The Birthday Party by Harold Pinter
Pre-Viewing Tasks:
- · Harold Pinter – the man and his works
- · Comedy of Menace: Whose plays are known so? Who termed it? What are its peculiar characteristics? How is it different from Absurd Theatre?
Harold Pinter's 'The Birthday Party' tells the story of several characters at an English seaside boarding house. Seemingly innocent situations spiral out of control as the characters' monotonous lives descend into chaos.
Birthday Party, In act one was started with the mourning time in play Herold Pinter not uses out side of home but in movie he uses setting out side of as a street. He shows camera effect as a perspective of car driver and with disgusting sound use with intentionally because of this effect he make his movie powerful than the play. Conversation of Meg and Petey tries to convey a unknown fear what was going to happening starting of the movie don’t show face of car driver so it is also symbol of unknown fear. And also mirror also a symbol when Meg see her face in mirror she looks happy but mirror show always unrealistic image. In movie voice of airplane landing it also shows threatening effect of world war. Herold Pinter writes about his own past and childhood experience.
Windows and door are also uses for symbol. And Standly constant fearful one after another way MCCan convinces to Gold berg you have to do it is your duty. And MC Cann was constantly observing so it is also show his fearful mind. In starting of act two MC Cann broken a news paper cutting it shows inner stress and he avoid Standly. And forcefully celebration of Standly’ of Birthday . How a forcefully society make you celebrity so after celebration keep our self ready for downfall and behind on it comedy of menace. Society don’t leave alone as a artist so this event was free to interpret that he may also singed some contract also. Mac Cann and Goldberg ask question to Standly and Standly not give proper answer. So it shows a power and lower position. How a one artist breakdown himself behalf of society. The dialogue of question and answer it also shows child hood experience of Pinter When he passed from British colony he suffer a lot because of he was Jew.
Pinter the way he write women character it shows that in this play women don’t like see a reality live in only illusion. And Pinter also shows that the play was constantly moved ahead perspective of Standly. In act three as an artist Standly lost his creativity. The pieces of newspaper are also shows broken personality of Standly. So news paper was use as a symbol. The laughing of Lulu is also a sinister laughing we can compare with witch laugh in the forest. Close room and darker setting are shoes the room prison and Standly was a prisoner. The game of Blindman’s bluff it is also very symbolic. This symbol referred theme of blindness and man groping in the darkness search for identity and search for Existential human predicament. And another was a plight of an artist. and toy drum was a symbol of a broken personality of Standly. And meg say it is still playing so after meet society as a artist he dose not make any creative art.
While – Viewing Tasks:
While viewing the movie of "The Birthday Party" it's spread a very interesting parts to observe something new. Camera techniques must be make a huge vital role in this movie. It started with showing absurdity by used of blank chairs on the beach side. The massi kitchen and the symbol of cornflakes for morning breakfast drives the concept of something weird.
In the movie we find the relationship between Meg and Stanley. The significance of darkness to define the reality and fake. Artificial concern, artificial love, artificial care and many more things we can found by this movie. Some meaningless screens and meaningless talks we can find out in this movie. Sometimes we feel Goldberg, Mccann and Stanley know each others and sometimes we feel they are just guest of the boarding house run by Meg and Petey. Meg's speech show the true love for Stanley. The broken drum is the also symbol of broken trust, broken feelings. In the birthday party happens something weird and unconventional technique of representation. In that party in the darkness Lulu raped by Stanley. But on the next morning all that situations are normal and everyone forgets about that night.
- Post-Viewing Tasks:
- · Why are two scenes of Lulu omitted from the movie?
As we discussed in the article that there is absence of Lulu’s in two scenes from the movie, because changes in the film have to do essentially not with the sequence of events or the dialogues but it depends on how we read the texture of the play or find the distinctive characteristic in the character is more important.
As per my understanding, sometimes it happens that some scenes are relevant to the film that’s why it remains in the film. There is nothing deep into absence of some scene from the text or in the film. It is just because Director can’t omit those scenes from the film because somehow it shows human nature, characteristic and condition of the society in his time.
- · Is movie successful in giving us the effect of menace? Where you able to feel it while reading the text?
We can see the effect of menace in the movie, because while reading the play we can sense that Stanley has a mysterious past which we are not informed about. I felt this while reading the long conversation between McCann, Stanley and Goldberg.
- · Do you feel the effect of lurking danger while viewing the movie? Where you able to feel the same while reading the text.
