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"TRULY AN AWESOME SPECTACLE": GENDER PERFORMATIVITY AND THE ALIENATION EFFECT IN ANGELS IN AMERICA
| Title: | "TRULY AN AWESOME SPECTACLE": GENDER PERFORMATIVITY AND THE ALIENATION EFFECT IN ANGELS IN AMERICA. |
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| Name(s): |
Gorney, Allen, Author Campbell, James, Committee Chair University of Central Florida, Degree Grantor |
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| Type of Resource: | text | |
| Date Issued: | 2005 | |
| Publisher: | University of Central Florida | |
| Language(s): | English | |
| Abstract/Description: | Tony Kushner's two-part play Angels in America uses stereotypical depictions of gay men to deconstruct traditional gender dichotomies. In this thesis, I argue that Kushner has created a continuum of gender performativity to deconstruct these traditional gender dichotomies, thereby empowering the effeminate and disempowering the masculine. I closely examine Kushner's use of Brechtian and Aristotelian tenets in the first Broadway production of the play to demonstrate that Kushner sought to induce social awareness of gay male oppression, contingent on the audience's perception of Kushner's deconstruction of the traditional gender dichotomy. I also scrutinize the role of the closet and its implications in the play, primarily analyzed with Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick's theoretical framework, suggesting Kushner's partiality to openly gay men who can actively participate in the cessation of gay male oppression. | |
| Identifier: | CFE0000901 (IID), ucf:46731 (fedora) | |
| Note(s): |
2005-12-01 M.A. Arts and Sciences, Department of English Masters This record was generated from author submitted information. |
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| Subject(s): |
gender studies queer theory modern drama american literature dramatic criticism |
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| Persistent Link to This Record: | http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0000901 | |
| Restrictions on Access: | public | |
| Host Institution: | UCF |
