All of the above factors, of course, could not but influence the cultural aspect of human life. New forms of expressing reality were needed, new ways of conveying philosophy and the complexity of life to people. The answer to this need was the emergence of many modern genres culture, literature, one of which was the theater of the absurd.
In literature, since 1960, Great Britain has been swept by a wave of publication of new works. Many of them were written only for quantity, many have survived to this day as examples of quality literature. Nevertheless, modern literature It is quite difficult to classify, because, despite all the differences between genres and works, they are all designed to display the kaleidoscope of modern existence. Postmodern art has spread to many areas of human life, however, one thing is clear - British literature has opened new horizons for readers modern life, expressing it, sometimes, in forms that are not quite familiar to the reader. (Brodey, Malgaretti 2003)
While prose and poetry moved away from the new canons of the 20th century, drama studied and used them. Traditional performing arts described the aspirations and desires of the upper class of British society, excluding any kind of experimentation, both with language and with the process of production. However, at the same time, Europe was completely absorbed in the rejection of tradition in favor of novelty and conceptuality, bringing the plays of Eugene Ionesco to the stage.
E. Ionesco's plays were called absurd because the plot and dialogues were very difficult to understand, revealing their illogicality. Absurdists received complete freedom to use language, playing with it, involving the viewer in the performance itself. There were no unnecessary distractions in the form of decorations; the audience was completely absorbed in what was happening on stage. Even the consistency of the dialogues was perceived as a factor distracting from understanding the meaning and idea of the play.
The absurd genre appeared in the mid-twentieth century in Western Europe, as one of the directions of drama. The world in plays of this genre is presented as a heap of facts, words, actions, thoughts, devoid of any meaning.
The term “theater of the absurd” was first used by the famous theater critic Martin Esslin, who saw in certain works the embodiment of the idea of the meaninglessness of life as such.
This art direction was fiercely criticized, but, nevertheless, gained unprecedented popularity after the Second World War, which only emphasized the uncertainty and instability of human life. In addition, the term itself has been criticized. There were even attempts to redefine it as anti-theater.
In practice, the theater of the absurd questions the realism of existence, people, situations, thoughts, and all the usual classical theatrical techniques. The simplest cause-and-effect relationships are destroyed, the categories of time and space are blurred. All the illogicality, meaninglessness and aimlessness of the action are aimed at creating an unrealistic, maybe even creepy atmosphere.
France became the birthplace of absurdism, although its founders were the Irishman Samuel Beckett and the Romanian Eugene Ionesco, who created in French, i.e. non-native language. And although Ionesco was bilingual (his childhood was spent in Paris), it was the feeling of a “non-native” language that gave him the opportunity to consider linguistic phenomena from the point of view of the absurd, relying on the lexical structure as the main structure of the architectonics of plays. The same undoubtedly applies to S. Beckett. A known disadvantage - working in a non-native language - turned into an advantage. Language in absurdist plays acts as an obstacle to communication; people speak and do not hear each other.
Despite relative youth this direction, he managed to become quite popular thanks to the logic of illogicality. And at the heart of absurdism lie serious philosophical ideas and cultural roots.
First of all, it is worth mentioning the relativistic theory of knowledge of the world - a worldview that denies the very possibility of knowing objective reality
Also, the formation of absurdism was greatly influenced by existentialism - a subjective-idealistic philosophical direction built on irrationalism, a tragic worldview, the illogicality of the surrounding world and the inability of man to control it.
By the early 1960s, absurdism went beyond the borders of France and began to rapidly spread throughout the world. However, nowhere else did absurdism appear in its pure form. Most playwrights who can be classified in this movement are not so radical in the techniques of absurdism. They retain a tragic worldview and the main issues, reflecting the absurdity and contradictory nature of situations, often refuse to destroy the plot and plot, lexical experiments, and their heroes are specific and individual, the situations are definite, and social motives very often appear. Their embodiment is in a realistic reflection of reality, which cannot be the case with the plays of S. Beckett and E. Ionesco.
However, what is important is that in the 1960s the absurdist technique received an unexpected development in a new direction of visual art - performance ( original title- happening), the works of which are any actions of the artist that occur in real time. The performance is not based at all on the semantic and ideological categories of absurdism, but uses its formal techniques: the absence of a plot, the use of a cycle of “freely flowing images,” the division of structure - lexical, essential, ideological, existential.
Absurdist playwrights often used not just absurdity, but reality in its manifestations, reduced to absurdity. The method of reduction to the absurd is a method when what one wants to deny is initially taken as truth. We take a false proposition and make it true with our entire existence in accordance with the method of reduction to the absurd. Paradox arises only as a result of the use of indirect evidence. We take a false (incomplete) proposition and make it true according to the method of reductio ad absurdum.
