Henrik Ibsen, 1881
Overview: In A Doll House and Ghosts, Ibsen explored the role of women and men in our society. Sadly, many parallels to our present society are abound, yet there is something dated about the philosophical concepts. Yes, as a society, we have accepted that women and men should have equal rights, for example. However, is this truly happening? Are women paid the same as men for the same occupation? More importantly, what are we seeing with regard to sexual harassment, assault, and rape in the media today? Have you noticed the difference in male and female responses in the media? This goes beyond gender. In what ways has the idea of gender been challenged through the efforts of the LBGTQ community? Also, issues pertaining to race and immigration follow similar blueprints. How would Ibsen have defended them today? How do the efforts of all marginalized groups impact everyone?
Your task will be to explore current issues (like those mentioned above) connected to human rights in and around the world. Have a global focus. Ibsen challenged society through drama. Now it is your turn.
Directions: Each group will research a global issue happening right now. 1) Each student in class will compose a blog response (here), exploring an issue seen in the current media that resembles the ghosts explored by Ibsen. Make direct parallels to what we explored in Ibsen's plays and how we see a new but reminiscent thing happening now. 2) Next, we will form groups and choose one concept to explore in an Ibsen play of your own. The written work will be visual and it will include a performance of a single scene from your play. Carefully read the criteria, below. Best of luck!
Directions: Each group will research a global issue happening right now. 1) Each student in class will compose a blog response (here), exploring an issue seen in the current media that resembles the ghosts explored by Ibsen. Make direct parallels to what we explored in Ibsen's plays and how we see a new but reminiscent thing happening now. 2) Next, we will form groups and choose one concept to explore in an Ibsen play of your own. The written work will be visual and it will include a performance of a single scene from your play. Carefully read the criteria, below. Best of luck!
Ibsen Play Criteria
3) Slideshow Presentation
Below is a guideline for your slideshow. Obviously, you can spread out the slides in any manner you wish. Use video, music, images, drawings - the sky's the limit. Please share these with me so I can evaluate the work after class. Important: Be creative! Here is a list of alternatives to PowerPoint.
- Slide 1: Create a symbolic title for the play.
- Slides 2-3: Develop a statement of purpose with a focus on a global issue about the rights of women/LBGTQ community, immigrants, or another issue of concern (Please, check with me before you begin). Tell us why you are composing this play? What do you hope to teach your audience? How do you expect them to respond? What do you hope to achieve?
- Slide 4: Share a list of characters (Make the cast look like Ibsen).
- Slide 5: What will the stage look like? Include setting, time, place, staging, etc. Again, think Ibsen imagery and design. See the examples on this page.
- Slides 6-8: Develop an outline of the 3-4 acts in your play. Include the basic plot, characters's actions, conflicts, symbols and resolution. Use all of Ibsen's techniques: the characters who develop past their initial stereotypes, couples, the outlier, a shocking ending, etc.
- Slides 9-13: Share your scripted scene so we can all follow along as you perform.
4) Presentation:
Everyone should been an active participant. Perhaps some people give the above presentation, taking turns and the other group members perform. Someone can act as narrator or help explain what is going on and how it will play out your play. Again, play to your strengths as a group.
- Present slides (Be engaging. Do NOT just read off the slides).
- Perform your scene.
The current issue I believe that is a problem around the United States is the division between people. When I think of this, I think of politics and how everyone needs to “incorporate” themselves in groups that only they agree with, and they will not hear an argument from the other side. This seems to happen with almost every political conversation or issue. Just because someone has a different point of view than someone, they will not associate themselves with that other person. I feel this is a very petty thing to do because people are missing out on so many opportunities of friendship and other ventures, just because of their political opinion. This happens with both Major political parties as well so I find it crazy that people are so petty of the smallest things.
ReplyDeleteOver the past few years, the conversation about sexual harassment has broadened and become a more mainstream topic. This is largely due to the creation of the #metoo movement in the media, with a large number of women coming forward to share their personal experience with sexual harassment, assault, or rape. The movement is gaining traction worldwide, and influening the way that handle rape in the media and in the courtroom. An example of this global impact is the law changed in Sierra Leon after their president Julius Maada Bio, declared rape and sexual violence a national emergency after a series of high-profile rapes of young girls. Because of this declaration, the trials were shorter and the punishment was more severe. The topic of harassment annd rape is being taken more seriously round the world, but there is still more to be done especially with the current mindset that women coming forward ruins their rapists’ lives; this is combined with the fact that the topic of sexual assault is not discussed in classrooms and many people are completely uninformed. Most boys only know about rape from movies and TV shows, where the rapist is depicted as a villain that they do not relate to. Additionally, the assault and harassment that many women regularly experience is not something that many people are aware is a bad thing. Laurie Halse Anderson recently spoke about this misinformation and ignorance for TIME magazine where she outlined how many teenage boys have the same ideas about sexual assault that people had years ago and oftentimes openly express how they feel that sometimes the women deserve what was done to them, or were asking for it in some way. This idea of outdated beliefs halting progress is reminiscent of Mrs. Alving’s situation in Ghosts, where no matter how hard she tries to make a better future, the traditions and beliefs from the past continue to weigh her down.
