tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8829734.post6742355975946050806..comments2024-03-28T00:18:42.009-04:00Comments on The Wicked Stage: Mamet v. Brecht: The Wrong FightRob Weinert-Kendthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04015688507553252146noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8829734.post-82314144521827456152011-06-01T14:57:04.721-04:002011-06-01T14:57:04.721-04:00@Icannot: I think you're painting with too bro...@Icannot: I think you're painting with too broad a brush. Mamet has shown himself capable of doing all those things you mention in re: characterization, plotting, insight, etc. He has written, after all, some of American theater's major works. He just hasn't done anything particularly great for a while, and it may or may not be related to political drift.<br /><br />And the swearing/racial slur canard is way over-used against him. Yeah, some of his characters swear a lot (though not as much as people think). His dialogue is stylized, but not always in the same way. On a language level, he's still an interesting playwright (to an extent). And to correct you, you need to look at his work more closely; the "k" word has most definitely appeared.<br /><br />The point of my criticism here is to take apart something he's written lately, not everything he's ever written.Rob Weinert-Kendthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04015688507553252146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8829734.post-873044482315364732011-06-01T14:44:02.777-04:002011-06-01T14:44:02.777-04:00Jeremy has it right. Mamet's whole career is b...Jeremy has it right. Mamet's whole career is based on one trick. He is not known for deep characters, strong narrative, psychological or social insight. He uses "fuck", "cunt", and "nigger" and he has made that into a career. Notice that while he criticizes others for hypocrisy, he never uses the slur "kike".Icannotnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8829734.post-58497551968858362702011-05-24T10:29:39.273-04:002011-05-24T10:29:39.273-04:00I don't disagree with anything you say, but I&...I don't disagree with anything you say, but I'm curious why anyone would expect anything more from Mamet. I can't think of any point in his career as a writer when he demonstrated a great deal of subtlety as a thinker. That's just not his bailiwick.Jeremy M. Barkerhttp://culturebot.orgnoreply@blogger.com