Thus, using the method of leading to a contradiction, the author implements the formula “what was required to be proven.” Although the reader himself is capable of coming to this conclusion, here we cannot yet talk about any logical internal form of the work. There is only the character’s point of view, the “false”, and the author’s point of view, the “true” - they are in direct opposition. The author forces the hero to follow his logic to the end. The logical dead end to which the writer leads his hero using the method of reduction to the absurd is obviously part of the author's intention. Therefore, we consider absurd stories as a kind of thought experiments. (http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/)
But in other cases, the author does not limit himself to such a simple and formal solution to the problem. The hero continues to insist on his own, he is obsessed with his idea, he does not feel that he has crossed the boundaries of common sense. All this gives the plot of the work an absurd character. Expanding an idea towards the absurd is a process that does not always depend on the will of the author and his intentions. Now the author must move behind his hero, whose point of view leaves a static position and gains dynamics. All art world, the entire structure of the work is turned upside down: the center of the work becomes the idea itself, the “false,” which, as it were, takes away the author’s right to vote and builds reality independently. An idea organizes the artistic world not according to the laws of common sense, as, say, the author would do, but according to its own absurd laws. The author's point of view is blurred. In any case, it does not have a visible predominance in this particular fragment of the text, but to the extent that the author initially did not agree with this “impeccable” idea, to the extent that he is now afraid of it and does not believe in it. And, of course, the hero of the work meets the author where his insensitivity reaches its limit. The hero is afraid either of the consequences of his theories, or of the theory itself, which can sometimes lead very far and come into conflict not only with ethics, but also with common sense itself.
The most popular absurdist play by S. Beckett, Waiting for Godot, is one of the first examples of the Theater of the Absurd, which critics point to. Written and first performed in France in 1954, the play had an extraordinary impact on theatergoers due to its new and strange rules. Consisting of desolate settings (except for a virtually leafless tree, clown-like tramps, and highly symbolic language), Godot encourages audiences to question all old rules and try to find meaning in a world that cannot be known. The heart of the play is the theme of “endurance” and “getting through the day” so that tomorrow you will have the strength to continue. In terms of structure, Godot is essentially a cyclical two-act play. It begins with two lonely tramps on a country road waiting for the arrival of a certain man called Godot, and ends with the original situation. Many critics have concluded that the second act is simply a repetition of the first. In other words, Vladimir and Estragon can forever remain “waiting for Godot.” We will never know if they found a way out of this situation. As an audience, we can only watch them repeat the same actions, listen to them repeat the same words, and accept the fact that Godot may or may not come. Much like them, we are stuck in a world where our actions determine existence. We may be looking for answers or meaning in life, but most likely we won't find them. Thus, this play is structured in such a way as to make us believe that Godot may never come and that we must accept the uncertainty that pervades our daily lives. The two main characters, Vladimir and Estragon, spend their days reliving the past, trying to find the meaning of their existence, and even considering suicide as a form of salvation. However, as characters they are absurdist archetypes who remain isolated from the public. They essentially lack personality and their vaudevillian mannerisms, especially when it comes to contemplating suicide, tend to make the audience laugh rather than perceive what is happening as tragic. (http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/)
For another representative of this genre, E. Ionesco, the absurd is a tool, a way of thinking, the main opportunity to break through the network of indifference that tightly envelops the consciousness of modern man. The absurd is a look from a completely unexpected point of view and a look that is refreshing. It can shock and surprise, but this is precisely what can break through spiritual blindness and deafness, because it is against the usual.
The situations, characters and dialogues of his plays follow the images and associations of dreams rather than everyday reality. Language, with the help of funny paradoxes, clichés, sayings and other verbal games, is freed from habitual meanings and associations. E. Ionesco's plays originate from street theater, commedia dell'arte, circus clownery. A typical technique is a pile of objects that threaten to engulf the actors; things take on life, and people turn into inanimate objects. “Ionesco’s Circus” is a term quite often applied to his early drama. Meanwhile, he recognized only an indirect connection of his art with surrealism, more readily with Dada.
Achieving maximum impact, Eugene Ionesco “attacks” the usual logic of thinking, leading the viewer into a state of ecstasy by the lack of expected development. Here, as if following the precepts of street theater, he demands improvisation not only from the actors, but also makes the viewer confusedly look for the development of what is happening on stage and off it. Problems that were once perceived as just another non-figurative experiment are beginning to acquire the quality of relevance.
Also, fully this description The nature and essence of plays in the absurd genre refers to the works of Tom Stoppard and Daniil Kharms.
It's hard to argue with the statement that this "mad, mad, mad" world has gone a little crazy. And if anyone else doubts this, it’s worth watching at least one of the wonderful films that are collected in this “ten”. However, it is not surprising if someone wants to see or rewatch all the films. You definitely won't regret it!
