Arrested Communication in Caryl Churchill’s Mad Forest and the Centrality of the Ideological Other
Arrested Communication in Caryl Churchill’s Mad Forest and the Centrality of the Ideological Other
Author(s): Carmen AndraşSubject(s): Cultural Essay, Political Essay, Societal Essay
Published by: Institutul de Cercetări Socio-Umane Gheorghe Şincai al Academiei Române
Keywords: Caryl Churchill; Mad Forest; Communism; postcommunism; ideology; communication; language; Homi Bhabha; Alphonso Lingis; Eugen Ionescu; Mikhail Bakhtin.
Summary/Abstract: The present paper is analysing the power relationship intrinsic in language communication, as reflected in Caryl Churchill’s play Mad Forest. The play is set in Communist and post-communist Romania and suggests the continuity of prejudices inoculated by the Communist dictatorship. It is in fact about the survival of the third voice, the overwhelming voice of ideology and demagogy, which is blocking any normal communication between the speaker and auditor. Any enunciation of personal ideas and feelings is blocked and so it is any attempt to dialogue and communication. It seems an everlasting situation which Romania cannot escape.
Journal: Anuarul Institutului de Cercetări Socio-Umane »Gheorghe Şincai« al Academiei Române
- Issue Year: 2009
- Issue No: 12
- Page Range: 53-62
- Page Count: 10
- Language: English
