The plays were written by Pinter during the 50's. The plays were probably based on characters and events during this era, but potentially could be set anywhere. We decided at the beginning of term that we would set the play during that time and mostly in or around London unless specified. Potentially the plays would be set anywhere in anytime such as the vagueness of the script, the scenes, the characters. Our agreement was also based on the events of that time such as communism and the post war era. We felt it was important to factor this into our performance, particular when some of the scenes are political. It was further emphasised by the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army. It shows that in 70 years, very little has actually changed. Yes, superficially we have changed, but social-politically, the world still operates in a similar manner.
The Spread of Communism and the Iron Curtain
Communism is an extreme left political ideology that started to become influential in the early 20th century. The opposition to monarchy, ownership, old wealth and wars were key influencers in its rise. World War 2 for example, created the conditions ideal for a communist revolution. Russia had adopted to Communism after they stopped fighting during the First World War. Russia had became increasingly powerful since and had been able to form a union of communist states post WW2. After WW2, the political structure of the world had change. Colonial powers such as Britain, France and Germany were now weak, broken countries. The 2 major countries to gain power in the war were USA (financially) and Russia (Politically/Militarily). Hence, we have what can be described as a New World Order. A world where the power balance has been shifted, either towards different countries or alternative sections of society.
Due to the power of the Soviet Union, the influence of the manifesto and public figures, Communism was spreading across this world during this time as people bought into the ideology. The end of WW2 had created the conditions in which communism seemed like the ideal choice for political method in many countries. The soviet union had become stronger, being able to spread as far as East Germany at the end of he war. The west believed that communism would continue to increase in influence in their countries and destroy the current regimes. There was actions undertaken to prevent Communism spreading further into the west which was mainly to invest in non soviet countries such as through the Marshall Plan. The funds were used to redevelop the infrastructure of Europe after the war. Socialist ideals were also adopted in many democratic countries with the development of the wealth fare state. Free healthcare, unemployment benefits and council housing were part of that development that helped influence the masses away from communist revolution. However, outside of Europe, the tactics employed by the west in countries under threat of communism was not so clean. Often, fascist regimes were supported and massacres were committed in the name of democracy and fighting of terrorism.
Hypocrisy not democracy.
The people had suffered from the effects of at least one world war in their life time. This is mostly what changed peoples views of the world. This is possibly why Communism become intriguing, because people wanted to try a new system, what was perceived a fairer system and did not want to enter another war. This was made more extreme by the fact that nuclear weapons now existed and both the west and the soviet union had access to the weapons. The power of these weapons, their ability to destroy all life on Earth is what lead to a Cold War. The nations were not able to directly engage in combat and use nuclear weapons as they were too powerful, but instead used proxy wars to help the government of their favoured ideology into power. An example of indirect conflict between west and the soviet union include the Korean War, which lead to the creation of Communist North and Democratic South. The Vietnam War is another example of a conflict which either directly or indirectly involved Western Nations such as the USA. Further examples include the support of the Taliban in Afghanistan (now invaded by USA) and the Islamic Republic of Iran (now enemy of USA). This Hippocratic reminds me of when Bill Hicks describes the USA as being Jack Polance in he movie Shane.
The tactics employed by the West, such as the USA's support of the Contras in Nicaragua exposed the hypocrisy of the West. They were not opposed to fascism, not opposed to tyranny within nations, but opposed directly to Communism. Communism would remove power of western banks and companies within affected nations due to Nationalisation of property. The west would support ANY government, train and arm Coup de tats, in any country, as long as that government allowed trade with western nations. The bulk of this hypocrisy lies at the door of the White House, but the UK and other NATO countries can also be considered complicit. The 'New World Order' was particular expressive of this hypocrisy. IT showed the tactics would be undertaken in the name of democracy verse fanaticism. It showed that when THEY perform such actions, they are evil, they are the bad guys. When we do it, it is OK, it is acceptable, it is a necessary evil. We need to do it to stop the bad guys. It shows that there is no line between 'good' or 'bad' guys, they are the same. We become better, we become more civilised and use humane techniques when we need to do extreme things.
