Politics

1
Politics Theater

• By Danish Iqbal

2
Misrepresentation

• Theater is just entertainment
• Actors cannot be expected to be able to convey
  meaningful messages
• The scope of theater is too small to have a
  widespread impact on society as it relates to
  politics

3
Facts to Prove Otherwise

• Theater has been used by people to disseminate
  political thought since its inception
• Governments have used theater to control
  populations
• Citizens have used theater to show their
  dissatisfaction with the prevailing powers and to
  vent social anger

4
Theater Society

• Politics is a part of our lives whether we like
  it or not and has a great effect on society
• Theater is a reflection of society in the time in
  which it exists and therefore has a political
  facet to it
• For theater to be relevant, it must reflect
  something that the audience can relate to and so
  politics is perfect for this

5
History of Politics in Theater

• Ancient Greek Plays had a political significance
  in Greek society
• Politics was inextricably linked to ethics. They
  called Politicians Politikos and saw it as the
  job of politicians to help facilitate justice

6
Politics in Theater 20th Century

• Due to the fact that theater has an incredible
  ability to move audiences and convey powerful
  messages, the government of the United States
  used a theatrical production for propaganda
  purposes during WWII.
• , Germany also used theater to further its
  goals. Theater was a key instrument of Hitlers
  political warfare during the Second World War.

7
Theater Politics Social Change
Augusto Boal Spect- Actors
8
Suppression of Political Theater

• In the Stalinist Soviet Union, there was no
  theater allowed at all, unless it was for the
  purpose of furthering socialist thought
• Playwrights executed for dissent
• Proves the power of politics in theater

9
Undeniable Power

• Zydung Hubner says that the inherent social
  nature of the theater is what allies it so
  closely to politics. This statement sums up why
  politics and theater are a marriage of
  convenience and necessity for those who wish to
  disseminate political ideas and the sworn enemy
  of those trying to suppress free thought.