The Birthday Party

Hello friends,

Harold Pinter´s separation of the human condition is artfully embodied in his plays. His ability to bring on stage controversial issues as identity, absurdity of human actions and chaos of life along with the implementation of new theatrical techniques distinguish him from his contemporaries.

This blog tries to explore into and analyze one of Pinter´s twentieth century leading plays, The Birth Day Party and its film version. This takes an effort to study the ontological dilemma that has compelled these humans to resort to absolute isolation, dragging their life toward chaos, anxiety, distress, fear, threat and  absurdism.

The play “The Birthday Party” delineates the predicaments faced by the people in the second half of the 20th century. It represents the existential problems among the post-war generations who have given up life and stuck in utter seclusion. The elderly class has been living life by a normal means; however, they are made to suffer by younger class in ample ways. Life in post-war period is seen as a dark-phase in the history of England. The circumstances were completely unfavorable to sustain and lead a life in the certain optimistic mood. Pinter has portrayed this sense of being and existence in dramatic approach through his narratives giving the image of menace and suffering in post-war period.

 

It represents the youth who have given up the external hostile world. So, the characters presented in the play are idle, sleepy, and dirty most of the time. Stanley, the protagonist is given refuge by the elderly couple in the boarding house. He usually wakes up late in the day and reflects upon the post-war young London generation. Such individuals are filthy, messy and a blot on family and society. These individuals have dragged families towards terror and anxiety. The personal and family dignity of such individuals is devalued and lost. The play portrays the hard work done by elder generation in society, who leave their homes at dawn and work throughout the day until dusk. Such individuals strive a lot to keep their house running. The elderly couple Petey and Meg give the impression of being firmly moored in their daily life. Their poor meals represent the turmoil in their day-to-day life. 

This blog consequently highlights the following as contained in the play: Pinter’s bird-eye view, a mystery play, paranoiac protagonist, hopelessness and weirdness, aggression—an existential tool, identity and isolation, existential lingo, and strive to survive.

In the play, there are six characters and they constitute a microcosm of society. They mirror the economic division of the society and the division between exploiters and exploited. Goldberg and McCann are exploiters, managers, operators, and control the life as well as decision makers.

The modern individuals struggle for dominance over one another, and initiate their interaction in an aggressive fashion. This we detect in Stanley’s first encounter with Goldberg and McCann where he strives to achieve supremacy.

Thus, the play reflects the ridiculous state of the individuals in the second half of the 20th century. It presents the grimness and despair in man’s life. Pinter’s characters are bewildered. They have put themselves in utter darkness and are unable to recognize their true nature and purpose. The modern life at each and every instance shocked the general folk in the post-war Western society. The play declares the multidimensional chaos, arbitrariness and illogical episodes at their virtual facades. It reinforces the idea of discreet solution to the existing human predicaments that have ailed and crippled the societies. The socio-political factors render the individuals meaningless. Existence is questioned and yearning to seek self-identity remains unsatisfied as the search for identity remains inconclusive and elusive.

Post viewing task

(1)Why are two scenes of Lulu omitted from the movie?

Lulu's character  has ambiguity. We can't define her character with  particular angle. According to me , it is difficult to justify her character and her behaviour which she did in The Birthday party. We can't say clearly whether she wanted or she was seduced by two strangers because she is consciously enjoy the party and also aware from the atmosphere of the party.   The scenes are performed behind the curtain and audiences has been informed what happened with her in the play. If Lulu is complaining , it means something is happened with her and she is not able to raise voice against the power. It looks like the dumbness of the society .  It describe that So many things  are happened around us and we are not able to stand against it and accept it as it is.

Means we see towards things that  There is nothing  going wrong .It is also the part of society. Lulu is important character in the play to describe artistic  inspiration of Stanley and therefore she gets much space in the play rather than The film.  And may be describe the real sense of society / Real mirror of the society two  scenes of Lulu omitted from the movie.

(3)What do you read in 'newspaper' in the movie? Petey is reading newspaper to Meg, it torn into pieces by McCain, pieces are hidden by Petey in last scene.

Newspaper is important in our daily life because it provides information from various parts of the world. A newspaper serves as an important medium to control corruption and scandal. The main topics of general interest in the newspaper include politics, social issues, sports, economy, films and the stock market.

Newspaper is the most important symbol of the play. 

Through the Newspaper what actually writer wants to indicate?

 

Why we read Newspaper daily?

 

To aware about reality. But in the play - writer uses the newspaper to hide the self because Petey can't able to face the reality of life. McCann who tore the newspaper that indicate that he destroys the spirit of Stanley as artist. Newspaper is torn into pieces by  McCain and hide by Petey that ascribe that Petey himself broken down through  heart by McCain and Goldberg  and he is unable to do anything. So, he hides that reality from everyone by hiding the piece of newspaper.

