Citation

Ito Y. Yamanashi Glocal Stud. Bull. Fac. Glocal Policy Manag. Commun. 2011; 6: 61-70.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, Yamanashi Prefectural University)

DOI

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PMID

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Abstract

Adrienne Kenney's passion for movies has led to her use of cinematic devices and screen images for all her work. In her early plays, Funnyhouse of a Negro and The Owl Answers, she uses cinematic devices such as dissolves and flashbacks for scene changes and metamorphoses of the characters to reveal the agony caused by violence on the bodies of the African American heroines. Her later plays have made more subtle use of screen images, especially in the plays with playwrights as their protagonists. One remarkable example is A Movie Star Has to Star in Black and White, in which the heroine sees not only her favorite movie stars but also her family as characters in the movies. As a result, all the characters are likeapparitions or images on screen, and the audience finds less pain of the characters. Her plays in the 1990's again display the violence toward and the agony of the characters though they still have the quality of screen images. Whereas The Ohio State Murders and Sleep Deprivation Chamber both contain scenes and images like those in documentary films, they present corporeality of the characters who suffer from violence.

Language: ja