Labour
In Britain, in new government called Labour, had came into power during the post war era. They were seen as a balance between democracy and communism. The government had taken on many left wing ideals such as the welfare state, universal healthcare, trade unions and council homes. This was mainly effective due to the conditions at the end of WW2, but some ideals had become general consensus by this time. Labour also nationalised many industries which provided the government some power over the countries natural resources and infrastructure. The institutions would become key employers but would eventually fail due to lack on investment and evolution. The country was in a powerful position in terms of resource control for this period. Due to the new policies and the level of new employment by the state, Socialism was seen as the acceptable Ideology for the post war era. It supported the needs of the working class, but also allowed a capitalist system of trade and private ownership.
Workers Rights
Before Labour, employees had little to no power. With the rise of Communism and Socialism, it created a position of power for the rights of workers. They were able to use the influence of the left in order to demand better pay and working conditions. They were also in a position do request holidays and sick pay. Yes, women may not have got maternity pay at this time, but as a country, we were heading in that direction. The influence of labour and the west has lead to policies such as health and safety in the work. If an employee is injured at work or injured due to negligence in the workplace, they are entitled to compensation. This is a far cry from the Victorian factories where even children were being force to work in dangerous conditions.
Racism and Immigration
During this time, their was a large rise in immigration into the UK. Within the UK, this was mainly immigration from current or former members of the current wealth. This was likely as they shared some cultural similarities, for example, they may speak English or be Christian. A lot of the immigration during this time came from the Caribbean or Indian and Pakistan. There were also refugees of war such as American soldiers, Italian POWs and Jews who had chosen to stay in the UK after the war. The influx of immigrants had a big effect on society and culture. Many influences were taken on board from the immigrants, such as changes in cuisine. Many of the immigrants may have even joined western forces during the war (see: Gurkha's). However, many Britain's were opposed to immigration, were ignorant or full on racist. Racism is still an issue today, but generally in society people are more tolerant of other races and nationalities. In the 50's, people were generally more likely to use racist and derogatory terminology towards ethnics, even if they were tolerant of them. Indians and black people would have the obvious names used, because it was generally accepted in society. Pinter for example has used plays to draw attention towards racism, particular with the nature of the language used to describe ethnic and minority groups. Groups he has referenced are black people, homeless/addicts and even Peruvians.
Feminism and Equal rights for Women
Feminism was also on the rise during the 50's Many women had worked during the war. This was mostly in factories, auxiliary, but also within different departments of the military. Women mostly saw that they could be independent and do the same work as men They wanted to be able to choose their careers paths, generate their own wealth and have the same rights as men. This is fair because the role of women was essential to the war. If they were good enough the help win the war then they should be capable to performing under normal conditions. Many individual women were integral to the into the war effort, such as the spies through out France and code breakers. Queen Elizabeth (then Princess) was seen as being important to maintaining morale of Londoners during the Blitz. Generally, attitudes towards women had changed due to the war but their was still a great deal of ignorance and use of derogatory terms. Pinter used many different female characters in his plays. He used females to representative of the new or older thoughts of belief. The difference between an independent career woman or dependent house wife.
The People
It was interesting to study the culture and people from the street during this period. The people were able to provide insight from the perspective of a general member of the public. Often, we only get to hear or read the words of public figures or historians. These may provide insight into the bigger picture, but not the hearts and minds of an individual living during that time. I felt it was important to be able to see what their thoughts were on various topics, particular the social and cultural changes during the 50's. I was particularly focused on the 1950's as this was the period of the play, therefore offered a representation of characters that could be in a revue sketch. I felt the people provided details that I could use in my characters, such as their accents, interests or where they live. It also showed examples of the perceptions of women, women who want to work, women who want to be house wife. There were examples of gentlemen, who treated women respectfully and would help around the house. IT showed the otherwise, where men were rude or expected women to do all the house chores. IT offered incite into the views on immigrants, how many people used derogatory terms during 50s Britain, but they may not have been racist not opposed to immigration. The terms were considered socially acceptable, therefore used freely in public. Attitudes have changed somewhat, yes there are still racists, there w
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