Jane Harrison's Stolen Spoken Language Techniques
Stolen
Dialogue reveals how spoken language expresses meaning not only at the spoken level but through the implied meaning. It can be said that what's left out of a conversation is sometimes more important than what is put in. Jane Harrison's Stolen is an honest and compassionate play that follows the lives of five aboriginal kids who have been stolen from their families as part of the governments' assimilationist agenda. Harrison employs a range of theatrical and written techniques to highlight the notion of a traumatic environment. Dialogue is also evident in Jamie Oliver's cooking special where on stage he uses up beat and joyful dialogue to interact with the audience. Edna's hymn by Barry Humphries is a satirical hymn about an old lady who tells us how good Australia is.
Stolen is a powerful play that highlights the trauma and alienation felt by the children both as children and as adults. The opening scene Arriving' is particularly effective due mainly to the lack of dialogue. Harrison employs mime, pause, body language and facial expressions to convey meaning in the unintended dialogue. Arriving' …show more content…
begins with the children standing diagonally across a sparse stage with a didgeridoo droning ominously in the background. The characters stand diagonally with the whitest at the front to symbolise the categorisation and racist environment. In an optimistic tone Ruby says "My mums coming for me" but through the context of the play and Ruby's body language we know that she won't see her mum for a very long time, if ever. This dialogue and its simplicity reveal the nature of the Aboriginal experience.
Most scenes reveal the underlying themes of trauma, violence, abuse and racism.
"Unspoken abuse 1, 2, and 3" highlights through repetition of the title the frequent abuse of these kids. In "Unspoken abuse 1 and 2" Ruby is confronted with the probing chants of the other kids "What did he do to ya", Ruby responds literally refusing to give into their torments "I promised not to tell". Childish language is used "What did he give to ya" to highlight the fact that even these young children know through her unintended dialogue that she has been abused, Ruby responds with "Gave me a doll". The doll Ruby slings around is symbolic of the innocence she has lost. In "Unspoken abuse 3" Jimmy echoes the view of Ruby, but in even simpler dialogue as he doesn't speak a word. Through these silences and pauses the suggestion of sexual abuse is strong despite being
indirect.
Jamie Oliver's on stage antics is full of colloquialisms "Ya'll right" this enables him to interact with his audience. The dialogue reveals his intentions of persuasion as he wants people to like him because this is how he makes a living. Oliver's personality comes through in his cooking as it is easy going, fun and interesting. "Do ya want some bubbly. Love" once again emphasises his audience interaction. Dialogue in Stolen highlights the repressed and limited world that they live in however Oliver's dialogue reflects his essential optimism thus dialogue gives insights into the way people view themselves.
In contrast to this joyful and happy dialogue is the scene involving Jimmy and the white voice which results in a violent exchange of words concluding with Jimmys death. Jimmy in most scenes is portrayed as a macho man - he says "Don't need no home of me home". However, Jimmy's love and hunger for his family is highlighted in Racist Insults' and how he has turned out after being told continuously that "Your mother is dead". He gets into a verbal fight with a white man and they exchange insults "Pasty faced fascist" the guy responds with "coon, nig-nog, nigger". The insults from Jimmy are a lot more heartfelt and this quote expresses Jimmy's deep feeling toward white people "Genocidal maniac, raping and killing our women. Get on a boat and go back to where you came from".
The stark reality in the dialogue of Stolen is contrasted with Edna's hymn by Barry Humphries. Edna's hymn is a satirical hymn about a lady talking about how good Australia is. Her unintentional meaning of the dialogue however suggests Australia is limiting and restrictive. Through the unintended dialogue we can tell that she is a conventional lady that probably hasn't travelled that much at all and is speaking with the no real experience "Our great big smiling beaches". This ritualised old lady "Make a cup of tea then put the telly on" sings a satirical hymn of Australian pride and refers to such Australian icons as "Cadbury, Hoover and Beetroot". Through the dialogue and colloquial and idiomatic text "I pop on the kettle, though I'm nearly dropping on my feet" gives the allusion of a fake character which links back with Jimmy of having that fake macho personality.
Dialogue is an effective tool used to manipulate and control as evident in the above texts. Although dialogue is used to degrade, hurt and insult others its potential for positive results is evident. Dialogue teaches that there is more than the spoken word to a conversation but tone and attitude as a means of expression.
