THEATRE AND HUMAN EXPRESSION

1. THEATRE AND HUMAN EXPRESSION Glenn Wilson PhD King’s College London

2. WHAT IS THEATRE? • An arena in which we can play – act out fears and fantasies, test ideas and gain vicarious experience. (From Greek theatron = “seeing place”). • In broad sense, refers to films and TV as well as live theatre – any sort of entertainment that includes performers and audience and draws upon imagination. • Focuses on humanconflict – helps us see things from the point of view of others; to observe how they deal with their problems, whether adaptively or self-destructively. • Brings magic & thrills into our ordinary, mundane lives, whether disturbing (tragedy), ridiculous (comedy), or romantic (musicals). • Modern civilization has become overly safe - we need to “rock the boat”/test the alarms (yet within a safe context). • Gives chance to rehearse reactions to rare, dreaded occurrences (e.g., rape, earthquake, death of a loved one) – prepares us to cope with the actuality of such events.

3. DRACULA ON THE COUCH The myth of Dracula - perhaps the most popular horror theme ever - makes an interesting case study. It derives from several widespread C18th fears: (1) the werewolf legend – half-human beast that changes form in darkness. (2) pacts with the devil, the soul being traded for immortality. (3) Tales of blood-sucking bats that transmit rabies (infection) (4) episodes of people “coming back to life” after misdiagnosisof death and hasty burial in shallow graves (the undead). Modelled on Vlad the Impaler, son of a bloodthirsty Romanian ruler dubbed Dracul (dragon); Vlad himself was called Dracula (son of the dragon). Central to modern Dracula stories is the seduction metaphor. Tall, dark, taciturn stranger appears suddenly in bedroom of buxom maiden, fixes her with compelling eyes, and with great authority penetrates a vulnerable part of her body, drawing blood and claiming her eternal devotion (Jane Austen plus the frisson of fear).

4. CATHARSIS • Refers to the purging of pent-upemotions that supposedly follows from immersion in tragic drama (from Greek for “purification”). • C.f. Freudian idea of abreaction – neurosis is relieved by bringing repressed trauma to awareness (by hypnosis, free association, dream analysis, etc). • Psychodrama combines elements of Greek theatre and psychoanalysis – a kind of group psychotherapy based on role-playing and dramatic improvisation of troubling life situations relevant to the clients. • Safe distance hypothesis - catharsis occurs when distressing feelings are awakened within a context that is recognised as safe (it’s only a play). • Research on debriefing therapy for PTSD suggests that passive re-exposure to original trauma is unhelpful – some kind of cognitive restructuring is necessary, with emotions reframed as less threatening. • Theatre may help put our own problems in perspective – others have experienced equal or greater distress, so we are not alone.

5. VIOLENCE IN THE MEDIA • The theory of catharsis has been applied to the effects of media violence. Suggested that viewing violence reduces the need to act violently in real life. • Most research, however, indicates that viewing violence increases real violence, through imitation and desensitisation. • Especially true when the implied message is that violence is a normal way of resolving disputes. • There are individual differences in susceptibility to the media/violence effect – not everybody is affected. • Sex in the media probably follows the same rules – messages regarding what is normal are derived -may include dangerous “myths” (e.g., women ultimately enjoy being raped).

6. CATHARSIS AS DESENSITISATION • If exposure to horror and fear is cathartic in that anxiety is reduced, why would the same not apply to anger and hostility? Why would media violence not decrease its real life manifestation? • Violence is not always associated with anger – sometimes a cold-blooded attempt to gain advantage, hence often no emotion to be “purged” (e.g., bank robbery). • What might be reduced by repeated exposure to violent images is fear of the consequences of acting violently, to oneself and others (this is what is called desensitisation). • Similarly, viewers may become desensitised to the possible negative consequences of promiscuity or rape.

7. STRENGTH OF THE MEDIA/VIOLENCE EFFECT Some reviewers have questioned the strength of the association between media violence and violent behaviour. Meta-analysis by Huesmann (2007) showed that the effect size is greater than many other recognized threats to public health – in fact, second only to the link between smoking and lung cancer.

8. COPYCAT KILLERS Columbine Schoolshooting : one of many incidents where similarities were noted with particular video material, which was thus blamed for the atrocity. Direct cause and effect is, however, hard to establish: (1) There are so many violent movies around that similarities are bound to occur (often it turns out the suspect has never seen the material they are said to have copied). (2) Serial killers seek out fictional material that locks into (supports) their deviant fantasies. (3) Atrocities occur without any apparent link to violent media (e.g. Dunblane). What spree killers have in common is an interest in guns and access to them, a sense of impotence, social alienation and fantasies of nihilism. If media exposure is involved it is likely to be a cumulative “drip, drip” effect, rather than direct copying.

9. CENSORSHIP • Evidence that media violence increases violence in real life leads to calls for censorship. • Problem is who decides what is right for whom? • Authorities usually defend the status quo, seeking to suppress “revolutionary” art. • Religious texts are often connected linked to atrocities, but few seek to censor them (mostly used to justify the act – not the root cause). • Rock music and idols represent teenage rebellion – hence bound to rattle the parental generation. • What is probably important is the moral or attitude conveyed rather than the words or imagery per se. (e.g., “might is right”).

