Oh yes! I saw that too -- my highschool did it, and it was awesome. Actually, I think it is the only French play I have seen (in translation). Notably, it was in very modern prose, instead of rhymed couplets as I presume is the case with Racine.
Certainly, French films are popular in the US (or anyway, exported to the US more than films in any other European language). So I imagine that if there were a recent film of a Racine play, then the chances of someone teaching Racine in a class would go up. Especially if everyone drops trou, as seems always to happen in French films about the Renaissance (for that matter, any historical period).
What about Sartre? No Exit is a play, isn't it?
t suddenly doubting own brain
t takes the doubt away from Dana's brain and applies it to self
What about Sartre? No Exit is a play, isn't it?
Yep. Rice did that too, though I didn't see it.
Well, at least LKH has finally accepted where her true market/leanings/interests lay. "None of that silly plot, now, just write sex."
Snacky: The Great Brain books remind me of the Alvin Fernald books. Did anyone else ever read them? Am I showing my age again?
I have a vague memory of thinking that Alvin Fernald and the Great Brain should have met up and made a buddy movie, but I think that was mostly because Eric Shea from the Poseidon Adventure played Alvin. I can't remember titles or author, though, so I'm showing my age here, too.
Moorcock is one of those authors I love, but I find him either completely insane, incomprehensibly brilliant or both.
Read all of the Cornelius books and was blown away. From there to Elric (which suffered in comparison to Cornelius in my opinion) and from Elric to...the other...guy. Another Eternal Champion incarnation...hold on. Google, here I come...Corum! Yeah! (Obviously left a hell of an impression on me. Neh.)
Also completely in love with his 1969 novella "Behold the Man". If you ever run across it in an anthology or somewhere, dudes and dudettes...read. It. Good stuff.
Another Eternal Champion incarnation
All I think of is the Sega Genesis fighting game
Eternal Champions,
which was pretty damn cool. There was this one wizard character who had an attack that would scramble all your opponent's buttons.
No Exit is a play, isn't it?
Yup. That is an example of one that translates well to American stages. It's cleanly written and translated, and the concept *and the execution* are both fairly universal.
I think the problem of concepts translating is like this: say someone tried to make a French version of Suburbia. Or maybe Glengarry Glen Ross. The concepts (teen angst, male competition) are widely known, but the playwright's presentation is incredibly American. It wouldn't have the same impact, and it would leave audiences wondering why the play is considered so important that is was translated over. A good translator can mitigate a lot of that issue, but finding one can be very difficult.
A modern French example of the concept-translation issue issue is Yasmina Reza's work, specifially the play Art. It's a fascinating concept, but a mediocre play. However, the people who have seen it in the original French say that it's quite good.
Am I making sense? This is an aspect of my work that I don't think about often, but I'm enjoying it....
