Indecent Play: Exploring Themes of Artistic Freedom, LGBTQ+ Relationships, and Social Persecution in Early 20th Century Theater

Abstract

Indecent Play Critique Introduction The main motive of any author is to attain the full attention of the target audience. It is through such undivided attention that the audience receives the authors' message as intended. To enhance this process, authors try to employ persuasive techniques in their works, which comes with considering suitable communication styles to keep the audience glued to their pieces, whether in writing or viewing. Indecent is a play whose production defines its originality and urges to educate its target audience on how freedoms and ideas became persecuted in the early 1920s. It is a play that directly talks to the world in general on the relevance of preserving and sharing love/ tolerance to allow for a habitable environment for all without any discrimination. The characters employed in the play express originality, and tone variation based on the nature of condition along the play remains well communicated, enhancing the urge to view the play from the beginning through the end. Within this essay, a thorough critique of the 'Indecent' play will better understand the main message that its author intended to pass along to the target audience and its reason in the current life. Indecent is a play whose central theme remains coined around resurrection from the ashes of history. Paula Vogel, the central figure behind the "Indecent” play storyline, narrates a tumultuous tale of Sholem Asch's play "God of vengeance," whose production runs way back in the early 20th century. Based on the play, it becomes clear that the main message within Indecent is a reminder of how it felt like to be in a theatre and express love feelings towards the same gender in the artistic theatres/stage. The play opens up on a historical note of resurrection as the audiences enjoy a clear sight of ashes spilling from the actors' sleeves as a sign of reviving a forgotten/ ignored message. Artistic freedom serves as one of the significant themes that Vogel's story aimed at communicating to the world. The freedom to imagine and create/distribute a diverse cultural expression free of censorship remains well expressed throughout the play. The play reminds the audience of the God of Vengeance storyline, resulting in arresting the entire squad as accused of indecency/obscenity. The storyline expressed the purity and sincerity expressed by love expressed by two women. The artistic freedom remained hampered and viewed as a way of preaching lesbianism to the world, which defines violence against women and homophobia as other potential themes within ‘Indecent’ play. The reality of violence against women remains well represented in the play as characters express their fears and insecurities of carrying the female gender. It is also imperative to note the culturally produced fear and prejudice against homosexuals, lesbians, and other LGBT groups, making the love relationships between Katrina Lenk (Manke) and Adina Version (Rifkele) a nightmare. Such a theme reminds the viewer of the reality of re-enacting an early 20ths century love scene that leads "God of vengeance" characters into the hands of the law. I support the play's message since it expresses the stages that artistic freedom has remained hampered. With the production of Indecent, such freedom can become realized to allow artists to express their ideas in their most comfortable manner. Basing this argument on the simple meaning of protagonist as the hero in a play, one can argue that "God of Vengeance" serves as the protagonist in the ‘Indecent’ play. Though created more than a century ago, God of Vengeance experiences many changes to shape the 'Indecent' play. The blink of time that "Indecent" play employs to speed its audiences through God of Vengeance performances allows "Indecent" play to change thematically, literally, and stylistically. For this reason, the God of Vengeance protagonist role remains defined in enhancing the meaning of the "Indecent" play to its target audiences. The public/government can be described as the antagonist of the "Indecent" play as expressed from the arrest of producer/cast of the God of Vengeance play on the grounds of obscenity. Such an act is a clear indication of the opposition of the main protagonist of the “Indecent” play. The central conflict between the protagonist and the antagonist is a mere misunderstanding of the intended text by the primary author. The play aimed to enlighten people on the relevance and meaning of true love, which the law interpreted as indecent, leading the characters to arrest. Such conflict limits the artist's freedom, a theme that "Indecent” plays well emphasize from the beginning through the end. Manke serves as the most compelling character in the "Indecent" play. This conclusion is because this character is perfect in all her...