Write about Modernism and Popular Culture in a TV Drama

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Modernism and Popular Culture in “Slings and Arrows” TV Drama
Popular culture has had a history of representing and preserving the works of art throughout history. The simple definition of pop culture is the set of beliefs, values, and attitudes that a given society embraces. These set of beliefs have faced the test of time and challenges, but they still navigate and find meaning in the modern society. Artists in the television dramas tend to remind the society about the popular culture by creating TV dramas from historical plays. William Shakespeare’s work has found significant relevance in most works of art in the nineteenth century. While it is true that some elements of popular culture have endured the test of time and permeated themselves to the modern society, actors often use symbolism to tell the audience how the conflict between traditional (popular culture) and modern culture is likely to impede the coexistence of the two cultures. Episode one of the television drama “Slings and Arrows” directed by Peter Wellington magnifies the conflict between pop culture and modernity. This paper uses Pierre Bourdieu’s article “The Field of Cultural Production” to analyze how the conflict between popular culture and modernity is represented in the first episode of Wellington’s TV drama.
Bourdieu explains in his article that when analyzing the artist’s work of art, one has to take into consideration different perspectives that could have impacted the artist’s work. Some of the aspects that one could consider include the political, sociological structure, and the economic position that could have played a role in the artist’s work. When analyzing the first episode of the “Slings and Arrows” from the modernity and pop culture’s point of view, this paper takes a critical approach to analyze the sociological environment of the drama, the behavior of the characters in the play, their attitude towards their fellow characters, and the motive of the play director in the scenes of the first episode. Even though the common goal of every work of art is often to entertain and to educate, sometimes the director wants the audience to analyze the work of art and assign a meaning to events that unfold as the drama continues. Wellington uses humor, symbolism, and other stylistic devices to tell the audience the conflict that exist between modernity and popular culture in the first episode of “Slings and Arrows” which has been called “Oliver’s Dream.”
The first episode of the play opens with tragedy, signifying the fate that awaits either modernity or popular culture in the play. In the first scene of the first episode, the audience is introduced to a juxtaposition of two theatres directed by two different directors. The first theater is directed by Geoffrey and it is in Toronto. The theater is in the verge of closure, to the point that it has been called “Theater without money.” Oliver, on the other hand is in charge of the new and modern theater named “New Burbage.” Oliver’s theater has an advantage over Geoffrey’s theater due to commercialization of activities in the theater. This juxtaposition of the two theaters signifies the conflict that is likely to exist between modernity and popular culture. As mentioned above, popular culture represents traditional values, attitudes, and beliefs that are in the verge of being forgotten. Such beliefs only find relevance because a few people are not willing to let go. The financial position of Geoffrey’s theater indicates how it is difficult to run and operate a traditional theater. The society has transformed. Audiences are interested to some of the new ideas and forms of entertainment. The name “Theater Without Money” indicates how Geoffrey has given up on the business. He does not seem to hope for anything new. The problem is that he is sitting back waiting for the business to close automatically. This is how conservatives view the world around them.
Bourdieu explains in his article that literary stylistic devices are used in the social universe with the goal of obeying and operating within the laws of the literary field (163). Film directors do not have an option but to critic or communicate to the audience in symbolic choice of scenes, characters, or acts that critic or communicate a given message to the audience in the form of entertaining. Before the actual onset of the second scene in the first episode, Oliver sees his friend Geoffrey in the television. Geoffrey is chained to his theater in Toronto, while this is the night of the opening of Oliver’s New Burbage. He makes a phone call to his friend in Toronto only for the two to argue about the past. At this stage, one has to understand that Oliver is a representation of modernity while Geoffrey is a representation of popular culture. The argument is a symbolic representation of the conflict that has existed between modernity and traditional values. Even though it appears that change is inevitable, it seems that change has to encounter some difficulties before finding space in the traditional society.
The author realizes that Geoffrey and Oliver are arguing about the past. Even when the film director does not tell the audience what he is communicating directly, the argument that is presented in this scene makes the viewer to question why the two should argue about the past. One realizes that is party-time and Oliver is probably arguing out of drunkenness. This argument is symbolic and also acts as a warning to modernism. The fact that Oliver fails to create a peaceful environment with his friend Oliver indicates how it is difficult to blend the two cultures. In most cases, each of the cultures claims to be right and this is what sparks arguments.
A tragic even occurs after Oliver’s argument with Geoffrey. Oliver passes out in the street and is run over by the truck named “Canada’s Best Hams.” Bourdieu (165) explains that the choice of words in the literary device should enable the person analyzing the literary work ...