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Title: American Buffalo: A Play by David Mamet ISBN: 0-8021-5057-8 Publisher: Grove Press Pub. Date: 01 October, 1977 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (3 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: Painted into a Corner
Comment: In this play about three low life thugs, Mamet was trying to take a shot at America and its business ethics. The Indian associations of the title was a loose attempt to suggest the fundamental chicanery of a society whose founding act was the dispossession of the former owners of the land. But the problem with this play is that BOB, DON, and TEACH are so 'dumbed down' and their dialogue so impoverished that all Mamet can do is create a moral fog.
America may well be founded on the crime of dispossession and the genocide of the Indians, but a buffalo's head on a coin in a play hardly suggests any of this and is certainly incapable of presenting the rights and wrongs of the case. The logical extension of capitalist drives may indeed be a criminal society, but a few petty criminals mouthing off phrases of capitalist jargon, obviously detached from the comprehensive arguments of capitalist ideology, hardly proves this inherent criminality or reveals the complex processes by which capitalism encourages crime.
In the play TEACH defines 'free enterprise' as: "The freedom of the individual to embark on any course that he sees fit." In dialogue like this Mamet is apparently hoping to link the amoral self-interest of his characters to the principles of the American Revolution.
But the characters' relevance is limited by a number of factors. First, their ignorance and inability to express themselves severely limits any exposition and critique of society. Also, because Mamet is attempting a particularly bleak and stark form of realist drama. There is no opportunity, as with, say, the early plays of Eugene O'Neill, to present us with archetypal characters embodying whole race or class positions. Who does TEACH stand for besides himself?
Because of the 'literalness' of his form, if we want to find a critique of society, we must look for it more directly in the evident relations of the characters to the broader society. Such an avenue, however, remains firmly blocked as the characters are isolated from society. Indeed, they seem to belong to an almost self-contained little universe, centering around "Don's Resale Shop."
If Mamet is attempting in this play to present us with a 'reductio ad absurdum' showing the inherent criminality of American business ethics, then, he has painted himself into a corner. His characters lack consciousness, social relevance, and symbolism, all factors that allow a playwright to tackle social and moral problems. "American Buffalo" is extremely limited in the extent to which it can refer outwards to the greater society. All he can give us, in effect, is the 'absurdum' without the 'reductio', the criminality detached from the social forces that create it.
This play is a failure, but Mamet was able to return more successfully to these themes in "Glengarry Glen Ross." where the greater eloquence of his characters, dishonest land salesmen, allowed him to express more coherently the amorality of American business imperatives.
Rating: 5
Summary: a blank, startling, gripping work...
Comment: I am an actress, playwright, and constant theatergoer, so I'd like to think I know when a play is good...and believe me, this play is excellent. It is stark, realistic, and yet has a fantastic quality all its own. The story follows three small time crooks: Donny, the calm vet, Teach, daring and aching for adventure, and Bobby, the slow, amiable kid. Their plot to steal a valuable coin collection is the center of the play, but so much more goes into it. Honor amoung thieves, the busted American dream, and masculinity are at the core of this piece, and Mamet, with his honest style, pulls off what could very easily be a dumb crook spoof. It's a little hard to read at first, as all Mamet is, but if you envision the story, you'll get through it. I recently saw the play in New York at mamet's Atlantic company with Philip Baker Hall, William H. Macy, and Mark Webber, and it was truly great. I suggest owning the play and getting to a local performance asap.
Rating: 5
Summary: Very good--a realistic view of American society
Comment: The play was a very smooth and quick read, containing a unique language, but it was much more than what was on the surface. The text drew me into the play and provided a very realistic view of American society and the of the ideal American business in a very raw sense. Great!
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Title: Glengarry Glen Ross (An Evergreen Book) by David Mamet ISBN: 0802130917 Publisher: Grove Press Pub. Date: 01 September, 1992 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: Sexual Perversity in Chicago and the Duck Variations: Two Plays by David Mamet ISBN: 080215011X Publisher: Grove Press Pub. Date: 01 April, 1978 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: Sam Shepard : Seven Plays (Buried Child, Curse of the Starving Class, The Tooth of Crime, La Turista, Tongues, Savage Love, True West) by Sam Shepard ISBN: 0553346113 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 July, 1984 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: Speed-The-Plow by David Mamet ISBN: 0802130461 Publisher: Grove Press Pub. Date: 01 August, 1988 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee ISBN: 0451158717 Publisher: Signet Book Pub. Date: 01 August, 1988 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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