While watching the movie I felt the effect of lurking danger because as movie proceeds towards the end and other side lurking danger also rises in my mind. It is obvious that noise of things like constant beating of the drums and knocking door, humming sound, voice of characters creates danger in mind but silence creates more danger than noise of something.
In act Two I founded many pauses and silence where nobody speaks it arouses curiosity and at the same time the response that comes after the silence is equally mysterious. That creates danger in my mind. Or in the text where at last Stanley shows up as clean-shaven, well dressed and yet is forcibly taken to some unknown destination. It created danger in my mind. It shows that when things are in order it doesn’t mean that it goes smoothly, here we can see that everything is alright but vitality of life is not there.
- What do you read in 'newspaper' in the movie? Petey is reading newspaper to Meg, it torn into pieces by McCain, pieces are hidden by Petey in last scene.
In the movie we find that Petey reads newspaper everyday in the morning and so it becomes routine for him and the news which contains so many emotions but as a regular reader he cannot feel it. Same if we connect it with life of Stanley then we would be able to realize that Stanley’s life contains so many pain as an artist but how it is torn by McCann and Goldberg it goes appropriate with the symbol of newspaper.
When acts opens we find Petey reads newspaper and at last scene we find same situation but slight change in it is that torn pieces of newspaper are hidden by Petey because it shows that habit of reading newspaper kills his sensibility to feel pain of others. And he has no courage to accept the reality that’s why he hides the pieces of newspaper and acts like nothing has happened with Stanley.
- Camera is positioned over the head of McCain when he is playing Blind Man's Buff and is positioned at the top with a view of room like a cage (trap) when Stanley is playing it. What interpretations can you give to these positioning of camera?
When camera moves over the head of McCann while he was playing the Blind Man’s Buff, it showed that he is in power position and can destroy anything that he wants. Angle of camera is over the head of McCann that symbolically represents the power position. We can connect it with history and McCann with Adolf Hitler.
When camera moves over Stanley we can see a view of room like cage that shows actual condition and state of mind of Stanley that how he is imprisoned by his past as an artist and he has no hope to come out from that, uncertainty of life is lurking over him like a cage. Because as an artist he feels the same uncertainty in the past and now he is going to face another reality.
- "Pinter restored theater to its basic elements: an enclosed space and unpredictable dialogue, where people are at the mercy of one another and pretense crumbles."
Yes, it does happened in the movie, we can see blurred dialogues, and with this space, etc. We can't understand it without a doubt.
- · How does viewing movie help in better understanding of the play ‘The Birthday Party’ with its typical characteristics (like painteresque, pause, silence, menace, lurking danger)?
Movie helps me in better understanding of the play ‘The Birthday Party’ in the text we can’t imagine that why character takes a pause or silence there in between their constant talk and also in the text I can’t feel menacing effect or lurking danger in any situation because its above my imagination. While watching the movie audio- visual effect gives me more clear idea to understand the exact pause or silence.
Though they want to say so many things but rather than selecting words to express it they chooses silence or pause. In the movie we find that danger is lurking through hatch and peeping out behind door or noise of knocking door or in the blackout scene. Menacing effect is there because all the characters are suffering from the unknown fear. It may happen that they laugh because they want to forget the fear that they can’t face it.
- · With which of the following observations you agree:
o “It probably wasn't possible to make a satisfactory film of "The Birthday Party."
o “It's impossible to imagine a better film of Pinter's play than this sensitive, disturbing version directed by William Friedkin". (Ebert)
According to me both has right is at its own place, because everything has its own limitation and it can’t go beyond the limitation. Same thing if we apply here in the movie or in the text of the play then we realize that both has its own charm to satisfy the minds of the readers or the viewers.
· ● If you were director or screenplay writer, what sort of difference would you make in the making of movie?
If I was director of the movie then I would have reduced the sounds of things that constantly irritates me while watching the movie. Next I would like to change is unnecessary things that are lying in the room and I would give more space to person rather than the things.
· ● Who would be your choice of actors to play the role of characters?
This film is great in it self, I don’t feel anything to change. But may be I will add the scene of Lulu because I don’t think Pinter has written it purposelessly. Other than that I don’t think movie needs any further change.
If I have to choose the actors for this movie I will choose…
Stanley – Ranveer Kapoor
Goldberg – Paresh Rawal
MacCann –Irfan Khan
Petey – Anupam Kher
Meg – Amrita Singh
Lulu – Priyanka Chopara
Words:2010 , Image: 7 , Video:2
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