10. EXPOSURE OF THE AUTHOR • Dramatists draw on personal experience and conflicts to create characters and situations - hence betray personal preoccupations. • In opera, Puccini featured frail, tragic women, Britten misunderstood boys, Verdi fathers losing daughters, Mozart sexual infidelity and Wagner the quest for ideals (connected to own life problems). • W.S. Gilbert seemed obsessed with torture, executions and matronly women – probably excited as much as horrified him. • Phantom of the Opera - autobiographical for Andrew Lloyd Weber ? • Appeal of a play depends on the author’s fantasies being widely shared by audience (e.g. Hamlet’s unresolved Oedipus Complex; Macbeth’s ambitious wife).

11. CREATIVITY AND MADNESS • You don’t have to be mad to be creative…but it may help. Anecdotally, there are strong links between bipolar disorder (esp. the manic phase) and artistic output in music, drama and painting. • Some empirical support – e.g., children of BD patients score higher on creativity tests – hence a genetic link. May be mediated by dopamine, a brain chemical concerned with reward and arousal, which promotes loose associations (bizarre ideas). Some (by chance?) appear as genius. • Meta-analysis of research literature suggests that link between creativity and madness may be over-egged; 15/29 studies failed to find any (Waddell, 1998). • Appearance of connection may be enhanced by profile and eloquence of certain famous people.

12. ARCHETYPAL THEMES • Certain images/ideas are of such survival significance that we store prototypes in the brain predisposing us to react in certain ways to them – infant’s cry, human face, mating signals (innatereleasing mechanisms). • Wagner and Jung (among others) noted that myths around the world repeat quintessential characters and situations that connect with human nature in profound ways (archetypes). • Idea of a dragon appears in myths and fairy tales of all cultures, predating discovery of dinosaur fossils – may represent residual fear dating from early mammal struggles with giant reptiles. Prehistoric terror emerges in popularity of films like Jurassic Park.

13. THE HERO’S JOURNEY CAMPBELL’S “MONOMYTH” The Hero With a Thousand Faces Joseph Campbell (1949) outlined a central story in literature/drama – the epic journey of a brave, if naïve, young man who battles against tremendous odds to achieve self-knowledge, manhood, wealth, love or social deliverance. Typical sequence: (1) Begins in ordinary world – hero is innocent; often lost parents, or parentage unusual. (2) Call to adventure – initially refused. (3) Meets a mentor - teaches true destiny & elicits previously unrecognised powers. (4) Trials &acquisition of skills needed for the journey. (5) Supreme ordeal - dragon slain/maiden lain. (6) Return in triumph with enhanced power and self-knowledge – saves the world.

14. STAR WARS : A DELIBERATE MONOMYTH • Wagner’s Ring Cycle was a deliberate pastiche of the hero’s journey as distilled from the myths and sagas of many cultures – settings, characters & conflicts were infantile,ancestral and timeless. • For Star Wars, George Lucas consulted Campbell in drafting characters and situations that were archetypal. In Jungian terms, Luke Skywalker is the ego (hero), Princess Leia the anima (female spirit), Han Solo the animus (male spirit), Darth Vader the Shadow (dark side of the self), and Obi wan Kenobi the Sage (mentor). • The adventures of Siegfried and Skywalker respectively follow the typical pattern of the hero’s journey.

15. HOW TO SCRIPT A FILM London based film analyst and script consultant Kal Bashir maintains that most blockbusters follow a similar template, corresponding to the Campbell monomyth.

16. THE APPEAL OF THE MONOMYTH The drive toward mastery and achievement, to conquer enemies and win love and admiration is rife in men. Women dream of the knight in shining armour who will bear them away from drudgery and strife, protect and support them forever. The monster from whom the maiden is liberated may represent a restrictive father – hence sexual awakening is a common theme. The standard plot in comic opera is “ the guardian outwitted”, or “there’s no fool like and old fool”. An old man is tricked out of his claim to a young woman by a young pretender and his accomplices. Society has a need of saviours – exceptional people who will deliver them from evil. If they don’t exist they will be invented (c.f. The Life of Brian). People look for idols in sport, music, politics and religion, as well as in literature/drama. Concern with the genetic background of the hero has obvious evolutionary significance. Within limits, exceptional humans can be bred like racehorses, so parents who are themselves exceptional are the most likely source of the hero. However, we are often reminded that a genius or leader may be spawned of ordinary, unprepossessing parents, and the hero may emerge from the most unlikely places – a lowly stable, a flying saucer, or a Swiss patents office.

17. CONCLUSION • Recurring characters/themes in theatre, film & literature reveal human nature. • This nature reflects deep-seated instincts that have served our survival since prehistory. • Theatre is a higher cultural activity marking our imagination, creativity, and humanity, while at the same time a reminder of our animal origins.

18. BIBLIOGRAPHY • Wilson, G.D. (2002) Psychology for Performing Artists (2ndEdition). London, Whurr/Wiley (Most other references may be found here.) • Huesmann, L.R. (2007) The impact of electronic media violence: scientific research and theory. Journal of Adolescent Health, 41 (6), Supplement, S6-S13. • Waddell, C. (1998) Creativity and mental illness: Is there a link? Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 43, 166-172.