Deep Thoughts
Yesterday I went to our local theater to see the play Doubt, which is apparently a very acclaimed play that I had never heard of. (See also: Art and Wit. What's up with the one-word play titles that end in "t"?) Anyway, I recommend it.
The playwright's (John Patrick Shanley) note in the beginning of the program discussed the idea behind the play--that we all have a crust that we show to the outside world. And we'll proclaim things about ourselves that way: I love tomatoes, hate conservative talk show hosts, and don't believe in God (for example). These can be deeply held beliefs that everyone who knows us knows to be true. But sometimes, says Shanley, things start to change deep inside, little doubts pop, and fissures start to appear in our outer crusts. Suddenly we're not sure about God, conservative talk show hosts are making sense, and tomatoes don't taste as good as they once did.
And slowly, these things push our way into consciousness and we have to act--to actually proclaim the opposite of what we once said we believed. It's disconcerting, and weird, and hard to admit. Who wants to turn around and say, after years of being known as an atheist or a republican or a tomato-lover that you're giving up what you once loudly and vehemently (or perhaps quietly and passionately) proclaimed as your truth.
Some people won't do it. They'll ignore the enormous cracks in their outer shell and pretend as if nothing has changed. Others will do it, reluctantly and with self-examination. And there are probably others who change themselves quickly--although I wonder how deeply their beliefs ran in the first place.
I didn't get all of this from the play itself, but after reading Shanley's notes, I'm beginning to see it in the text--and in real life, too.
The playwright's (John Patrick Shanley) note in the beginning of the program discussed the idea behind the play--that we all have a crust that we show to the outside world. And we'll proclaim things about ourselves that way: I love tomatoes, hate conservative talk show hosts, and don't believe in God (for example). These can be deeply held beliefs that everyone who knows us knows to be true. But sometimes, says Shanley, things start to change deep inside, little doubts pop, and fissures start to appear in our outer crusts. Suddenly we're not sure about God, conservative talk show hosts are making sense, and tomatoes don't taste as good as they once did.
And slowly, these things push our way into consciousness and we have to act--to actually proclaim the opposite of what we once said we believed. It's disconcerting, and weird, and hard to admit. Who wants to turn around and say, after years of being known as an atheist or a republican or a tomato-lover that you're giving up what you once loudly and vehemently (or perhaps quietly and passionately) proclaimed as your truth.
Some people won't do it. They'll ignore the enormous cracks in their outer shell and pretend as if nothing has changed. Others will do it, reluctantly and with self-examination. And there are probably others who change themselves quickly--although I wonder how deeply their beliefs ran in the first place.
I didn't get all of this from the play itself, but after reading Shanley's notes, I'm beginning to see it in the text--and in real life, too.
Labels: Big Questions
posted by Melanie at 9:36 PM