 

(4) Camera is positioned over the head of McCain when he is playing Blind Man's Buff and is positioned at the top with a view of room like a cage (trap) when Stanley is playing it. What interpretations can you give to these positioning of camera? 

Camera coverage is the additional footage the director and director of photography shoot so that later the director can make alternative creative choices in the way the scene is cut, in the way it is paced, and in the way the actor's performance is emphasized.  There are a lot of roles on a film set. And, while they all might be important in their own right, none is perhaps more critical than the camera operator. You know, the person who actually handles the camera for every shot and scene.

Camera Speaks with the different set up of scenes. And in the game of “Blind Man's Bluff"- it is used very well. Camera speaks with different angles and that we see clearly in that particular scene. When McCain plays camera is over the head that describes the mental condition and search for something.  While Stanley plays the game camera is over the top that indicates that he is bind up with confusion, the narrowness of the space is clearly visible to audiences that describe that as artist is not free and he is unable to escape from the society. His life is in full of danger and his inner aspiration also can't help him in his loneliness.

(4)"Pinter restored theater to its basic elements: an enclosed space and unpredictable dialogue, where people are at the mercy of one another and pretense crumbles." (Pinter, Art, Truth & Politics: Excerpts from the 2005 Nobel Lecture). Does this happen in the movie?

 

Yes, Certainly we can say that "Pinter restored theatre to its basic elements: an enclosed space and unpredictable dialogue, where people are at the mercy of one another and pretense crumbles" happen in both in movie as well as play also.  While watching movie we become thoughtless and have no any link to connect  but then even it somehow shows that ' pretense crumbles' is not always for audience.

 

(5)How does viewing movie help in better understanding of the play ‘The Birthday Party’ with its typical characteristics (like painteresque, pause, silence, menace, lurking danger)?

Movie is successful in giving us the effect of menace. The Birthday Party is a tragedy with a number of comic elements. it is a comedy, which also produces an overwhelming tragic effect in audience mind. Some indefinable and vague fear keeps our nerves on an edge. 

We feel uneasy all the time even when we are laughing or smiling with amusement. 

If we talk about setting and atmosphere which is used in the play -it is somehow terrible and fearful but surprisingly we don't know fear for what? 

By whom? 

And what is the reason behind the fear?

 and all such kind of questions always remains as unanswered.  In the play it seems like that all characters constantly try to ignore their past with laughter which is frightened and terrible for them. The play is already mention in category of  "Comedy of Menace" and I felt the effect of the menace, first in background setting which is described with grey shadow. The game - "Blind Man's Buff’ which is end darkness. The torrent of language/questions of McCann and Goldberg , and  dialogues like,...Force to sit Stanley and try to overpower among themselves.  Thus, though somehow it is comedy audience feel the effect of menace throughout the play.   

With which of the following observations you agree:

 

"It probably wasn't possible to make a satisfactory film of "The Birthday Party."

 “It's impossible to imagine a better film of Pinter's play than this sensitive, disturbing version directed by William Friedkin”

 

The director takes freedom to direct the film and shows that angle only he wants to show. But when the writer and script writer is one there is only one point of view to describe so it is much faithful to play also. 

The visualization gives much impression to our mind and sometime seeing is more important rather than reading. While watching the  movie , we see and feel the expression and the background of sound ,and emotions and feelings of characters. We also feel each characteristic like.. 

Pause, silence and effect of menace during watching the movie which is not possible while reading the play.I agree with the second statement that “It's impossible to imagine a better film of Pinter's play than this sensitive, disturbing version directed by William Friedkin”.

Thank you.

 

 References:

 

Deer, Harriet, and Irving Deer. “Pinter's ‘The Birthday Party’: The Film and the Play.” South Atlantic Bulletin, vol. 45, no. 2, 1980, pp. 26–30. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3199140. Accessed 29 Nov. 2020.

Harold, Pinter. “THE BIRTHDAY PARTY.” The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Birthday Party, by Oliver Optic, www.gutenberg.org/files/21901/21901-h/21901-h.htm.

Lesser, Simon O. “Reflections on Pinter's ‘The Birthday Party.’” Contemporary Literature, vol. 13, no. 1, 1972, pp. 34–43. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1207418. Accessed 29 Nov. 2020.

Mohindra, Vinita. “Existential Chaos: Analysis of Harold Pinter's ‘The Birthday Party.’” Asian Research Journal of Arts & Social Sciences.