Dialogue reveals how spoken language expresses meaning not only at the spoken level but through the implied meaning. It can be said that what's left out of a conversation is sometimes more important than what is put in. Jane Harrison's Stolen is an honest and compassionate play that follows the lives of five aboriginal kids who have been stolen from their families as part of the governments' assimilationist agenda. Harrison employs a range of theatrical and written techniques to highlight the notion of a traumatic environment. Dialogue is also evident in Jamie Oliver's cooking special where on stage he uses up beat and joyful dialogue to interact with the audience. Edna's hymn by Barry Humphries is a satirical hymn about an old lady who tells us how good Australia is.
Stolen is a powerful play that highlights the trauma and alienation felt by the children both as children and as adults. The opening scene Arriving' is particularly effective due mainly to the lack of dialogue. Harrison employs mime, pause, body language and facial expressions to convey meaning in the unintended dialogue. Arriving' …show more content…
begins with the children standing diagonally across a sparse stage with a didgeridoo droning ominously in the background. The characters stand diagonally with the whitest at the front to symbolise the categorisation and racist environment. In an optimistic tone Ruby says "My mums coming for me" but through the context of the play and Ruby's body language we know that she won't see her mum for a very long time, if ever. This dialogue and its simplicity reveal the nature of the Aboriginal experience.
Most scenes reveal the underlying themes of trauma, violence, abuse and racism.
"Unspoken abuse 1, 2, and 3" highlights through repetition of the title the frequent abuse of these kids. In "Unspoken abuse 1 and 2" Ruby is confronted with the probing chants of the other kids "What did he do to ya", Ruby responds literally refusing to give into their torments "I promised not to tell". Childish language is used "What did he give to ya" to highlight the fact that even these young children know through her unintended dialogue that she has been abused, Ruby responds with "Gave me a doll". The doll Ruby slings around is symbolic of the innocence she has lost. In "Unspoken abuse 3" Jimmy echoes the view of Ruby, but in even simpler dialogue as he doesn't speak a word. Through these silences and pauses the suggestion of sexual abuse is strong despite being
indirect.
Jamie Oliver's on stage antics is full of colloquialisms "Ya'll right" this enables him to interact with his audience. The dialogue reveals his intentions of persuasion as he wants people to like him because this is how he makes a living. Oliver's personality comes through in his cooking as it is easy going, fun and interesting. "Do ya want some bubbly. Love" once again emphasises his audience interaction. Dialogue in Stolen highlights the repressed and limited world that they live in however Oliver's dialogue reflects his essential optimism thus dialogue gives insights into the way people view themselves.
In contrast to this joyful and happy dialogue is the scene involving Jimmy and the white voice which results in a violent exchange of words concluding with Jimmys death. Jimmy in most scenes is portrayed as a macho man - he says "Don't need no home of me home". However, Jimmy's love and hunger for his family is highlighted in Racist Insults' and how he has turned out after being told continuously that "Your mother is dead". He gets into a verbal fight with a white man and they exchange insults "Pasty faced fascist" the guy responds with "coon, nig-nog, nigger". The insults from Jimmy are a lot more heartfelt and this quote expresses Jimmy's deep feeling toward white people "Genocidal maniac, raping and killing our women. Get on a boat and go back to where you came from".
The stark reality in the dialogue of Stolen is contrasted with Edna's hymn by Barry Humphries. Edna's hymn is a satirical hymn about a lady talking about how good Australia is. Her unintentional meaning of the dialogue however suggests Australia is limiting and restrictive. Through the unintended dialogue we can tell that she is a conventional lady that probably hasn't travelled that much at all and is speaking with the no real experience "Our great big smiling beaches". This ritualised old lady "Make a cup of tea then put the telly on" sings a satirical hymn of Australian pride and refers to such Australian icons as "Cadbury, Hoover and Beetroot". Through the dialogue and colloquial and idiomatic text "I pop on the kettle, though I'm nearly dropping on my feet" gives the allusion of a fake character which links back with Jimmy of having that fake macho personality.
Dialogue is an effective tool used to manipulate and control as evident in the above texts. Although dialogue is used to degrade, hurt and insult others its potential for positive results is evident. Dialogue teaches that there is more than the spoken word to a conversation but tone and attitude as a means of expression.