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  • Brecht and the Gorgon's Head
  • Alexander Stillmark (bio)

I

In Greek mythology, the Gorgon's head of Medusa is a symbol of deathly terror. With sharp teeth and a tongue stretched far out of its gaping jaw, it aims its penetrating, wide-eyed gaze directly at the viewer. In place of hair, poisonous snakes, ready to attack, coil about the head. Any mortal who looks upon it immediately turns to stone. To ensure the death of the Greek hero Perseus, his rival, King Polydectes, orders him to bring back the decapitated head of Medusa. However, Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom, comes to his aid and gives him a silvery, reflecting shield. This allowed Perseus—using the shield as a mirror—to cut off Medusa's horrific head while she slept. Triumphantly, he brought the Gorgon head to Athena, who from that time onwards took custody of it. From the blood of Medusa arose new demons and creatures, among which was also a winged horse named Pegasus, the symbol of poetry. So goes the myth.

II

Notable in Bertolt Brecht's dramas is his highly restrained depiction of physical violence on stage. There are no battles like those in Shakespeare's plays, no graphic scenes of bloody tortures and murders, and few shootings. No direct portrayal of violence could serve to enrich his plays—although for Brecht, death is always present, and one of his main concerns is violence in society, the cold-heartedness among people. Perhaps for this reason, too, many of Brecht's plays are considered harmless [End Page 407] and "uncool," standing, as they do, against the current of the mainstream. Today's audiences are accustomed to a completely different caliber of terror. Being networked through media and globally connected, we are all constant witnesses to every type of violent act from all parts of the world. We consume violence, sex, and crime like drugs; from children to the elderly, we drift along in a flood of images with the most horrifying content. The ethical threshold of timidity and shame, which forms a border around unbridled violence, has sunken to an alarmingly low level. The reckless, neo-liberal, media-driven market condemns every ethical limitation as unacceptable state censorship and, in doing so, secures access for itself to the consumers' senses and minds. Indeed, the human species is extremely adaptable and seems boundlessly resilient. We change with the instruments and products that we invent in ever faster innovative rhythms, and we adjust to technology. Our capacity to absorb information has increased remarkably; today, we can take in large amounts of data, not to mention dissimilar data, at the same time. Familiarity with viewing violent images is present already in small children and it is apparent that this does not remain without consequences. The steady increase of spontaneous outbreaks of violence in non-military areas, in so-called civilian life (schools, means of transport, public spaces, etc.) is readily apparent and frightens us; yet, we adapt to it.

III

These few propositions will restrict themselves to sketching out the broad topic of violence and images, without venturing on a deeper analysis of this comprehensive and separate object of investigation. Nor does this brief collection of reflections aim to establish aesthetically regulated postulates, but focuses only on making us more aware of our dealings with violence, actions, images, and symbols in Epic Theater. [End Page 408]

IV

In ancient theater, terrifying events, murders, suicides, and rapes do not take place coram publico, but rather behind the scenes. Doors and gates are not only entrances in walls before which actors perform; they also indicate the threshold between the action that has taken place and the situation with which actors are presently confronted. This confrontation becomes a theatrical event. In this respect, ancient theater is inherently Epic Theater. Theater in ancient times constituted a deeply canonized, epic play with standardized musical/rhythmic linguistic forms and exactly determined bodily movement, in terms of dance and the spirit: a total theatrical work of art with an absolute claim to form, comparable to Peking Opera or Indian Kathakali.

V

In the case of Sophocles, Oedipus the king emerges from the door of his palace...

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