Politics of Harold Pinter’s Dystopian Drama: One for the Road and Party Time
This article discusses two of Harold Pinter’s political plays, One for the Road and Party Time as examples of dystopian drama which criticise the contextual background of 1980s Turkey and 1990s Britain respectively. This reading illustrates that dystopian images observed in Harold Pinter’s political...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | deu |
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Hacettepe University
2020-12-01
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| Series: | Hacettepe Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/huefd/issue/59130/683007 |
| _version_ | 1797924102265110528 |
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| author | Özlem Özmen |
| author_facet | Özlem Özmen |
| author_sort | Özlem Özmen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article discusses two of Harold Pinter’s political plays, One for the Road and Party Time as examples of dystopian drama which criticise the contextual background of 1980s Turkey and 1990s Britain respectively. This reading illustrates that dystopian images observed in Harold Pinter’s political plays, One for the Road and Party Time are used as responses to certain socio-historical problems of two different locations. While the panorama of a military state in One for the Road provides a criticism of the political atmosphere of Turkey following the 1980 coup, the economically unbalanced and depoliticised society presented in Party Time resonates with the socio-economic inequality of Britain during the Thatcher and Major periods. Unspecified settings of the plays, ambiguous characterisation, and hierarchical social structures presented in these works are viewed among the dystopian elements which help Pinter criticise the political atmosphere of Turkey following the 1980 coup and the unbalanced socio-economic background of contemporary Britain. Discussing dystopian narrative elements – that are commonly studied in relation to the novel genre – in relation to dramatic texts offers the idea that although there is no reference to particular states or political figures in these plays, dystopian elements such as totalitarian regime and state violence derive their material from the real events of the two countries. By way of this dystopian perspective, it is aimed to discuss the necessity of observing the close relationship between Pinter’s plays and their historical background despite their seeming distance from their political milieux. A reading of Pinter’s works with an emphasis on their dystopian images also helps to interpret Pinter’s detached attitude to the politics of his plays from an alternative perspective. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T14:56:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2fdc43e175244e008c166c163f96365d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1301-5737 |
| language | deu |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T14:56:19Z |
| publishDate | 2020-12-01 |
| publisher | Hacettepe University |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Hacettepe Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi |
| spelling | doaj.art-2fdc43e175244e008c166c163f96365d2023-02-15T16:07:20ZdeuHacettepe UniversityHacettepe Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi1301-57372020-12-0137233034010.32600/huefd.68300787Politics of Harold Pinter’s Dystopian Drama: One for the Road and Party TimeÖzlem Özmen0MUĞLA SITKI KOÇMAN ÜNİVERSİTESİ, EDEBİYAT FAKÜLTESİThis article discusses two of Harold Pinter’s political plays, One for the Road and Party Time as examples of dystopian drama which criticise the contextual background of 1980s Turkey and 1990s Britain respectively. This reading illustrates that dystopian images observed in Harold Pinter’s political plays, One for the Road and Party Time are used as responses to certain socio-historical problems of two different locations. While the panorama of a military state in One for the Road provides a criticism of the political atmosphere of Turkey following the 1980 coup, the economically unbalanced and depoliticised society presented in Party Time resonates with the socio-economic inequality of Britain during the Thatcher and Major periods. Unspecified settings of the plays, ambiguous characterisation, and hierarchical social structures presented in these works are viewed among the dystopian elements which help Pinter criticise the political atmosphere of Turkey following the 1980 coup and the unbalanced socio-economic background of contemporary Britain. Discussing dystopian narrative elements – that are commonly studied in relation to the novel genre – in relation to dramatic texts offers the idea that although there is no reference to particular states or political figures in these plays, dystopian elements such as totalitarian regime and state violence derive their material from the real events of the two countries. By way of this dystopian perspective, it is aimed to discuss the necessity of observing the close relationship between Pinter’s plays and their historical background despite their seeming distance from their political milieux. A reading of Pinter’s works with an emphasis on their dystopian images also helps to interpret Pinter’s detached attitude to the politics of his plays from an alternative perspective.https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/huefd/issue/59130/683007harold pinterone for the roadparty timedistopiksiyasettürkiyei̇ngiltereharold pinterone for the roadparty timedystopianpoliticsturkeybritain |
| spellingShingle | Özlem Özmen Politics of Harold Pinter’s Dystopian Drama: One for the Road and Party Time Hacettepe Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi harold pinter one for the road party time distopik siyaset türkiye i̇ngiltere harold pinter one for the road party time dystopian politics turkey britain |
| title | Politics of Harold Pinter’s Dystopian Drama: One for the Road and Party Time |
| title_full | Politics of Harold Pinter’s Dystopian Drama: One for the Road and Party Time |
| title_fullStr | Politics of Harold Pinter’s Dystopian Drama: One for the Road and Party Time |
| title_full_unstemmed | Politics of Harold Pinter’s Dystopian Drama: One for the Road and Party Time |
| title_short | Politics of Harold Pinter’s Dystopian Drama: One for the Road and Party Time |
| title_sort | politics of harold pinter s dystopian drama one for the road and party time |
| topic | harold pinter one for the road party time distopik siyaset türkiye i̇ngiltere harold pinter one for the road party time dystopian politics turkey britain |
| url | https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/huefd/issue/59130/683007 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ozlemozmen politicsofharoldpintersdystopiandramaonefortheroadandpartytime |