Analysis of Harvey Fierstein: A Playwright and His Loose Ends Play

While many will agree that Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is critically acclaimed to be one of the most entertaining and well-liked pieces that he has written, there tends to be a discrepancy over how the characters in the play are portrayed when it comes to the importance of gender roles. After reading James C Bulman’s article over the Globe’s more recent performance of Twelfth Night and Shakespeare’s original written version, I realized that there are many ways that this famous piece has been portrayed and each has its own pros and cons.

Another scene in the play that has a positive impact is when Michael tries to force Alan to play a game that required each person to call someone who he loves the most. Michael thought that Alan is also gay but in denial so he tries to urge Alan to “come out of the closet” by confessing to his true affection on the phone. So when Alan picks up the phone to call someone, everyone at the party thought that Alan is calling another gay man. But it turns out that Alan is calling his wife, his lover and soul mate. Michael is hurt by this acknowledgement because he was wrong about Alan. This scene exhibits not all men who may have conduct like a gay man is gay. Furthermore, it also shows that any man can have gay friends but he still can be characterized as a heterosexual.

says, “it is argued, never meant to write a play about the highly topical subject of

It is no secret that when Alison Bechdel was a child, homosexuality was not exactly met with open arms. Due to the unpleasant views many heterosexuals had in regards to homosexuality, Alison Bechdel was at first quite cautious when it came to being open about her newfound sexual orientation; however, she eventually opened herself up to her family, friends, and the world about who she is and did not let the political prejudices of others stop her. This is evident when Bechdel writes, “It was in that tremulous state that I determined to tell my parents. Keeping it from them had started to seem ludicrous anyway” (76). Here, Bechdel decides to come out to her parents, deciding that it was absurd not to tell them. Evidently, the prejudices of society could not keep Alison Bechdel down, and this resulted in her personality being shaped by the courage of being oneself, which is hardly an easy thing to

This approach to queer subtext has been has always been a part of Western media as we as we explored in the film “The Celluloid Closet” (1995). Queer representation for many years was an continuous uncategorized personification that was vaguely acknowledged but to those who understood the subtext, it became an undercurrent of complex coded information that eventually paved the way for the integration of queer identification within the hetero film storylines. Doty speaks about this and also mentions that at some point in time representation of queer culture and sexuality

Throughout the 1950’s, the United States belonged to the Leave It To Beaver era. Families were structured around a strong, hard working father and a wonderful homemaker mother. Children were brought up with solid ideologies on what society expects from them and were warned about living a different and dangerous life. Only one-year separates Tennessee William’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room from there publishing dates during this decade of unwavering beliefs. These texts were seen as extremely controversial during their time due to their themes of homosexuality. Sexual orientation was an awkward topic during such a “to the book” time period and these texts pushed the limits, making them remarkable and memorable works. Both Tennessee Williams and James Baldwin explore the panic men experience while trying to comprehend what sexual orientation they belong to and highlight the masculine gay man. These texts also examine the woman’s role in the mist of it all.

For many young theatre lovers, Stephen Sondheim is their introduction the the musical theatre world. Whether it be from Into the Woods to West Side Story, Sondheim has been a great inspiration to those wanting to be introduced to the musical theatre world. People praise Sondheim on his ability to create compelling characters and expanded worlds that the characters live in. What Sonheim is credited for most, however, is his creation of the plotless musical. He created a bunch of characters and then proceeded to round out their stories into one song. He took seven one act plays and created one musical. Company was created in the 1970s and reflected the values of the time while being able to still reflect the values of today.

By doing this, he is succesful in showing that gay men are the same as anyone else. The only difference is who they choose to share a sexual life with. Once again modeling reality, several characters are confident in their sexuality but are hesitant to admit to it.

Gay is a gifted mechanic who can make any vehicle run. Steinbeck allows for most of his characters to posses a double-sided appeal. All of the boys lead relatively normal lives by Cannery standards, but can be seen in two different lights. On one hand they are do-gooders, holy-men, martyrs, the type one would always want on their side. On the other hand, with their refined manipulative abilities, they can be perceived as bullies, bottom-feeders, and lowlifes. They are the instigators and problem-solvers; the straight-men and the comic reliefs; the villains and the heroes. With any role they play, they proceed to play the opposite.

The concept of gender is evolutionary and difficult to define, though it can be argued that traditionally females have been predominantly defined by their desirability, and males by their masculinity. The way a director presents gender in film can either inspire social change and conversation, or alternatively it can further reproduce social norms. In the case of the film’s discussed in this essay, it is clear that Baz Luhrmann captivates a younger audience and intentionally uses actor selection and the presentation of gender to transform a well-worn Shakespearean story into something new and evolved to inspire a younger audience. On the other

What’s great about this play is gives us insight into the past and focuses on an average family and provides lots of material to do a feminist analysis of.

He argues that psychologists as early as Freud have determined the importance of a person’s sexual identity in defining a person’s psychological make-up and then points out that it is impossible for a reader to divorce their sexuality from a reading of any text, that a reader brings to a text the entirety of his experiences and identity and therefore, he brings his sexual identity to the reading of a text also. I use the male pronoun at this point in this paper because the author of the article examined the homosexual male reader, which is separate from either the heterosexual identity and also separate from a lesbian identity because "the homosexual male, in spite of his ‘difference’ is still a biological man, and very importantly, he is a socially constructed man, with all that this implies for phallocentrism and patriarchy" (73). Therefore, it can be seen, a reader can neither divorce their sexual identity nor their gender identity from a reading of a text; in fact, because these factors play a major role in a reader’s psychological make-up, they also play a major role in a

For queer theorists, identity has been constructed through performativity, which is based on the opinion of Judith Butler. Butler (1990, p.25) believed that “ there is no gender identity behind the expression of gender; that identity is performatively constituted by the very ‘expressions’ that are said to be its results.” In other words, there is not any factor to produce the identity, but identity creates itself through performativity. One should imitate and repeat the gender expression again and again according to norms, then the identity will be constituted, which also shows that identity is fluid and constructed. Moreover, Jenkins (2000,2004) stated that a dynamic social process generates identity, so identity is not static but fluid and dynamic.

In Twelfth Night Shakespeare uses gender roles and cross dressing to create disguise. This creates a sense of gender ambiguity and this is what makes the audience laugh - but although it creates a sense of fun and liveliness it also examines

The play, placed at eminent place to the libertine, whose pursuit of sexual conquests seemed to reinforce the views of women as little more than sexual diversions for men. Despite Behn’s political investment in this upper-class concept of manhood, critics and scholars have ‘argued that her plays simply just offer celebrations of libertine masculinity.’ (Staves, 2004: 81)