DRM100Y1 Lecture 15: Brecht
8 Jul 2016
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Strindberg etc. , like wagner, interested in gesamtkunstwerk etc: the theatre should be dark, chairs shouldn"t move, etc, brecht has a big problem with the narcotic consumption of theatre. Viewers thoughtlessly consume the product due to absorption: the audience is subject to the action without the power to do anything. Naziism, for example, employed huge amounts of this kind of theory: identi cation without re ection leads to fascism! Allow the audience to develop insight into what"s going on. Brecht born in a rapidly industrializing germany of the late 19th century: rise of the proletariat and resultant fear of uprising on the part of the upper class. Fear of a socialist revolution, the ruining of german culture, etc: wwi breaks out; huge death toll. Industrialized warfare, i. e. mustard gas, machine guns, etc: idea of war as a romantic struggle is blown away by this slaughter.
