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David Mamet's play Edmond
Edmond is a controversial, but critically acclaimed play produced by Mamet in 1982. The play was adapted for film in 2006, although it is a good adaptation, it lacks some of the atmosphere that Mamet manages to produce on stage- possibly because it was directed by Stuart Gordon, rather than Mamet himself. Edmond is a respectable New York professional, who falls from grace into the underground sleaze of a contemporary urban nightmare. Edmond visits a fortune teller who issues him with the news “you are not where you belong!” Edmond interprets this as a need to change his lifestyle; attracted to the ideas of fast money and sex, he embarks on a path which sees him leaving his wife, visit grungy bars and brothels. Increasingly disenchanted with the world, Edmond’s homophobic, misogynistic and racist undertones come bursting out in a torrent of abuse. His life spirals out of control, he gets beaten up, attacks strangers, is arrested for murder, finally ending up in prison. Having had an awakening to the idea of redemption, we see him befriend his black cellmate. The black man rapes Edmond, but in the last scene they both make amends. Mamet uses Edmond to express his ideas about the problems of individualism; one of his darkest works, it explores the idea of dystopia- a frightening world where people, out for themselves, trample on the rights of others. A subtext is that human beings basically crave genuine human connections, and instant gratification is the urge to fill the void when these connections are missing. Edmond articulates several modern day prejudices- sexism, racism and homophobia. The fact that Edmond and his cellmate forgive each other is the message of hope for deliverance from dystopia. In Edmond, Mamet has taken his subversive and comedic style to extremes; the play is peppered with racist and sexist slurs. For this reason, it has been received with much controversy, with universities and colleges banning productions. At Otterbein College, the play was cancelled because of threats of violence; students took steps to ban the play, contacting attorneys and sending copies to the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People. For everything Mamet - Visit www.mametnerd.com |
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