Here's a link to the text of Oleanna, a play by David Mamet. I consider it a very good read for anyone interested in Men's Rights. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

Perseus1111 · 2011-01-29T16:55:32+00:00

I really enjoyed this play. (read in college) Thanks for link! The way he volleys power in dialogue makes it like a tennis match to read.

It sparked so much debate, too, because it was ambivalent, imo. People want to see him as misogynist, but I think that's really simplistic. It would be easy to dismiss any author who was just a mouthpiece for a political point of view, but he affords limited dignity and strength/depth to Carol and her point of view, by the end. And, John is often depicted as so weak that one could equally label the tone of the play misandrist.

There might be a temptation to read the text as though it straightforwardly advocates a kind of MRA point of view, but it's important to remember that Mamet himself didn't view the work that way - he believed in both points of view, and both main characters are at turns ridiculous and articulate, or both. I particularly love how they both get so pompous and think Mamet captured perfect verisimilitude of academic life.

There's an interesting interview with him where he talks about it: http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/7207

So, while I don't think he himself was any kind of ideologue, (he would be a crap author if he was) plays like this invite fresh and profoundly challenging takes on gender and power issues much more subtly and effectively than schlock like Tyler Perry. He took a lot of shit for the play in strident feminist literary criticism, if I remember correctly, but that just makes it more enjoyable. <grin>

rantgrrl · 2011-01-29T17:35:42+00:00

My fucking god do I hate authors who write in 'realistic' diction.

This is so twee that it is rendered unreadable.

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