Censorship or the Limits of Representation in Terrence McNally’s Gay Theatre at the End of the 20th Century
This paper explores the controversy around two contemporary American plays by acclaimed playwright Terrence McNally, Lips Together, Teeth Apart (1991) and Corpus Christi (1998). By detailing the ways these two plays were attacked by politicians and conservative religious grou...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Presses universitaires de Rennes
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| Series: | Revue LISA |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/lisa/5533 |
| _version_ | 1797312830044635136 |
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| author | Xavier Lemoine |
| author_facet | Xavier Lemoine |
| author_sort | Xavier Lemoine |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper explores the controversy around two contemporary American plays by acclaimed playwright Terrence McNally, Lips Together, Teeth Apart (1991) and Corpus Christi (1998). By detailing the ways these two plays were attacked by politicians and conservative religious groups, it becomes apparent that censorship is still at the heart of American democracy as is manifested by the ferocious debates around free speech as a result of the conservative revolution. Attitudes to homophobia then appeared to be a litmus test for free speech. The reception of these plays also highlighted the inner mechanism of censorship as a productive discourse that entails the risk of suppressing the artistic distance that provides a dissenting voice and a necessary criticism of the human condition. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T02:19:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-267e9c9c092648a5953dc2020ab0d0e7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1762-6153 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T02:19:55Z |
| publisher | Presses universitaires de Rennes |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Revue LISA |
| spelling | doaj.art-267e9c9c092648a5953dc2020ab0d0e72024-02-13T14:37:19ZengPresses universitaires de RennesRevue LISA1762-61531110.4000/lisa.5533Censorship or the Limits of Representation in Terrence McNally’s Gay Theatre at the End of the 20th CenturyXavier LemoineThis paper explores the controversy around two contemporary American plays by acclaimed playwright Terrence McNally, Lips Together, Teeth Apart (1991) and Corpus Christi (1998). By detailing the ways these two plays were attacked by politicians and conservative religious groups, it becomes apparent that censorship is still at the heart of American democracy as is manifested by the ferocious debates around free speech as a result of the conservative revolution. Attitudes to homophobia then appeared to be a litmus test for free speech. The reception of these plays also highlighted the inner mechanism of censorship as a productive discourse that entails the risk of suppressing the artistic distance that provides a dissenting voice and a necessary criticism of the human condition.https://journals.openedition.org/lisa/5533discourserepresentationcensorshipreceptionTheatergay |
| spellingShingle | Xavier Lemoine Censorship or the Limits of Representation in Terrence McNally’s Gay Theatre at the End of the 20th Century Revue LISA discourse representation censorship reception Theater gay |
| title | Censorship or the Limits of Representation in Terrence McNally’s Gay Theatre at the End of the 20th Century |
| title_full | Censorship or the Limits of Representation in Terrence McNally’s Gay Theatre at the End of the 20th Century |
| title_fullStr | Censorship or the Limits of Representation in Terrence McNally’s Gay Theatre at the End of the 20th Century |
| title_full_unstemmed | Censorship or the Limits of Representation in Terrence McNally’s Gay Theatre at the End of the 20th Century |
| title_short | Censorship or the Limits of Representation in Terrence McNally’s Gay Theatre at the End of the 20th Century |
| title_sort | censorship or the limits of representation in terrence mcnally s gay theatre at the end of the 20th century |
| topic | discourse representation censorship reception Theater gay |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/lisa/5533 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT xavierlemoine censorshiporthelimitsofrepresentationinterrencemcnallysgaytheatreattheendofthe20thcentury |