1. Film “Love and Death”
director Woody Allen
Without a doubt, a cult comedy from the master of this genre, Woody Allen. Just a fountain of sparkling and at the same time very intelligent humor interesting topic. And the topic is next. A certain Russian landowner from a provincial town is trying in every possible way to evade the call to fight Napoleon. Because all he has in his arsenal is a long and sharp tongue. Peerless self-irony, philosophy for dummies, politics and politics again - made this film forever loved, especially in our country. Whether the hero managed to escape the army or not, see for yourself.
2. Film "Log"
directed by Jan Svankmajer
A similar level of surrealism can only be found in Lynch. Jan Švankmajer translated Czech into screen language a scary fairy tale and it looks funny. Out of hopelessness, a young childless couple had the idea of having a tree stump instead of a child... Which grows quickly and eats a lot, and it eats everything. Even a person for a sweet soul. And if the newly made parents take every possible care of their log, then their wonderful neighbors opposite do not pay any attention to their “living” daughter. As they say, the contrast is obvious.
3. Film "The Dress"
directed by Alex Van Warmerdam
How sometimes the imagination of creators amazes, the lengths to which their visualization goes! An ordinary dress, even in bright colors, but what a fuss there is around it! People just go crazy, tear it apart and still it pushes everyone to madness. It excites some, leads to the death of others, and at first glance it’s just a rag. What will happen to him next?
4. Film "City Zero"
director Karen Shakhnazarov
The plot of the film seems to have been copied from some novel by the Strugatsky brothers, where the hero finds himself in an unknown city, in which everything is topsy-turvy, different concepts and completely different morals. As in the biblical parable, they present him with his head on a platter, only it’s not someone else’s head, but his own... And there seems to be only one way out, you urgently need to get used to this so as not to simply go crazy. However, there is also wisdom in the film. Which in the end will be taken away by all and sundry.
5. Film “Investigation in the case of a citizen beyond all suspicion”
directed by Elio Petri
The film that won an Oscar. Comedy! Not a drama about Jews or a difficult war. This alone suggests that he is worth something. And there really is something to see there. Just imagine - the hero kills his woman, leaves evidence and goes to surrender to the police. In any other case, he would have already been convicted, but that was not the case. The fact is that he himself is the chief of police and no one wants to even suggest that it was him. Who said he wants to go to jail? Not at all, he has other plans...
6. Film "Firemen's Ball"
directed by Milos Forman
The last film of the famous Czechoslovak director filmed in his homeland. And knowing this, we can already assume what might have caught fire in them. That all this red absurdity, this serious circus is like a mirror of the communist regime in which the country lived then. Brave guys, excellent firefighters really intended to hold their own beauty contest at the festival!
7. Film “Black Cat, White Cat”
director Emir Kusturica
A sparkling, unrestrained, crazy comedy from the genius of Kusturica! Gypsy fun will raise the dead from the grave, and what does it do to the living... Here they shoot and sing at the same time, love and kidnap brides, and will do anything for the sake of money. Two old mafiosi sleep soundly while their children fight furiously. But for the sake of the happiness of the young, they will, of course, wake up.
8. The film “Doctor Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Atomic Bomb”
director Stanley Kubrick
An intelligent, but no less absurd comedy from the cult director Stanley Kubrick. Imagine a very real situation: the country is allegedly in danger and a military general sends nuclear bombers to attack his enemy. But the danger is imaginary, and the planes are already in the air approaching the enemy borders. And then it turns out that the enemy has an automatic response - and the country that sent the bombers may be wiped from the Earth... Have you imagined the seriousness of the situation? This is a tragedy! But not in this case.
9. Film "Castle"
director Alexey Balabanov
The film was, of course, based on famous novel Franz Kafka. Arriving at his destination, the hero discovers that no one is waiting for him and no one needs him here. Metaphorically speaking, the castle is under lock and key. However, curiosity takes over him, he decides to stop here and try to find out what’s going on. He stays so long that he even manages to get married. But it will never find meaning. Or is he just not paying attention? Phantasmagoria from Balabanov, a ghostly plot and clumsy heroes, the motley texture of the surrounding world, it would seem that everything is there. But where can we get the answer then?
10. Movie "Tootsie"
directed by Sydney Pollack
It's very simple. The guy is unable to gain a foothold in the film business; they don’t hire him anywhere. Then he dresses up as a woman and gets the desired role. But to play, he needs to stop being himself. But he has a girlfriend, and she, of course, has a father. How then? Besides, dad suddenly started to like him in his new look... An awkward situation, isn't it. And no one knows what will happen when the truth comes out. A screwball comedy starring Dustin Hoffman leading role and the charming Jessica Lange.
For those who want something more serious, we have collected.
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