Parents, Teachers, anyone - Violence

Just out of curiousity...

I know I mentioned I just did a play that was inspired by Lord of the Flies. LOTF is a really violent book in which little boys go savage and in one chilling scene brutally beat another boy to death...yet a lot of people told me they had to read it in 6th grade. I read it when I started this play, and I don't think 6th graders actually get the implications of the book. It's an adult book, not a children's book.
That puzzles me... but here's another thing..

The theatre company that did the play has an educational arm and often does matinees for students. They give the schools some prep materials, discussion questions, hold an interactive workshop before the play and a talkback after.

When we had the kids come in for the show (high school freshmen), we by contract had to cut out all of the cursing.., we took out B***h, F**k, Bullsh**, etc. We even changed a small section where a girl talks about how her father molested her friend.

However, we kept in ALL of the stage violence, of which there was a great deal, including, an incidence of "cutting", a suicide and a fight that ended in death.

What do you think of this? It just struck me that kids are allowed to see all the graphic violence they want, but god forbid we expose them to the word "F**K*...

As a parent, would you be more upset if you kid came home and said "I saw this play and all the girls fought each other and one girl cut her arms with a watch and another girl jumpedd off a cliff and another girl got her head smashed in", or if they came home saying "ooh they said 'bullsh**'"

Is it because we're so desensitized to violence as a society?

Message edited 10/2/2006 10:12:35 AM.

Re: Parents, Teachers, anyone - Violence

Any thoughts?

Re: Parents, Teachers, anyone - Violence

I am neither a parent nor a teacher, but i think that LOTF is a pretty heavy book for a 6th grader. I do think, however, that when you read it you have the option to let your mind make of it what it can, while if you are performing it or watching a performance of it, then you are at the mercy of the director & what (s)he sees as fit to produce.

Not sure if that answered your questions, but just my thoughts on it.

Re: Parents, Teachers, anyone - Violence

Yeah, I think with the book, if you don't want to imagine the heavy violence of the scene, you won't, especially becuase of the wya it's written.

But with the play it's right in your face...

I don't understand how the teachers harped on the language, but the violence was ok.

I just found it interesting.

Re: Parents, Teachers, anyone - Violence

I know of the book and read it when I was in middle school. I did not know they were performing at as play.

Re: Parents, Teachers, anyone - Violence

I read it and taught it to high schoolers.
It is not a middle school book in our district.

Re: Parents, Teachers, anyone - Violence

Re: Parents, Teachers, anyone - Violence

In our district (I'm not a teacher, but when I went to school) it was taught in our high school.

But as for your question, I think the reason that the violence stays in the play is that it is a part of our every day society. Since the beginning of time we have always had violence. We didn't create it. It's just human nature. To hide something we see every day on the television would be a fraud.

Foul language on the other hand is something we taught ourselves. Over time we learned this. Yes, now it's commonplace to speak this way (for some people, not all). It's used to emphasize points, but really it is not needed and it is not a necessity in a play. To not use it, is really the discretion of the director and why shove it down a kids throat does it really prove a point that much better?

edited for spelling

Message edited 10/2/2006 12:06:45 PM.

Re: Parents, Teachers, anyone - Violence

It's really the discretion of the playwright, but I see what you're saying.

That's an interestingf point about the inevitability of violence and the taught nature of language.

There were some points in the play where I felt changing the language made it sound really stupid and unrealistic, actually..

But to me the violence is much more jarring, especially since those are images and not words...

Also, I should mention that the first row of kids was about 2 feet from all of this violence taking place, and I have to say it was very realistic

Re: Parents, Teachers, anyone - Violence