ReplyDeleteA global issue that many people are not aware of is mental health. Everyday, at least 1 in 4 people are affected by some type of mental health disorder whether it is anxiety, depression, ADHD, and more. However we try to keep that mental health disorder of ours hidden from society, and sometimes even those closest to us like our family. This is very similar to this idea of "ghosts" that Ibsen had. We all at some point carried a "ghost" in our life or an idea we have been taught not too stray from like something cultural. As kids, we are most likely taught not by the teachers, but by our peers, that being different is not "cool". We learn from social interactions as a child that those who are different were treated poorly and left alone whereas those who are the same and followed the norms were treated well and with respect. People with mental health disorders however can hide these differences usually but hiding this health disorder usually hurts the individual more. Similarly to the play "Ghosts" the longer Mrs. Alving held in the "truth" from her son, the more it hurt him and her in the end.
ReplyDeleteIf you are having trouble in your homeland, you might just have to flee, and head for a strange new realm in search of prosperity, belonging, and safety. However, some countries are ruled by unfriendly dictators who won't let in refugees, no matter how desperate.
ReplyDeleteThe meanest trick in the book is to make up nonsense about other kinds of people, and spread it throughout your regime.
DeleteWith this cruelty, refugees won't like this place any better that where they came from. That's not welcoming at all.
DeleteThat's just a hate crime.
DeleteI think we can all agree that racism is bad. I think so too. When you think of an act of racism, I'm sure the first scenario that pops into your head is a white man being hostile towards a black man in some way. This kind of racism definitely still happens, and isn't ok, but I'd like to point out that "racism" encompasses all acts of prejudice someone else based off their skin color. Again, racism isn't as bad as it was in the 50s and 60s, but with our increasingly politically correct culture, comes more subtle racism against both white and black people. In our efforts to rid ourselves of racial bias, it's become all we can think about. We have to watch everything we say as to not offend someone, and now any little thing can be strung into an attack on a group of people. I think in our quest to undo the effects of slavery, we've pushed the agenda past the point of common sense. I think the best way to go about racism is to not think about it at all. We've given it so much attention that it's hard to really ignore race and treat people as individuals instead of part of a demographic
ReplyDeleteWomen are still paid less than men in the work force due to many assumptions of their value of work. And because of this, women have been traditionally steered into lower wage jobs such as childcare or customer service jobs. There should be foil characters like Pastor Manders and Oswald in our Ibsen plays because it will show how Ibsen supports higher wage jobs for women instead of following the original tradition. It will show an irony as of how Ibsen (a male) defends the other gender whereas most men agree with lower wage jobs for women in order to represent more power.
ReplyDeleteOur group should have the husband have a lower wage job such as a waiter and the wife have a high wage job such as a CEO of a huge company to describe how each gender will experience a different work life which affects their personal life as well.
As I take a look at current issues in our world today, the one that most sticks out to me is climate change. This is the case because the main interest of mine is weather and I look at forecasts all the time. I am aware of what the media says as well as what I have observed as an aspiring meteorologist. This is the same but different when it comes to Ibsen because these days we have people who don’t believe climate change is a real issue, and of course, we have people that truly believe it is. Comparable to Ibsen we have now this breakdown of kind of left and right with this issue among others. The Ghosts could represent the reason why some don’t see a real issue here or want to change it at all.
ReplyDeleteDisbelief and ignorance will destroy the world at this rate.
DeleteI think an issue in our nation that often goes unaddressed is the idea of partisanship around nearly every controversy. Between biased media coverage and the inability of most representatives to side with the allowing party, it often goes unsaid. An example of someone who actually took a stand against their own party on an incredibly controversial topic was Professor Alan Dershowitz. He is a liberal lawyer who has already backed Joe Biden in the upcoming democratic primary, but takes an apposition view on the realm of impeachment. He has repeatedly denounced what members of his own party are doing in regards to the actions of the president. He unapologetically believes that even if President Trump is guilty of all accusations, it still does not constitute impeachment. In this day in age, when people devoted to their political views scarcely disagree with their party, I think this act is admirable. Whether or not you agree with his logic, you can appreciate his ability to share is independent opinion. I think all sides are guilty of only seeing things as one-sided. The only way for that to ever be changed is for people to take a step back and really consider how they feel about an issue and ignore what their party’s values have to say about that. It seems like we are moving in the opposite direction in reality.
ReplyDeleteParticularly when it comes to sports, women are severely underpaid and underrepresented in the sports society. They are paid a mere fraction of men. Whereas men are paid millions of dollars per year, women are making meager thousands of dollars a year. This issue has been heavily vocalized through the US Women's National Team. They, specifically their captain, have spoken out in several scenarios regarding this issue. Meghan Rapinoe, the captain of the US Women's National Team is openly gay and has been speaking about an dramatic increase in pay for women. For example, one of the highest paid players on the women's team is just over 100K, but men on average for the national team get paid hundreds of thousands even though they do much worse than women and get fewer views. There is a lot of work that has to go into fixing this inequality.
ReplyDeleteI think a major issue that’s been going around lately is being sustainability. There’s been a lot of issues about trash and plastic damaging our planet and how our climate has been heavily affected by it. Even though people may say it’s not an issue, it’s slowly becoming an issue to our climate and the environment we are providing for animals and us. Back then, it may have been starting to become an issue due to the industrial revolution but not so much where the climate is changing, but regardless Ibsen would have mentioned that the resources or machinery they would've used might've been affect the environment they lived.
ReplyDelete