Thinking Activity on "The Birthday Party" by Harold Pinter

Thinking Activity on "The Birthday Party" by Harold Pinter

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“The Birthday Party”

 

“The Birthday Party” is the second full-length play by Harold Pinter, first published in London by Encore Publishing in 1959. This play established Pinter’s trademark “Comedy of Menace”, in which character is suddenly threatened by the vague horrors at large in the outside world. The plot of the play revolves around central character Stanley Webber and his life at a rundown seaside boarding house is disrupted by the unexpected arrival of two mysterious and sinister strangers called Goldberg and McCann, who terrorizes him away and eventually takes him away.

     1) Why are two scenes of Lulu omitted from the movie?

There are two scenes which are omitted from the movie. These are the scenes in which Lulu was sexually assaulted by Stanley Webber and Nat Goldberg. These scenes are omitted from the movie, the reason behind it perhaps is that the director does not want to show vulgarity in the movie. The other reason is also that the director wants to portray the character of Lulu as strong that’s why she is not presented as being sexually assaulted by two men.

   2)   Is movie successful in giving us the effect of menace? Where you able to feel it while reading the text?

No I don’t think that movie is successful in giving us the effect of menace. Comedy of menace gives the effect of terror along mingling with the comic elements. But this movie is not able to create such effects in mind. The movie keeps on forwarding only with the serious tone, we can not find use of comic elements in it. Rather than to watching the film, we can feel comedy of menace while reading the play. The use of torrent of questions give great effect in the play than in the film version. In the scene when Goldberg and MacCann asked Stanley, “Why Chicken has not crossed the road?” The question like this gives us a threating as well as the comic effect in our mind also.

  3) Do you feel the effect of lurking danger while viewing the movie? Where you able to feel the same while reading the text?

Yes, while viewing the movie I do feel the effect of lurking danger. There is a scene of Stanley in which drum is heavily beaten by him. We feel that the drum is almost going to be broken as he is beating it in his furious mood. This scene gives us a sign about upcoming danger. While reading the text, the blind man’s buff game I felt the effect of lurking. In the game suddenly there is blackness and after that screaming of Lulu could be heard. In this way, these scenes give effect of lurking danger.

   4)  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 ‘newspaper’ is used symbolically which revels various meanings in front of us. Basically newspaper is a symbol of a current affair or intelligence but in the movie it is used in a very dipper way. In the movie Petey is reading a newspaper and remains almost indifferent to his wife who used to work in the kitchen only. He is reading a newspaper and Meg-her wife is asking about what is the news in the newspaper. In this entire process, Petey replies in a very serious tone. Newspaper is also stood as a medium of taunting. Meg asks her husband about the news of the birth of the child and in this way she satirized on her husband who was not able to give her a child.

At the end of acts there is a long scene of tormenting newspaper by MacCann into pieces. This sound of shredding newspapers creates an uneasy effect in our mind. At last Peaty hides the broken pieces of newspaper. He did this maybe because he did not reveal his weakness in front of others.

   5)  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? 

In the movie, the technique of camera is very well used. While playing the game of Blind man’s buff the camera is used as to reveal some integral part of the play. Firstly camera moves with MaCain who is playing a game. In a way it moves over the head of him and only the sight and moves of MacCain are presented to us. But when Stanley is playing this game, like before the camera does not only  moving over the head of player. But it is positioned at the top with a view of room like a cage. We can feel that Stanley is trapped in this cage and is almost not able to be free from this cage. He is caught by Goldberg and MacCain.

  6)  "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." (Pinter, Art, Truth & Politics: Excerpts from the 2005 Nobel Lecture). Does this happen in the movie?

 Yes, Harold Pinter succeeded in making his reader confuse in his film. He rises the situation of Reverse Dramatic Irony. In which we are not able to know about what is going on but the characters are fully aware about it. We do not feel mercy for characters rather we may feel mercy for one another. The use of dialogue is unpredictable, we can not say what happened to the next. In a way only characters know what is happening we are not able to understand the proper or exact meaning of it.

  7)   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)?

Yes, movie helps in better understanding of the play but it does not give justice to the original play. Only watching the movie will certainly not help in understand the actuality of the play by Harold Pinter. In the movie we can not get diverse effect. While reading the play all the features of the play give a complete satisfaction to use, which is at some point missing in the movie. Comedy of menace- this gives a more effective in reading the text of the play rather to view the movie.

8) With which of the following observations you agree:

   “It probably wasn't possible to make a satisfactory film of "The       Birthday Party."

    “It's impossible to imagine a better film of Pinter's play than this sensitive, disturbing version directed by William Friedkin”[3]. (Ebert)

I am agree with the first observation that

     “It probably wasn't possible to make a satisfactory film of "The Birthday Party."

 As it is an absurd play, it is not easy to make a satisfactory film of it. The film is not created the absurdity which the text has created. In the movie what we see is just remained as suspense as it does not give diverse effect. There are many elements in the text which almost is not possible to create these all characteristics in the movie. That’s why it is failed in giving significant effect which text has given.

9)  If you were director or screenplay writer, what sort of difference would you make in the making of movie?

10) Who would be your choice of actors to play the role of           characters?

If I am screenplay writer or director of the movie, I want to add some comic elements in it so the overall tone of it can be a little bit less serious one. And also I want to add the omitted scene of Lulu. Because it gives a great impact on the audience’s mind if it is used properly in a good manner.

 The given names would be my choice of actors to play the role of characters in “The Birthday Party”.

Stanley – Sunney Deol

Meg – Hema Malini

Petey – Dharmendra

Goldberg- Nasseeruddin Shah

McCain- Manoj Bajpayee

Lulu- Kangana Ranaut

11)  Do you see any similarities among Kafka's Joseph K. (in 'The Trial'), Orwell's Winston Smith (in 'Nineteen Eighty-Four') and Pinter's Victor (in 'One for the Road')?  

Kafka’s Joseph, Orwell’s Winston Smith and Pinter’s Victor, these all characters share a common thing is their suffering because of social hegemony. They all are suffering whether they have committed a crime or not. In a one or another way they are suffering from the power conflict of society.