NEW IB ENGLISH LITERATURE COURSE BD SOMANI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL MUMBAI. EMAIL andrew.callahan@bdsint.org
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This video constructs an idea of the representation of women in Greek Theatre. What I found most interesting is Medea's character. Medea, is a representation of all the characteristics found in individual women put together. She embodied the passion, the jealousy, the hurt felt by betrayal, and the breakdown of her family, felt by any woman in a given situation. The portrayal of her character invokes a certain power and influence over the male characters. Characteristsics of helplessness, and vulnerability because of the constraints of her gender invokes the burden, suffering and predicament on women in society. Euripides writing reflects the plight and inability of the women to express or stand up for themselves.
The ideas presented in the video helped me realise that what makes Medea such an interesting character is the fact that she was such a dominating female character in a society where female's were treated as inferiors and whose opinions were never considered. This is perhaps the reason why she was not accepted in Corinth. Even though Jason had committed the same brutal crimes as her, he was readily accepted into the royal family. However, Medea remained an outcast. In addition to this she only committed the crimes in order to help Jason, yet she was the only one who had to bear the consequences.
What also occurred to me is that the nature of power, in association to women, has evolved greatly from 431 B.C. As time passed, woman gained the power to influence the minds of the men in their family. This is evident in Macbeth, which set in the 11th century. Hence Medea doesn't only portray the state of women during that time period, but also reflects upon how the power dynamics have shifted since then.
Another aspect that intrigued me is that often, an engaging plot is produced by depicting a power struggle or defiance to power. This is evident in modern plays too.
This video really helped me understand in the importance of women in ancient greek as well as modern theatre. Perhaps women participated heavily in religion at the time so it is possible that they were excluded from the drama festivals such as -Dionysus; where the dramas that have come down to us were performed.According to me, women did not participate in the drama that has come down to us simply because of custom. Medea’s characteristics do not only relate to ancient theatre but can also be seen today in many plays such as “Top Girls by Caryl Churchill” written in the late 1980’s. There is an importance of women in every field; today women are an instrument of social change.
This video helped me understand how a patriarchal society could create as strong a female character as Medea. In an age where the primary objectives of women were to deliver children and organise festivals, one would not expect to find that men thought women to possess such resilience and strength. One thought that entered my mind after watching this video was: what if such plays represented what men feared the most? We are always making movies and writing books about the things we dread the most. Maybe these plays were used as a method of predicting what would happen if a woman were to rise up against the society. The men of ancient Greece clearly knew women to be strong willed, which might have led them to suppress them in the first place, just like we try to suppress our fears. Medea showed me an instance of a person reaching their tipping point, and this is what it might have shown to the men in Athens.
The ideas in this video really show how women are represented in Greek culture. It is interesting that even though the society in which most of the theatre is based is largely patriarchal, the character of Medea is extremely dominating. What I found extremely interesting is that these characters exist although the women in the theatre were performed and performed for men. So even though the society as a whole, in Greece was very misogynistic, they tried to express womens' problems in their theatre. Playwrights tried to voice the oppressed people in that age through their play. However, Medea still stands out of the pack among other Greek plays. This is perhaps because the story told in Medea is quite taboo, and unprecedented. The story of a mother fuelled by enough hatred to kill her own children is unheard of. Medea is character full of passion and anger, and this portrayal of women in Greek culture was extremely intriguing.
This video helped gain a deeper insight on Medea's character. Common knowledge and many instances in the play tell us that women were subjected to inferiority. Therefore, Medea's character is interesting since she was a powerful, revenge-seeking woman in a male dominated society. In the past, plays and live performances consisted of an all male cast. Even women characters were played by men. This indicates that even though the woman in the play held great significance and importance to the plot, they never would have the same in real life. Ancient Greek theatre began as a part of a festival for men only. This comes in contrast to the importance they give to women in their plays. Women did not participate in the production of the play, however, they held significantly important roles which displayed the power and political voice they did not have in real life. Women in Greek theatre were interesting since, like it is said in the video, they were driven to do things that they wouldn't do in real life. Understanding how loss, betrayal, anger and grief can lead people to take drastic actions is a fascinating aspect when reading Greek plays. This video shines light on all Greek theatre female characters and especially, for me, helped me understand Medea's character during that time.
The depiction of women in the Greek culture was the most interesting topic discussed in this video. Understanding the concept, mindset and lack of logic behind this way of thinking helped me understand Medea's character and study the text on a deeper level. The impression I got was that women weren't given much importance in general and in theatrical productions. They were noticed ("seen but not heard"), however never given the opportunity to showcase talent or even view it on stage. Although the stories told at the time did include women characters - the existing social hierarchy that viewed them as capable only to give birth and serve - never let real women recognise their power. This was ironic as Greek mythology often consisted stories about strong female Goddesses.
This video really paints a picture of how women are presented in Greek culture. I now know why Medea is an extremely compelling character. Although women were treated subserviently and were considered to be inferior to man, Medea’s a very influential character because of her dominating and powerful personality. In spite of the fact that Jason and Medea were responsible for the same misconduct, Jason was accepted and Medea was not. The reason for this was probably because of her personality. Due to the character of Medea, the play of Medea exceedingly distinguishable from the rest of Greek drama.
