Thursday 23 February 2012

Scoop vs Stanley

Scoop Rosenbam and Stanley Kowalski are both characters from plays, The Heidi Chronicles and A Streetcar Named Desire, respectively. Both are portrayed in a negative light by the playwrights, and are used to show the negative sides of men. This is done in a variety of ways, and very different ones, from character to character.

Scoop is shown as a very analytical man, who rates everything, including women. He states at one point that Heidi is a perfect 10, but that he settled for a good 6. This shows the objectification that Scoop feels towards women. However, he does it out of habit, not out of any malicious intention. He is seen as rating bands, newspapers, and all sorts of other things, which shows him as simply being analytical, and not emotional.

This is a stark contrast to Stanley, who again rates women, but in a much more sinister way. He looks women up and down at the first chance he gets. He objectifies them, treats them like rubbish. Stanley treats women with malicious intent, even famously raping Blanche. This is completely different to Scoop, who it is possible to see as timid towards women.

Scoop is scared of what would happen if he was to date or even marry Heidi, he fears the inevitable conflict that it would bring for them, and knowing that it would make them less happy, he doesn't "make a move". This shows him to care about Heidi a lot more than is immediately obvious in the play. Scoop is very pragmatic, and does what he believes is best for the situation, regardless of its immediate impact, or its "moral" status.  Stanley is similar, in that he doesn't care what the action looks like, morally, but he doesn't take his time. Stanley acts on instinct, and through passion

To be honest, the way to look at the comparison between the characters is like this. Both are two sides of the same mindset. Scoop represents the analytical and calculating side of the male psyche, the side that will take care of himself, and will be pragmatic and cold, doing what's best for himself. Stanely represents the passionate and impulsive side of the male psyche, and represents men who are completely governed by emotion and impulse.

Wednesday 22 February 2012

The Scoop On Scoop!

Me and Komali wrote this post together, the original being on her blog.
  • Scoop is not the antagonist; he is a foil to Heidi’s character. They are similar in some regards, but very different in others. At Scoop’s wedding, he tells Heidi:Scoop: “But I couldn’t dangle you anymore. And that’s why I got married today. So.” Heidi: “So. So now it’s all my fault.”
    Scoop: “Sure it is. You want other things in life than I do.”
    Heidi: “Really, like what?”
    Scoop: “Self-fulfillment. Self determination. Self-exaggeration.”
    Heidi: “That’s exactly what you want.”
    Scoop: “Right. Then you’d be competing with me.”
    They have similar interests, but Heidi does not want to compete with Scoop.
  • I think Wasserstein agrees with the concept of feminism, but does not agree with the hypocritical approach most women take in order to combat inequality of the sexes, which is by portraying men as evil or chauvinistic. Scoop is thoroughly an intellectual and often highlights Heidi’s ignorance and lack of awareness about herself or her surroundings. For example, in the scene where the two meet, Heidi is drawn to Scoop, but he is acting superior, so she chooses to play a game with him by lying about her name and why she is at the McCarthy convention. When Heidi says that she finds Scoop irritating, he says, “That’s the first honest thing you’ve said all night!” Even then, Heidi doesn’t realize what he means- he knows her name isn’t Susan because she is wearing a name tag that says “Heidi,” which Heidi has conveniently forgotten about.
  • Scoop also says, “You are too eager to categorize.” This shows how others interpret feminists, who don’t consider the fact that people are multi-faceted. They believe all men are evil and chauvinistic, but in reality, they can have other sides to them- kinder personalities. Scoop’s way of speaking, from the beginning, shows his maturity, whereas feminists can come across as somewhat childlike. At Scoop’s wedding, he speaks about “life choices” and Heidi says, “I have not made them yet.” Like children, feminists at that time wanted to own everything, they felt that was the way to establish their strength. Wasserstein believes that is excessive and that they should grasp more “adult” ideas.
  • I think the biggest message Scoop is used to convey is that men will settle, but feminist women always want more; they cannot be satisfied. They pass the limit and their argument for equality becomes invalid because they have already achieved it. Scoop is “willing to settle for a secure six” when he marries Lisa, but Heidi never marries because she refuses to accept anyone less than a perfect 10.
  • What techniques does Wasserstein use to convey this message? Dialogue
“I don’t want women ever to think they have to have it all. I think that’s a revolting concept. It’s so false! Sometimes you’ll have some things, and sometimes you’ll have other things. And you do not need it all at once; it’s not good for you.” -Emma Thompson

Sunday 5 February 2012

A Streecar Named Desire Film Comparison

The play “A Streetcar Named Desire” was very similar to the movie version when it came to plot. I felt that the lines recited in the movie were exactly the same in the play. However, a main problem I had with the movie was the actors. The actors were not exactly how I had pictured them while reading the play, and I prefer the characters I imagined in my mind.

The emotion that I felt from the characters while reading the play was much more powerful than in the movie. For instance, when Blanche was about to be raped by Stanley in the play, there was a lot more of a build up and nervousness felt while reading. When I watched this scene in class, I didn’t think Blanche showed any emotions nor was scared whatsoever right before she was raped in the movie. Also, in our present society, the rape scene would definitely be shown. Our society has changed drastically since this movie was made, and in today’s media a scene such as this would be expected to be shown in full detail. I found this humorous in a strange way that things like this are expected to be shown in movies because that is what the media wants to see. Times have changed a lot and I am not sure if it is for better or for worse. People want realness in film now and want everything to be revealed and shown, no matter how extreme it may be.

Blanche was portrayed as very sexual in the movie, and I didn’t think she was as sexual in the play. In the play, I felt that Blanche was more of a snooty person and thought she was better than everyone else. In the film she didn’t give this feeling to me as the viewer, but I felt that she was more into her sexual encounters with men. Stella was older looking than I had imagined while reading the play. I felt that Stella was older looking than Stanley and she was very high strung when it came to her relationship with Stanley. From watching their relationship despite the bad acting, the viewer could tell that Stanley had Stella wrapped around his finger. One similarity about Stella in the movie and the play was her weakness. It was upsetting to see someone drop everything for a person that doesn’t appreciate you half as much as you appreciate them and this was the way that Stella and Stanley’s relationship worked. I was very surprising to see how good of an actor Stanley’s character was, especially for his time. Stanley was better than I imagined in the movie than in the play and was very good at showing his true colors that were described in the play. Stanley did a good job of making Blanche feel smaller than a bug and stepping on her whenever he wished, and was abusive to Stella and embarrassed her whenever he wanted to.