"The Birthday party" by Harold Pinter

Online thinking activity "The Birthday party" by Harold Pinter

This blog is part of my classroom activity on Harold Pinter's play "The Birthday Party".

Here is Link of given task.

               

                                       


                                           The Birthday Party is about Stanley Webber, an erstwhile piano player who lives in a rundown boarding house, run by Meg and Petey Boles, in an English seaside town, "probably on the south coast, not too far from London".Two sinister strangers, Goldberg and McCann, who arrive supposedly on his birthday and who appear to have come looking for him, turn Stanley's apparently innocuous birthday party organised by Meg into a nightmare.

1. Why are two scenes of Lulu omitted from the movie?

Ans:The reason of omitting two scenes of Lulu can be focusing upon the confusing situation of Stanley rather than Lulu. If those scenes were there in last act, the audience would focus on the character of a woman who was abused by men and she would have been judged as victim rather than the protagonist.

2. Is movie successful in giving us the effect of menace? Where you able to feel it while reading the text?

Ans.The sound plays a vital role in the film. It gives us the surreal effect. The sound always helps in giving the menacing effect to the audience. Even the sights captured by Camera plays a vital role. It is interesting to see that Closeup is used as tool which magnifies trivia. For example:- Meg pouring corn flakes in a bowl. While in the important conversation characters are shown in one frame and camera doesn’t move. For example:- When Stanley is asking Meg about two strangers.

3. Do you feel the effect of lurking danger while viewing the movie? Where you able to feel the same while reading the text.

Ans.Lurking danger lies in the whole play, text and movie. But in movie the lurking danger clearly shows in the scene of ‘Birthday Party’. Whereas in the text we fully depends upon the language especially on dialogue and each and every steps we felt dangers.

4. What do you read in 'newspaper' in the movie? Petey is reading newspaper to Meg, it torn into pieces by McCain, pieces are hidden by Petey in last scene.

Ans.We know that Newspaper gives us information what happens in society, we can says that in play also connects us or shows us reality of society. We found that McCann cut newspaper. In movie Cutting of newspaper is symbol of killing. At the last seen those pieces are hidden by Petty.

5. Camera is positioned over the head of McCain when he is playing Blind Man's Buff and is positioned at the top with a view of room like a cage (trap) when Stanley is playing it. What interpretations can you give to these positioning of camera? 

Ans.  In blind man's bluff, the camera is positioned on the head of the McCann, which can seen as artist-Webber imagination is restricted by society.

6. "Pinter restored theatre to its basic elements: an enclosed space and unpredictable dialogue, where people are at the mercy of one another and pretence crumbles." (Pinter, Art, Truth & Politics: Excerpts from the 2005 Nobel Lecture). Does this happen in the movie?

Ans. Yes, it is happen in the movie. Unpredictable dialogue find out at the beginning to the end. Kitchen and the room of birth day party show an enclosed space. And kitchen and room of birthday party which is full of objects and no space for human beings. Readers cannot reach at conclusion that who is better than whom. Because if we as a reader take side of Stanley as a artist, he seemed like innocent. On the other hand both of that characters who does their job only. Petey and Meg are totally unaware about the things. But on the other side it seems like that they all are pretending to each other. So, one side we mercy on the characters but on the other side as a reader we are in darkness. Pinter used reverse dramatic irony. So, we cannot reached at ultimate truth instead of that all the things remain political.

7. How does viewing movie help in better understanding of the play ‘The Birthday Party’ with its typical characteristic (like painteresque, pause, silence, menace, lurking danger)?

Ans. While watching a movie is more effective than reading text because during movies we find that giggling sounds, fear, and mystique, tolerant of dialogues in the movie. 

8.With which of the following observations you agree:

o   “It probably wasn't possible to make a satisfactory film of "The Birthday Party."

o   “It's impossible to imagine a better film of Pinter's play than this sensitive, disturbing version directed by William Friedkin”[1][3]. (Ebert)

Ans. "It's impossible to imagine a better film of Pinter's play than this sensitive, disturbing version directed by William Friedkin."

As the present film has possible & required elements to reflect the techniques that may Pinter wanted to convey thorough his play. Lack of understanding if happen then it may depends on personal or individual perspective than general that can give the scope to make it better than this too.

10. Who would be your choice of actors to play the role of characters?

Ans. I would like to choose characters like this,

Stanley- kay kay menon 
Goldberg- Anupam kher 
McCann- Nawazuddin Siddiki
Lulu- tabu