Word: nihilisme
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
That's a hard one? Reflecting on the man who learned to like himself in prison, Bloom notes that in the mind of this ex-con, "the problem lay with his sense of self, not with any original sin or devils in him. We have here the peculiarly American way...
The founding principle appears to be nihilism. Rampant disregard for other living things is in (for example, hitting frogs with a baseball bat). Taking responsibility for your actions is out.
Similarly, I'm not arguing for some Marxist nihilism that forces identity into a big monocultural box. Nor am I saying that Harvard was a great place when the students were white guys, the professors were white guys and all the books were written by white guys. I'd take...
The second part, set in 1987, which describes vividly the initial impact of HIV on this group of friends, flows with more finesse. At the very least, it is more interesting and of more relevance. Much of Indiana's poetic impulse, carried over from his chef d'oeuvre, Horse Crazy...
"Teach" (Anthony Ejarque) is the most dominating of the three. Teach's frenzied ravings (reminiscent of Seinfeld's Kramer) disturb the monotony of the play while expressing his overarching nihilism. Unlike Patrone, Ejarque's and Ritchell's performances are merely adequate, though the blame probably lies mostly with Mamet.