Worksheet: Film Screening - Harold Pinter's The Birthday Party

 Hello my dear friends!!

Here I am wrote on The Birthday party task given by Dr Dilip Barad sir. This is my last task of semester three. So please read my last blog of semester three and understand to what is my view on that play. Click here to visit my teacher's blog.

Post-Viewing Tasks:

(1) Why are two scenes of Lulu omitted from the movie?

From the movie there are two scenes of Lulu being omitted because it does not make any difference if the scenes are omitted. Lulu is a girl who can be impressed very easily and we can see in the movie that she is actively participating with Goldberg. Goldberg is not doing it forcefully or Lulu is not in a position where she has to be submissive, she is doing it willingly. But both do not accept this matter.

The centre of the play Lulu's characters are symbolically inspired by Standly, when we look at in movies Lulu goes near Goldberg, so it is enough to see in movies. When tonight's party is going on, Standly left this party and that scene missing in this movie and other scenes is Lulu and Goldberg. This is also missing because we don't know what was the thought of the director's mind so this scene of Lulu omitted from the movie.

(2) Is movie successful in giving us the effect of menace? Where you able to feel it while reading the text?

Yes, while we are reading the play Birthday Party at that level it creates an effect of menace. But not that much like the movie does, because this is very important to the Audio and Visual effects are more effective than reading the original text. When we see that movie, that time we find that the effect of menace clearly in the scene of interrogation. There that number of the questions asked through the loud, highly voice. And Standly was sweating in fear and he was gone to frustration and when Stanley hears about the two strangers, that is he runs in fear.

(3) Do you feel the effect of lurking danger while viewing the movie? Where you able to feel the same while reading the text 

Yes, while viewing the movie I do feel the effect of lurking danger. In there are some scenes of Standly, which is a drum heavily beaten by him and he was irritated by some kind of effect which he was not like that. When we feel that the drum is almost going to be broken as he is beating it in his furious mood. Drum is the symbol of an instrument of an artist - the voice of truth turns trivia. This scene gives us a sign about an upcoming situation like a symbol of something going to be dangerous. While we read the original test, the blind man's buff game I felt the effect of lurking. In the game suddenly there is blackness and after that screaming of Lulu could be heard. In that way this is the effect of lurking danger while viewing the movie.

Another effect of lurking danger when we see the movie in discussion of three characters; Nat Goldberg, Stanley Weber, and  Demont McCann. Forcefully ask some questions to Stanley that time he was lost his capacity of follow to the slavery and screaming of louder this is second effect of lurking danger.

(4) What do you read in 'newspaper' in the movie? Petey is reading newspaper to Meg, it torn into pieces by McCain, pieces are hidden by Petey in last scene.

In the movie we find that Petey reads the newspaper everyday in the morning and so it becomes routine for him and the news which contains so many emotions but as a regular reader he cannot feel it. Same if we connect it with Stanley's life then we would be able to realize that Stanley’s life contains so much pain as an artist but how it is torn by McCann and Goldberg it goes appropriately with the symbol of newspaper. 

               When the act opens we find Petey reading the newspaper and at the last scene we find the same situation but slight change in it is that torn pieces of newspaper are hidden by Petey because it shows that habit of reading newspapers kills his sensibility to feel the pain of others. And he has no courage to accept the reality that’s why he hides the pieces of newspaper and acts like nothing has happened with Stanley.

(5) Camera is positioned over the head of McCain when he is playing Blind Man's Buff and is positioned at the top with a view of room like a cage (trap) when Stanley is playing it. What interpretations can you give to these positioning of camera? 

The camera is positioned over the head of McCain when he is playing blind man's buff and views the camera from the roof of the room like a cage or trap. So when we observe the scene of Stanley's birthday party at that time we see that Stanley is not able to argue or to escape from this Cage which is created by MacCann and Goldberg.

(6) "Pinter restored theater to its basic elements: an enclosed space and unpredictable dialogue, where people are at the mercy of one another and pretense crumbles." (Pinter, Art, Truth & Politics: Excerpts from the 2005 Nobel Lecture). Does this happen in the movie?

It's very true that Pinter restored theater to its basic elements. Almost all the characters,except Goldberg and McCain, care for each other. Such as Meg taking care of stanley as son, Lulu and Meg plan stanley's birthday party etc.

(7) How does viewing movie help in better understanding of the play ‘The Birthday Party’ with its typical characteristics (like painteresque, pause, silence, menace, lurking danger)?

As the audio visual format gives a great impact rather than to only reading.  In the same way the movie, “The Birthday Party” helps in better understanding of the play with its typical characteristics such as painteresque, pause, silence, menace, lurking danger etc. These all are the characteristics not able to create such effects in reading which we can feel in watching the movie.

As a general characteristic of Pinter’s play here we find a use of two pauses; one when no word is spoken and the other when perhaps a torrent of language is being employed. This could only be felt in viewing Movie, it's not possible to feel while reading the play. So we can say that complete satisfaction of all characteristics are possible while viewing the movie only not only by reading it.

(8) With which of the following observations you agree:

★“It probably wasn't possible to make a satisfactory film of "The Birthday Party."

  ★“It's impossible to imagine a better film of Pinter's play than this sensitive, disturbing version directed by William Friedkin"

      “It's impossible to imagine a better film of Pinter's play than this sensitive, disturbing version directed by William Friedkin"

     I agree with that observation.....

This is not easy to make an interesting and sensitive version of any Absurd play. Because all own effects in the movie which Pinter wants to create are in play as well. As well as use of camera movement is very appropriate to giving a powerful effect of this movie.

   (9) If you were director or screenplay writer, what sort of difference would you make in the making of movie?

   If I was the director of the film, I want to do reduced sounds of things which were listening bad. And then I want to remove some unnecessary elements and some of the scene, which does not need to deeply Shawn that. Another I would add to the scene of Lulu and Goldberg, when the party was going on and both characters were missing in that party. Because this scene is in the text, but in the movie it was not Shawn. So I want to add this is the sort of difference I would make in the making of the movie, if I was the director.

(10) Who would be your choice of actors to play the role of characters? 

Yes I want to share my choice of actors to play the role of characters for this movie....

Stanley : Sushant Singh Rajput
Goldberg – Paresh Rawal
MacCann– Manoj bajpayee
Petey – Dharmendra
Meg – Kiran Kher
Lulu- Kangana Ranaut

(11) Do you see any similarities among Kafka's Joseph K. (in 'The Trial'), Orwell's Winston Smith (in 'Nineteen Eighty-Four') and Pinter's Victor (in 'One for the Road')?  

Yes,  Kafka’s Joseph, Orwell’s Winston Smith and Pinter’s Victor, these all characters share a common thing is their suffering because of social hegemony. In this play Stanley represent administrative condition, political conflict,thought crime, big brother, torturing by use of power..etc which also I found similarity among Kafka's Joseph K. and Orwell's Winston Smith and Pinter's victor.

Thank you....... ☺️