This video constructs an idea of the representation of women in Greek Theatre. What I found most interesting is Medea's character. Medea, is a representation of all the characteristics found in individual women put together. She embodied the passion, the jealousy, the hurt felt by betrayal, and the breakdown of her family, felt by any woman in a given situation. The portrayal of her character invokes a certain power and influence over the male characters. Characteristsics of helplessness, and vulnerability because of the constraints of her gender invokes the burden, suffering and predicament on women in society. Euripides writing reflects the plight and inability of the women to express or stand up for themselves.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe ideas presented in the video helped me realise that what makes Medea such an interesting character is the fact that she was such a dominating female character in a society where female's were treated as inferiors and whose opinions were never considered. This is perhaps the reason why she was not accepted in Corinth. Even though Jason had committed the same brutal crimes as her, he was readily accepted into the royal family. However, Medea remained an outcast. In addition to this she only committed the crimes in order to help Jason, yet she was the only one who had to bear the consequences.
ReplyDeleteWhat also occurred to me is that the nature of power, in association to women, has evolved greatly from 431 B.C. As time passed, woman gained the power to influence the minds of the men in their family. This is evident in Macbeth, which set in the 11th century. Hence Medea doesn't only portray the state of women during that time period, but also reflects upon how the power dynamics have shifted since then.
Another aspect that intrigued me is that often, an engaging plot is produced by depicting a power struggle or defiance to power. This is evident in modern plays too.
This video really helped me understand in the importance of women in ancient greek as well as modern theatre. Perhaps women participated heavily in religion at the time so it is possible that they were excluded from the drama festivals such as -Dionysus; where the dramas that have come down to us were performed.According to me, women did not participate in the drama that has come down to us simply because of custom. Medea’s characteristics do not only relate to ancient theatre but can also be seen today in many plays such as “Top Girls by Caryl Churchill” written in the late 1980’s. There is an importance of women in every field; today women are an instrument of social change.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.theguardian.com/stage/2012/may/15/modern-drama-women-theatre
This video helped me understand how a patriarchal society could create as strong a female character as Medea. In an age where the primary objectives of women were to deliver children and organise festivals, one would not expect to find that men thought women to possess such resilience and strength. One thought that entered my mind after watching this video was: what if such plays represented what men feared the most? We are always making movies and writing books about the things we dread the most. Maybe these plays were used as a method of predicting what would happen if a woman were to rise up against the society. The men of ancient Greece clearly knew women to be strong willed, which might have led them to suppress them in the first place, just like we try to suppress our fears. Medea showed me an instance of a person reaching their tipping point, and this is what it might have shown to the men in Athens.
ReplyDeleteThe ideas in this video really show how women are represented in Greek culture. It is interesting that even though the society in which most of the theatre is based is largely patriarchal, the character of Medea is extremely dominating. What I found extremely interesting is that these characters exist although the women in the theatre were performed and performed for men. So even though the society as a whole, in Greece was very misogynistic, they tried to express womens' problems in their theatre. Playwrights tried to voice the oppressed people in that age through their play.
ReplyDeleteHowever, Medea still stands out of the pack among other Greek plays. This is perhaps because the story told in Medea is quite taboo, and unprecedented. The story of a mother fuelled by enough hatred to kill her own children is unheard of. Medea is character full of passion and anger, and this portrayal of women in Greek culture was extremely intriguing.
This video helped gain a deeper insight on Medea's character. Common knowledge and many instances in the play tell us that women were subjected to inferiority. Therefore, Medea's character is interesting since she was a powerful, revenge-seeking woman in a male dominated society.
ReplyDeleteIn the past, plays and live performances consisted of an all male cast. Even women characters were played by men. This indicates that even though the woman in the play held great significance and importance to the plot, they never would have the same in real life. Ancient Greek theatre began as a part of a festival for men only.
This comes in contrast to the importance they give to women in their plays. Women did not participate in the production of the play, however, they held significantly important roles which displayed the power and political voice they did not have in real life.
Women in Greek theatre were interesting since, like it is said in the video, they were driven to do things that they wouldn't do in real life. Understanding how loss, betrayal, anger and grief can lead people to take drastic actions is a fascinating aspect when reading Greek plays. This video shines light on all Greek theatre female characters and especially, for me, helped me understand Medea's character during that time.
The depiction of women in the Greek culture was the most interesting topic discussed in this video. Understanding the concept, mindset and lack of logic behind this way of thinking helped me understand Medea's character and study the text on a deeper level. The impression I got was that women weren't given much importance in general and in theatrical productions. They were noticed ("seen but not heard"), however never given the opportunity to showcase talent or even view it on stage. Although the stories told at the time did include women characters - the existing social hierarchy that viewed them as capable only to give birth and serve - never let real women recognise their power. This was ironic as Greek mythology often consisted stories about strong female Goddesses.
ReplyDeleteThis video really paints a picture of how women are presented in Greek culture. I now know why Medea is an extremely compelling character. Although women were treated subserviently and were considered to be inferior to man, Medea’s a very influential character because of her dominating and powerful personality. In spite of the fact that Jason and Medea were responsible for the same misconduct, Jason was accepted and Medea was not. The reason for this was probably because of her personality. Due to the character of Medea, the play of Medea exceedingly distinguishable from the rest of Greek drama.
ReplyDelete